From the President: SSP Enjoys Another Great Year

By Susan Nayer Kesner, Past SSP President

Following is my report to the SSP Board of Directors at its May 28 meeting.

The SSP leadership gathered at the September 2007 Board meeting in Philadelphia with a goal of creating a strategic plan to provide us direction over the next three years. The resulting Strategic Plan has provided focus for our ongoing communications and guided our activities and accomplishments this year.

Our membership hovers around 1,000, and we expect to hit that number soon. Our finances are in good shape thanks to our successful programs, dues structure, and sponsorships. We have 13 active committees, each with a Board liaison, and we held regular phone meetings to facilitate cross-committee communication throughout the year.

Vehicles for communication with our own members and the scholarly publishing community at large take advantage of our Web site. SSP publications are thriving, including SSP News, our monthly online newsletter; our new SSP blog, The Scholarly Kitchen; the SSP list server; and our North American Editor Priscilla Markwood's contributions to Learned Publishing. Our Publications Committee expanded its purview this year to include a research focus as well. A plan to guide our own research efforts is forthcoming.

Thought-provoking programs and ample networking opportunities continue to provide significant value to our members, they tell us anecdotally. We do realize, however, that we compete with many other organizations for membership, sponsorships, and attendance at meetings. We refined our messaging around the value of individual membership this year and are in the early stages of creating some specialized programming that should further distinguish SSP in the mix.

During 2008 we held several on-site seminars and two successful Web seminars, the latter with a goal of reaching a broader audience. The Top Management Roundtable last September brought speakers from the music industry, consulting, newspapers, and more to share lessons learned and stimulate our own thinking. Our Library Focus Group held in February continues to draw large numbers.

It has been an honor to work with such a strong leadership team. We have accomplished a great deal, and I believe the foundations are in place for another stellar year under the leadership of October Ivins.