From the President

Neal Wyatt, President

Dear RUSA Members,

Midwinter is fast approaching, and as promised, we will hold an All-Member Meeting during the conference. If you are attending Midwinter and would like to make suggestions, ask questions, or raise issues-or just meet the RUSA Board-please join us from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, in Room 107 at the Colorado Convention Center.

As I said in my first RUSQ "From the President" message, I am aware that when RUSA makes plans and asks questions, we are doing so in a room full of people who have been active in RUSA for years, who already have a seat at the table and who do not have much trouble getting their voices heard. But RUSA needs to hear every voice. I want every member to feel vested and part of the organization because RUSA is only as strong and vibrant as our collective voices and expertise make us.

If you are not attending Midwinter, please consider this an open invitation to make suggestions, ask questions, or raise issues via e-mail. You can reach me at rusa@ala.org.

I hope to see many of you around the conference, especially at RUSA events like the Membership Social and RUSA's Book and Media Award Reception-our literary version of the academy awards.

Neal

Planning Your Midwinter Meeting

A schedule of meetings and events for ALA's Midwinter Meeting in Denver is now available online for download. Committee members should confirm times, dates and locations with their committee chairperson.

Information about exhibits can also be found at the Midwinter Meeting Exhibits page.

Membership Social

Kick off the 2009 ALA Midwinter Meeting in style with the Reference and User Services Association's (RUSA) Membership Social-an opportunity to eat, drink, network and learn more about RUSA. RUSA leadership and longtime members will be on hand to answer questions about ways to get involved with the division, which serves a broad range of library professionals, including reference and business reference librarians, as well as those in the fields of collection development, readers advisory, genealogy, bibliography, historical reference, resource sharing and computer-based reference, among others.

Librarians involved in these areas of work but not currently members are encouraged to come and learn more about RUSA. All attendees are encouraged to use the evening to network with colleagues and friends, both old and new. The social will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23, 2009, at Baur's Ristorante, 1512 Curtis Street, Denver. RSVPs are not required. Download the official invitation here and share it with your friends and colleagues!

This event has been generously sponsored by Thomson Reuters Endnote.

Join the Discussion: Teaching and Training Reference Services

All RUSA members attending ALA's Midwinter Meeting are invited to "Teaching and Training Reference Services." Chaired by Robert Kieft, editor of ALA's Guide to Reference, this is an open discussion for interested ALISE and RUSA members about the teaching of and training for reference service. Discussion topics include methods for teaching reference service and sources in the classroom and at the reference desk, and how the new online Guide to Reference can be useful to both educators and libraries in and beyond its role as a bibliography.

The event will be held Friday, Jan. 23, 2009, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Sunlight Peak Room at the Grand Hyatt Denver, 1750 Welton Street, Denver.

Meeting #: 281510
Date: 1/23/2009 (Friday)
Time: 01:00 pm - 02:30 pm
Hotel: GRAND HYATT, Denver, Sunlight Peak Room
1750 Welton Street
Denver, CO 80202-3999
Tel: +1 303 295 1234
Fax: +1 303 292 2472

Midwinter Institute

"Behind the Genealogy Reference Desk, a one-day institute, will be presented by RUSA's History Section in conjunction with the ALA 2009 Midwinter Meeting in Denver, Colo. The event is open to librarians, library staff and the public , and will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23, 2009 at the Denver Public Library, 10 West Fourteenth Avenue Parkway, Denver.

Registration is $115 for RUSA members, $135 for ALA members, $160 for non-members and $85 for students and retirees. The program site is fully handicap-accessible. Registration includes lunch and a tour of the Colorado Historical Society Stephen Hart Library and the Colorado State Archives.

Midwinter Meeting attendees interested in registering for the meeting and institute-or adding the institute to their current meeting itinerary-can do so through Step 6 ("Your Events") of the online registration form or by calling 1-800-974-3084. Those who are interested in only attending the institute must register using a printed registration form, which can then be submitted via mail or faxed per the instructions on the form.

Institute participants will learn from local experts on the subject about how such resources as the Colorado Rail Museum and the Colorado State Archives can assist coast-to-coast family history research efforts. Speakers will also address ways to overcome the research barrier presented by closed-record environments. Check out the comprehensive course description for a full list of speakers and topics.

Book and Media Awards Reception

All ALA Midwinter Meeting attendees are invited to celebrate the winners of numerous awards-including the Notable Books selections and The Reading List-at the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) Book and Media Awards Reception.

In addition to The Reading List and Notable Book selections-lists that are used by readers advisory librarians nationwide-winners will also be announced for the Dartmouth Medal, the Sophie Brody Medal, the ABC-Clio Online History Award, the Zora Neale Hurston award and other professional resource lists, including Outstanding Business Reference Sources, Best Reference Sources, Best Free Websites, Best Business Websites and Best Historic Materials.

"RUSA is a leader in collection development and readers advisory services in libraries, and the expert librarians who jury these lists and awards are committed to the creation of excellent collections in all subject areas, print and online, and to the sharing of these great resources with our patrons, " said Neal Wyatt, RUSA president. "Sunday night has become the place to be for those interested in learning about the best resources and titles published each year, and I am pleased to invite all those interested in these issues to the reception."

The reception will be held from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25, in the Capitol Peak Ballroom at the Grand Hyatt Denver, 1750 Welton St., Denver, and will offer food and a cash bar. Meeting attendees will find this event listed in the meeting program as the RUSA Awards Recognition Reception.

The literary winners announced at this event will shape the author lineup for the Literary Tastes Breakfast at ALA's 2009 Annual Conference in Chicago. Attendees at this ticketed event enjoy a delicious breakfast while listening to author readings. Immediately following the meal, authors will be available for book signings and further discussion of their work.

More information about the award winners and the Literary Tastes Breakfast will be available on the RUSA website and RUSA blog following the January event.

Your RUSA Membership: Time to renew?

When that membership renewal form comes in the mail as it does for many of our members at this time of year, don't forget about RUSA! We have great things in store for 2009, but we need your fiscal support to follow through on our plans. Your continued membership also allows you to get the best rates for participating in online courses, Midwinter institutes, Annual pre-conferences and conference programming. And staying connected to a peer network through both RUSA and section membership has never been more important in a volatile job market.

Prefer to renew online or by phone? Visit www.ala.org/membership, or call 800-545-2433 and select option 5.

2009 Online Professional Development Schedule

Need that professional competitive edge in the new year? Consider one of our online courses to sharpen your resume. Registration is now open for the spring offerings, including:

Click on each course title above for complete course descriptions and instructor bios.

With the exception of Marketing Basics, all RUSA online courses are asynchronous and do not have scheduled meeting times. This format offers flexibility for busy professional schedules and facilitates interaction between instructors and students with weekly assignments, discussion boards and chat sessions.

Visit the RUSA professional development page for more information about these courses, or go directly to the registration page and click on the session of your choice. Group registration discounts are available-contact Liz Markel, RUSA marketing specialist, for more information.

Programming at Annual 2009

Why spend your summer trapped at your desk when you could come to ALA's Annual Conference in Chicago, have fun, and pick up some new professional skills?

We've got an awesome program and pre-conference lineup in store for this event where you can acquire information and skills immediately applicable to your daily work.

Mark your calendars: Conference registration opens January 2, 2009. Click on the names for complete descriptions, and keep an eye on the RUSA blog for updates.

Pre-conferences and other ticketed events: (events require registration)

  • Reinvented Reference V: Using Our Collective Wisdom (sponsored by RSS/MARS)
  • From Lincoln Logs to Linkin' Families (HS)
  • Mastering Business Acumen (MBA) in a Day: Business Concepts for Library (BRASS)
  • A Dialogue with the Aging Network and the Library Community: The New Guidelines on Library and Information Services to Older Adults (RSS)
  • Literary Tastes Breakfast (CODES)

Programs: (included in conference registration fees)

  • RUSA President's Program
  • Dollars, Pounds and Yen: Libraries in a Time of Globalization (BRASS)
  • Not-So-Silent Partners: Libraries and Local Economic Development (BRASS)
  • Collection Development: Decision-Making with Data (CODES)
  • Outsourcing Collection Development: Collaboration is the Key (CODES)
  • Things That Go Bump in the Stacks: Whole Collection Advisory for Paranormal Fiction (CODES)
  • Unleashing the Undigitized: Promoting and Accessing Traditional Historical Resources in the Age of Google (HS)
  • Who Cares About Privacy? Boundaries, Millenials and the MySpace Mindset (MARS)
  • You Got Me, Do You Like Me? Evaluating Next Generation Catalogs (RSS/MARS)
  • Beyond ¡Hola!: Spanish Reference Resources for Non-Spanish Speakers (RSS)
  • When is Nice Too Nice? Solutions for Disengaging from the Talkative Patron (RSS)
  • 15th Annual New Reference Research Forum (RSS)
  • Resource Sharing in the 21st Century: Beyond Books and Journals (STARS)
  • The Secret Life of Our Data: Privacy in the Digital Age (STARS)
  • Love the Work, Hate the Job (RUSA, AFL-CIO and ALA)

"Getting to Know You...": the sparkling and brand new RUSA webpage

The new RUSA website is finally up and running! We've had to climb a few technical hurdles on the way, but the result is a more modern, easier-to-navigate site. Here's the answers to two of the most frequently asked questions about the new site:

I can't find some web page that was on the old site!

As part of the website redesign, ALA has put in an improved search engine. At the top right of every page, there's a "Search RUSA" field. Simply type what you're looking for into the box, click "GO", and it will return Google search results. Most likely, what you're looking for will be in the top results. Most of the old items from "Professional Tools" are now found in the new "Resources" section. Rosters can be found in the "Contact Us" section. Your section's files are now under the "Sections" menu. Of course, there's a chance that we may have missed your file in the migration. If you've tried the "Search RUSA" field and are having problems finding your resource, please contact Chris Cieslak (ccieslak@ala.org).

My old bookmarks don't work. Why?

There were over 2,000 pages on the RUSA site-to create a redirect from the old location to the new one for each page wasn't feasible from a time or technical perspective. In addition, the entire RUSA site and all other ALA divisions have been shifted to a new server-this move alone disables all previous bookmarks. You should easily be able to track down the content you are looking for using the new search function that's mentioned above and create a new bookmark. Keep an eye on the dynamic RUSA blog and future RUSA Update issues for more information about the new site as we continue to refine its functionality.