A letter from RUSA President Mary Popp about all of the excitement from the RUSA Book and Media Awards at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Seattle!

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Dear library colleagues,

Last month in Seattle, a standing room-only crowd at the RUSA Book and Media Awards Reception celebrated the winners, honor and short-listed titles for our annual adult reading and reference awards.

These awards highlight the most exciting and valuable aspects of RUSA:

• Librarians as a resource for the most outstanding adult literature available–from non-fiction to poetry, from Jewish literature to horror and mystery titles–who can help you find excellent books to add to your library collections, and also find you and other library users a good book to read.
• Librarians as experts in reference collections. Turn to us when you seek new print and online resources to add to your library’s stacks.

I encourage you to take a moment to review this year’s winners. Have something to say about our choices? Want to advocate for a book or resource for the 2014 awards? You can tweet about it using the hashtag #literarytastes. Find RUSA on Twitter at @ala_rusa and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ala.rusa.

This year’s book and media award winners:

• The Notable Books List for fiction, nonfiction and poetry
• The Sophie Brody Medal for achievement in Jewish literature
• The Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration
• The Reading List, including winners, short lists and readalikes for eight popular genres
• The Dartmouth Medal, recognizing the most outstanding reference work of the year
• Outstanding Reference Sources, a list of top reference titles for your library
• Best Free Websites selected by the MARS: Emerging Technologies in Reference Section
• Outstanding Business Reference Sources and “Best of the Best” Business Websites curated by the Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS)
• Best Historic Materials selected by the History Section, to be published in Reference and User Services Quarterly this spring

Interested in participating in one of the awards selection committees in 2014? Become a member of RUSA and CODES, then submit your name for consideration via the online volunteer form (ALA login required). We have many other committee positions to be filled throughout RUSA as well! Questions about volunteering? Send a note to rusa@ala.org.

Best Wishes,
Mary Popp
RUSA President

PS–Mark your calendars for two important dates:

Sunday, June 30, 2013 at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago: Start your day with the Literary Tastes author program and end it with one of the biggest celebrations of the year: the reception announcing the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, co-sponsored by RUSA and Booklist. Register for the conference and the reception at www.alaannual.org.

Sunday, January 26, 2014 at the ALA Midwinter Meeting: We’ll gather together again for the Midwinter Book and Media Awards Reception. Hope to see you there!

Looking for a library job? You’ve come to the right place!

We know how hard it can be looking for a job in today’s market. To help you out, the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) has created a Career Resources page to make your job search more effective and productive. Whether your specialty is in academic, special, corporate, or public libraries, we’ve got something for everyone looking for a job in reference and user services.

You’ll find a wealth of resources from job banks, state and regional library chapters, interview tips, how to brand and promote yourself and a list of the best career resource books on the market! Visit the Career Resources page today and start your job search on the right foot.

This page is monitored and updated frequently with additional information–keep checking back to see what’s new!

Have a helpful tip or resource worth including? Email RUSA Membership Assistant Leighann Wood with your submission at lwood -at-  ala.org.

Happy hunting!

CHICAGO–The nomination deadline has been extended to Jan. 15, 2013, for several annual awards offered by the Reference and User Services Association; the new deadline is Jan. 15, 2013 with the exception of the BRASS Gale Cengage Learning Student Travel Award, which has a deadline of Jan. 31, 2013.

Award criteria, nomination forms and instructions for submissions are available at each of the award’s web pages, which can be accessed by clicking on the award names below. More information about these awards, including nominating instructions, can be found at the RUSA Awards Web page. Monetary award amounts are subject to change without notice and are contingent upon donor funding supplied at the time the award is presented. Questions about these awards should be directed to the committee chairperson or to Leighann Wood, RUSA awards program coordinator at lwood@ala.org.

Awards for Individuals and Groups for Professional Achievement

• The ABC-CLIO Online History Award is a biennial award recognizing an individual or group of people for the development of free, sustainable online history resources. This award consists of $2,500 donated by ABC-CLIO and a citation.
• The Gale Cengage Learning Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Library Services is given to a library or library system for developing an imaginative and unique resource to meet patrons’ reference needs. Sponsored by Gale Cengage Learning; $3,000 prize and a citation.
• The History Section Genealogical Publishing Company Award is presented to a librarian, library or publisher who is a RUSA member and recognizes professional achievement in historical reference and research librarianship. Sponsored by Genealogical Publishing Company; prize of $1,500 and a citation.
• The Isadore Gilbert Mudge Award honors an individual who has made a distinguished contribution to reference librarianship. Sponsored by Gale Cengage Learning; $5,000 prize and a citation.
• The Louis Shores Award recognizes an individual reviewer, group, editor, review medium or organization for excellence in book reviewing and other media for libraries. The winner receives a citation at the RUSA awards ceremony.
• The Zora Neale Hurston Award honors an individual ALA member who has demonstrated leadership in promoting African-American literature. Sponsored by HarperCollins; the winner receives $1,250 supporting travel to the ALA Annual Conference, a plaque, tickets to the United for Libraries Author Tea event and a set of Hurston’s books in print with HarperCollins at the time of the award.
• The RSS Service Achievement Award is a citation presented annually to a Reference Services Section (RSS) member in recognition of exceptional contributions to the section.
• The MARS “My Favorite Martian” Award is a citation presented annually in recognition of excellence in service to the MARS: Emerging Technologies in Reference Section.

Travel Grants to ALA Annual Conference

• NEW! The BRASS Business Expert Press Award for Academic Business Librarians is sponsored by Business Expert Press and is presented to a new librarian in the field of academic business librarianship in order to support attendance at the ALA Annual Conference. This award consists of $1,250 and a citation.
• The BRASS Gale Cengage Learning Student Travel Award presents $1,000 to a student enrolled in an ALA accredited master’s degree program to fund travel to the ALA Annual Conference. This award’s nomination deadline is Jan. 31, 2013.
• The Morningstar Public Librarian Support Award, sponsored by Morningstar, Inc., offers $1,000 to support the attendance at Annual Conference of a public librarian who has performed outstanding business reference service and who requires financial assistance to attend the conference.
• The STARS/Atlas Systems Mentoring Award offers $1,250 to fund ALA Annual Conference travel expenses for a library practitioner who is new to the field of interlibrary loan/document delivery or electronic reserves and who has daily, hands-on involvement in the areas of borrowing, lending, document delivery, electronic reserves, material delivery or resource sharing.

Research Grants

• NEW! The History Section/Gale Cengage History Research and Innovation Award consists of up to $2500 and a citation. This award is granted to an MLS degreed librarian from an ALA accredited school to facilitate and further research relating to history and history librarianship.
• The BRASS Emerald Research Grant consists of a $5,000 award and a citation presented to individuals and groups seeking support to conduct research in business librarianship. This award is sponsored by Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

For complete details including eligibility, criteria, submission guidelines and committee information, please visit the RUSA Awards page.

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.  Not a member, but interested in discounted registration rates on conference, preconferences and other events? Join, renew or add RUSA to your ALA membership at www.ala.org/membership. Learn more about the association at www.ala.org/rusa.

Our online course schedule is set for early 2013! We’re offering classes covering a multitude of topics. Group registration rates are available. Registration information and rate details can be found at the Online Learning section of the RUSA website.

Would you rather be presenting at an online learning session instead of attending as a student? We are currently seeking RUSA webinar proposals for 2013. Details here.

Genealogy 101: Jan. 14-Feb. 17, 2013
This course is designed for reference staff with little to no experience in genealogy. Using a case study to frame the coursework, participants will learn about tools and techniques they can use to confidently assist patrons with family history research. A review of archival material, print reference tools and online sources is included in the curriculum. Get more information or register now.

Readers’ Advisory 101: Jan. 27-Mar. 7
Through practice sessions, participants will learn from instructor and RA expert Joyce Saricks how to use RA tools, craft annotations, read in genres, articulate appeal and experiment with methods to offer RA services. Readers’ Advisory 101 is tailored for those at all types of libraries—support staff, library technicians, newly hired reference librarians and those librarians who want to brush up on their skills. The topics covered are introductory in nature. This course has scheduled weekly meeting times on Thursdays; exact meeting times are TBD. Get more information or register now.

Business Reference 101: Feb. 4-March 1, 2013
Appropriate for librarians and library staff of all types who wish to acquire business reference expertise, Business Reference 101 will demystify such topics as SIC, NAICS codes, ROI and 10ks. Students will also have access to proprietary business reference databases. This consistently sold-out course will be taught by Celia Ross, past chair of RUSA’s Brass section and an experienced facilitator and practitioner in the business reference field. Get more information or register now.

Introduction to Spatial Literacy and Online Mapping: Feb. 11-Mar. 3, 2013
Through podcasts and hands-on assignments, participants in “Introduction to Spatial Literacy and Online Mapping” will explore uses for geographic information systems (GIS) technology within organizations and also its social uses beyond simple cartography. The course also covers the how-to of online mapping tools such as Google Earth, ArcExplorer, Scribble Maps and Google Maps. The course content is especially relevant for public or reference librarians who want to organize information in a visual or geographic way to benefit the work of the library, to make information available to the community or any number of needs. Get more information or register now.

Spatial Literacy II: Incorporation of Maps and GIS: Mar. 25-Apr. 8, 2013
This three week course incorporates the geospatial literacy and mapping skills developed in the course “Introduction to Spatial Literacy and Online Mapping” and teaches how to apply it in library services. Librarians in any information resource position will be able to apply their newly developed Web 2.0 mapping skills in their reference work, library projects, library administration, collection delivery, instruction, outreach and promotion. Get more information or register now.

Reference Interview:  Apr. 8-May 19, 2013
A comprehensive course focusing on the methods of evaluating reference service, behavioral aspects of reference service, and the different types of questions that can be used to help patrons identify what they need. Other topics include approachability, questioning and listening techniques and the reference interview environment. Chat sessions will model interviewing techniques using sample dialogues. Who should attend: support staff, library technicians, newly hired reference librarians, and those librarians who want to brush up on their interview skills; topics are of interest to all types of libraries. Get more information or register now.

Interlibrary Loan 101: April 22 – May 19, 2013
Live Sessions on Mon and Wed, 1-2p.m. Central Time
Topics covered: ILL process, policies and procedures from both the borrowing and lending perspectives, copyright law and licensing impacts on ILL, and ILL resources and systems. Participants will learn standard practices, gain an overview of emerging trends, and practice writing policies for interlibrary borrowing and lending. Who should attend: New ILL managers and practitioners in all types of libraries, especially academic and public libraries. Get more information or register now.

Health Information: Dates TBD
IACET CEU’s offered for this course. This six-week course will demystify and decode medical terminology and also cover the basics of evidence-based biomedical literature searching. Participants will learn how to systematically evaluate a health website and then look at some the best of best sites for medical, pharmaceutical and drug information. The course covers the business of healthcare: PPACA, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, HealthIT and HITECH, Meaningful Use, Physician and Hospital Rankings & Ratings and the Personal Health Record. Students will also participate in a discussion of health literacy issues and how to create partnerships with hospital and academic medical librarians through the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. Get more information.