M. Kathleen Kern, reference librarian at the University of Illinois, has won election to the post of vice-president/president-elect of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), the division of ALA representing librarians and library staff in the fields of reference, specialized reference, collection development, adult readers’ advisory and resource sharing.

Kern has been an active RUSA member since 2001, and has served as RUSA division councilor and a member of the RUSA Executive Committee since 2009. She also served as vice-chair, chair and past chair of RUSA’s MARS: Emerging Technologies in Reference Section from 2004-2007. In her new role, which she will assume following the 2012 ALA Annual Conference, Kern aims to increase the value of association membership through expanded opportunities for virtual participation, with a focus on creation of relevant online and in-person content for the library community that educates librarians and cultivates leaders. She is also interested in promoting the value of reference services and sharing RUSA’s adult book awards such as the Notable Books List for fiction, non-fiction and poetry, the Reading List of genre fiction and the Listen List for outstanding audiobook narration with a broader audience.

Over the course of her twelve years as a librarian, she has supervised and mentored more than sixty graduate assistants working at the Main Library Information and Reference desk at the University of Illinois Library. She participated in the writing of the first RUSA Guidelines for Virtual Reference, and subsequently authored “Virtual reference best practices: Tailoring services to your library” (ALA Editions, 2010). Kern has also shared her expertise abroad, traveling in 2006 with the Mortenson Center for International Librarianship to Nigeria to provide training for librarians in using online resources.

Professionally, Kern has served as an adjunct instructor for both the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois, Urbana (2011) and the School of Communication and Information, Rutgers University (2009). She is currently enrolled in the PhD program at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, and earned her MSLIS from the same school in 1999. She received the 2010 RUSA MARS “My Favorite Martian” Achievement Award Certificate, and participated in the 2006 Frye Leadership Institute, a program offered by the Council on Library and Information Resources and EDUCAUSE.

The Reference and User Services Association, a division of the American Library Association, represents librarians and library staff in the fields of reference, specialized reference, collection development, readers’ advisory and resource sharing. RUSA is the foremost organization of reference and information professionals who make the connections between people and the information sources, services, and collection materials they need. Learn more about the association at www.ala.org/rusa.

 Are you interested in any of the following?

Frontline reference
Readers advisory
Collection development
Emerging technologies in reference
Specialized business reference
Genealogical research
Managing local history collections
Interlibrary loan and resource sharing
Reference and outreach to special populations

If you said YES to any of the above, there’s a place in RUSA for you!

Find out more about RUSA, the Reference and User Services Association, at RUSA 101.

You’ll learn about what RUSA and its sections do, how to get involved, how to stay informed in our activities, and get any of your RUSA questions answered.

RUSA 101 Online
No registration required! Feel free to drop in to any of the sessions below.
Access information can be found at the bottom of this email.

• Friday, June 1, 10:00am-11:00am PT/12:00pm-1:00pm CT/1:00pm-2:00pm ET
• Wednesday, June 6, 1:00pm-2:00pm PT/3:00pm-4:00pm CT/4:00pm-5:00pm ET
• Monday, June 11, 10:00am-11:00am PT/12:00pm-1:00pm CT/1:00pm-2:00pm ET
• Friday, June 15, 1:00pm-2:00pm PT/3:00pm-4:00pm CT/4:00pm-5:00pm ET
• Monday, June 18, 10:00am-11:00am PT/12:00pm-1:00pm CT/1:00pm-2:00pm ET

RUSA 101 @ ALA Annual 2012
No registration required! Besides having an opportunity to learn more about RUSA and meet RUSA members, we’ll have raffle prizes!

• Friday, June 22, 2012 || 3:00pm -4:00pm
  Hilton Anaheim – Oceanside Room

Access Information for RUSA 101 Online
To get the most out of your web conference experience, it is best to use a headset. If you do not have a headset, please use headphones/earbuds to plug into your speaker. This will eliminate audio issues.

Session URL: https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?password=M.F71930E6E64800139C18D122D0C4DD&sid=2011689

Questions?
Contact Liane Taylor, RUSA Membership Committee Chair (ltaylor@txstate.edu; 512-245-2643)

The Reference and User Services Association (http://www.ala.org/rusa/), a division of the American Library Association, represents librarians and library staff in the fields of reference, specialized reference, collection development, readers advisory and resource sharing. RUSA is the foremost organization of reference and information professionals who make the connections between people and the information sources, services, and collection materials they need.  

Our next offering of RUSA’s online course Genealogy 101 will start on Monday, May 14, and registration for this session will end on Thursday, May 10.

REGISTER ONLINE NOW.

Genealogy 101 is aimed at reference staff with little or no experience in genealogy, and will provide tools for assisting patrons with family history research. The goal of the class is to give students confidence and skill in assisting family history researchers.

This five-week online course for library students and reference staff provides an introduction to American genealogy reference service. The course will outline basic sources and strategies, centered on a single case study. Topics covered include the U.S. Census, vital records, immigration research, military research and a variety of other basic genealogy sources. Students will also receive instruction in reference desk strategies and tools for further professional development. The course will cover archival material, print reference tools and online sources.

The course will include:

• Online lessons: 3-4 per week
• One optional chat session per week
• Several short assignments per week

More information about the course is on the RUSA Online Learning page.

We do offer group registration rates for this course. Get more information about the group rates and download the group registration form at the RUSA Online Learning page.

Questions about registration? Contact registration@ala.org or (800) 545-2433, option 5.

Do you have an idea for a webinar you’d like to present as a part of RUSA’s online learning offerings in upcoming months? We’re seeking proposals for a variety of topics (see a list of ideas below), and hope to receive your submissions before the ALA Annual Conference in June so that our professional development committee can review them in Anaheim.

RUSA webinars are an opportunity for librarians to infuse their year with professional development they can conveniently—and affordably—pursue from the comfort of their home or office. Webinars will take place throughout the year and will cover topics relevant to a broad range of librarians, library staff and library supporters.

Successful proposals will:

• Show plans for presentations that are 60-75 minutes in length.
• Show how the presentation addresses a topic either of interest to RUSA members, or represents an area of RUSA’s expertise that benefits other types of librarians. This may include but is not limited to topics such as reference basics; reference for specialized audiences; research, trends and hot topics in readers advisory; information literacy; community partnerships; outreach; partnerships between different types of libraries; government data and related resources; library spaces and assessing future needs; copyright in the digital age; collection development; special collections; tips and tutorials for relevant tech tools; standards and guidelines; genealogy; advocating for reference; resource development; fundraising; marketing; job searching and related resources; book reviewing; and interlibrary loan.

Proposals may be submitted using the online proposal form.

Presenters for accepted proposals will receive compensation for their time and will also receive training for the webinar software. Questions about RUSA or the webinars can be directed to Liz Markel, RUSA marketing and programs manager or Susan Hornung, RUSA executive director at lmarkel@ala.org and shornung@ala.org, respectively.