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President's e-Letter - January 2012

10 January 2012

President's e-Letter

T Van Schaik Dear Colleagues,

With the New Year well underway, I may be one of the last to wish each of you a fruitful and healthy 2012. I hope that throughout the year SSP continues to be an essential part of your professional development and well-being through the Society's multiple services and educational opportunities-a few of which I have highlighted below.

Librarian Focus Group -- January 31, 2012
American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC

One of SSP's most popular events, the Librarian Focus Group offers a unique opportunity for members and non-members to hear from and speak directly to our colleagues from several leading libraries, including:

Rosa Liu, Manager, Research Library & Information Program, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Monica McCormick, Program Officer for Digital Scholarly Publishing, New York University
Valerie Ryder, President, Philadelphia SLA Chapter; Director of Information Strategy, Wolper Subscription Services
Pam Snelson, College Librarian, Franklin & Marshall College; past President, ACRL
Beth Ten Have, Head of Information Services and Director of Library Academic Partnerships, Drexel University

These panelists will focus on the librarian's perspectives on the digital future and responses to the continued economic turmoil that institutions face. Panelists will also discuss a range of other topics, including trends in pricing and licensing, the challenges of electronic resource management and preservation, the state of "open access," and ways libraries are using mobile devices and apps.

With limited seating, the Focus Group historically sells out, so register now to secure your spot.

34th SSP Annual Meeting -- May 30-June 1, 2012
Marriott Crystal Gateway, Arlington, VA

Registration will open in early March for Social, Mobile, Agile, Global: Are You Ready? The meeting opens with six pre-conference seminars on May 30, followed by a full slate of plenary and concurrent sessions, including:

Opening Keynote Presentations
How Social Media Might Transform Scholarly Publishing: Dan Cohen, George Mason University, and Larry Schwartz, Newstex
Plenary Address
The Rise of Networked Information: Lee Rainie, Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project
Sample Pre-Meeting Seminars:

Facets of Workflow and Publishing in China
Peer Review in Open Access Journals
Academics, Publishers, and Librarians Confronting the Impact of E-Readers and E-books

Sample Concurrent Sessions:

Agile and Mobile: Meeting Customer Needs
One World: Many Copyrights
India in Arlington: Market, Authors, and Institutions
Library Publishing Services: Opportunity or Threat?

As always, the meeting includes ample networking time and the opportunity to visit with multiple exhibitors who will be providing a look at their newest offerings.

SSP Membership Directory and Jobs Area

In keeping with the electronic and green times and recognizing that the printed SSP Membership Directory was out-of-date almost the day it was published, SSP will no longer print an annual Membership Directory. Instead members are able to search the entire Directory online, find results quickly, and make contact. As in the past, you are able to search by name and improve the speed and accuracy of your search by adding additional detail such as city or employer. The Directory now also allows you to generate a specialized search to find multiple member names by choosing categories such as current position, work setting product, and area of specialization. Members who prefer a printed version are able to download the Directory as a PDF. Please check out the Directory and update your profile today.

We would like to extend special appreciation to Sheridan Press for the many years it sponsored the printing of the directory.

The jobs area of the website has a fresh new look. Some of the new features include:

Instant viewing of featured jobs.
Option to view all jobs or do more specialized searching
Tabs for employers and job seekers to log in to their accounts and either post a job or review additional job searches.
Ability to browse by state and by job function with an indicator to show how many jobs are in the category you are searching.

In 2011 the site had over 16,000 job views, half again more than occurred in 2010. We hope that these new updates will continue to make jobs area one of the top visited sites on SSP's website.

Recent www.sspnet.org Postings

Did you know that Audrey Melkin plays classical piano and that Robert Harington once sang in a barbershop quartet? Learn more about these SSP members and their respective publishing careers by visiting SSP's Professional Profiles pages.

You may well need ESPReSSO now-not to drink but to identify changes you can make immediately to improve the authentication experience for your users. To learn more, try "Helping to Improve the Single Sign-On Experience for Users" by Todd Carpenter, Managing Director of NISO and Secretary/Treasurer SSP.

If like many of us, you are scratching your head about the new EPUB 3 format, I recommend Bill Kasdorf's informative article, "Some Perspectives on EPUB 3," in which he addresses several issues he has heard raised about this recent development.

While you are on sspnet.org, stop to find articles of interest in the recently posted January issue of Learned Publishing. Members benefit from free access to current and previous issues.

If you missed the December Webinar, International Market Update, you'll enjoy listening to the recording of it, which is freely available to members and non-members.

A Gentle Reminder

Thanks to all of you who have renewed your SSP dues. If you forgot to renew during the hectic holiday season, please take a few minutes to do so online now and continue to enjoy all the benefits membership will bring to you in 2012.

With best regards,

TVS Signature

Terry Van Schaik, SSP President 2011-2012