Diane Zabel
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Because I am halfway through my first year as editor, I thought RUSQ readers were due a progress report. I hope some of you noticed a redesign, beginning with the fall 2006 issue. I felt that RUSQ was due for a facelift as the journal had not been redesigned for some time. The purpose of this redesign was to incorporate suggestions made by participants in the 2005 Readex Readership Survey and the 2006 RUSQ focus groups.
Here is a summary of some of the major changes.
- Addition of a banner to the journal title that lists the full name of our association. I feel that it is important to emphasize that this is a division publication.
- Addition of graphics to the cover. Focus-group findings indicated th at RUSQ readers want more color and graphics.
- The layout of the contents page has been changed so at a glance, readers can distinguish columns from feature articles and other sections. This enables readers to more easily find their favorite section of the journal.
- Overall, the layout and graphics have been changed to produce a more crisp, clean, and contemporary feel.
- Two columns have been added in response to feedback from the readership survey: Accidental Technologist (edited by M. Kathleen Kern) and Management (edited by Judith M. Nixon).
- Creation of an occasional column entitled For Your Enrichment that publishes interesting nonempirical articles on topics that fall outside the purview of RUSQ‘s regular columns.
Finally, the print journal highlights the journal’s new online companion.This online companion provides the full-text of articles, in both PDF and HTML formats. The companion is interactive, using blog software so readers can communicate with authors and conduct threaded discussions on topics. The Sources database has been redesigned, using a drop-down menu so users can search for the full-text of reviews by various categories. Guided by the philosophy of the open access movement, the online companion is open to all users, not just RUSA or ALA members.
In my first editorial, I reported that one of my first priorities would be to work through a backlog of accepted feature articles. You may have noticed that the last issue was a little heftier than previous issues. I am grateful to report that the RUSA Executive Committee recently voted to add funds to the RUSQ budget to increase the page count from eighty-eight to 104 pages. This change took effect with the Winter 2006 issue and will be in place for a one-year period. These extra pages were added specifically to help reduce the backlog in accepted peer-reviewed articles. I thank authors of these papers for their patience. In the interim, I thought readers might enjoy a preview of forthcoming feature articles. The following is a listing of feature articles that have been accepted for publication as of December 1, 2006:
- “The Thank You Study: User Feedback in E-mail ‘Thank You’ Messages” by Lorri Mon and Joseph W. Janes.
- “Onsite Reference and Instruction Services: Setting Up Shop Where Our Patrons Live” by A. Ben Wagner and Cynthia Tysick.
- “What Ever Happened to ‘Always Cite the Source’? A Study of Source Citing and Other Issues Related to Telephone Reference” by Denise E. Agosto and Holly Anderton.
- “Comparison of Retrieval Performance of Eleven Online Indexes Containing Information Related to Quaternary Research, an Interdisciplinary Science” by Lura E. Joseph.
- “Learning from Leisure Reading : A Study of Adult Public Library Patrons” by Jessica E. Moyer.
- The Effects of Librarians’ Behavioral Performance on User Satisfaction in Chat Reference Services” by Nahyun Kwon and Vicki L. Gregory.
- “‘If My Mother was Alive I’d Probably Have Called Her.’ Women’s Search for Health Information in Rural Canada” by Roma Harris and Nadine Wathen.
- “Sociocultural Learning Theories and Information Literacy Teaching Activities in Higher Education” by Li Wang.
- “Assessing User Interactions at the Desk Nearest the Front Door” by Pixey Anne Mosley.
- “Determining Use of an Academic Library Reference Collection: Report of a Study” by Jeannie Colson.
- “Reference Transaction Handoffs: Factors Affecting the Transition from Chat to E-mail” by Nora Wikoff.
- “Weeding Gone Wild: Planning and Implementing a Review of the Reference Collection” by Carol A. Singer.
- “‘But I Want a Real Book’: An Investigation of Undergraduates’ Usage and Attitudes toward Electronic Books” by Cynthia L. Gregory.
- “Cyberspace or Face-to-Face: The Teachable Moment and Changing Reference Mediums” by Christina M. Desai and Stephanie J. Graves.
- “Why Isn’t Our Chat Reference Used More? Findings of Focus Group Discussions with Undergraduate Students” by Sharon Naylor, Bruce Stoffel, and Sharon Van Der Laan.