Barry Trott, President
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At the 2011 Midwinter Meeting of the American Library Association, the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) Board voted unanimously to approve the move of the division’s professional journal, Reference & User Services Quarterly (RUSQ), to a solely online publication beginning in fall 2011. This vote was taken after a recommendation for the move was made by a taskforce assigned to examine the issue. In the editor’s column of this issue, Diane Zabel explains the specifics of the move and how the process will work for RUSA members.
I would like to talk briefly here about how this move fits into the broader picture for RUSA as we head into the second decade of the twenty-first century. One of the concerns of any professional organization is maintaining the fiscal health of the organization. The move from print to online is a major step in this direction for RUSA. The savings that we realize from the move will allow RUSA to balance our budget without spending our endowment funds. As we begin a new round of strategic planning in 2011–12, these additional funds will allow RUSA more flexibility in pursuing member-driven initiatives.
RUSA has a well-deserved reputation for leading the profession in the areas of reference and readers’ advisory work and collection development. Our members are able to take advantage of a wide range of opportunities as part of their membership in RUSA. The networking, professional development, leadership training, book and media awards, committee service, and much more enhances both the library profession and the professional lives of RUSA members. These opportunities add value to RUSA membership. While RUSA continues to value the opportunities to meet face to face, it is also clear that we need to extend our member opportunities beyond Midwinter and Annual meetings. Offering professional development opportunities, online classes, and webinars has been an important piece of this expansion of RUSA’s mission. RUSQ has been our flagship publication for a half century. Over that time, the journal’s blend of theory and practice has been a model for the profession and a valued tool for librarians. The move to an all online publication will allow RUSA to sustain that model in the coming years as well as to expand the role of RUSQ in the future.
I would like to thank editor Diane Zabel and the members of the RUSQ taskforce that produced the recommendations for this change. This move sets RUSQ and RUSA on the path to a successful future.
Barry Trott, 2010–11 President of the Reference and User Services Association, is Adult Services Director, Williamsburg Regional Library, 7770 Croaker Rd., Williamsburg, VA 23188; e-mail: btrott@wrl.org.