IN THIS ISSUE OF RUSA DIRECT:
- 2016 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence Shortlist Announced
- Midwinter Meeting 2016
- Online Learning
- Plunkett’s Research Scholarship
- RUSA seeks nominations for its annual series of achievement awards and grants
- Reference Research Forum invites submissions of reference service research project proposals
- Volunteer opportunities
RUSA Workshops:
Reference Interview Institute – Ticket Purchase Required
Friday, January 8, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. This live and in-person all day workshop will provide you with some techniques that will enable you to better assist your users-and help you figure out what it is that they really need when they ask a question. Two expert reference librarians (one public librarian and one academic librarian) will give you tips that will make you more approachable, a better communicator and help make your users more willing to return. Ticket Purchase here.
History Genealogy Institute – Free, but you must register
Friday, January 8, 8:00 a.m – 4:00 p.m. This free workshop will help librarians of all types learn techniques to better serve the genealogists and family historians who use their collections. This can include better understanding of genealogy research methods and sources. It can also include how libraries can leverage their unique holdings to become more relevant to genealogists, who tend to be passionate in their support of libraries that have useful materials. Sponsored by ProQuest. Lunch provided and sponsored by ProQuest. Register here.
*Deep Dive Session – Brand new!
We are all user experience librarians: Creating change from the trenches
Saturday, January 9, 1:00 p.m.- 4:15 p.m.
This Deep Dive workshop will focus on user testing and understanding your users’ experience through a mix of discussion, presentations, and interactive experiences. Our five presenters will offer design strategies and tools from throughout the life cycle of a user experience design project, and they will also join together as a panel to provide a spirited, entertaining look at pitfalls to avoid and lessons learned. Unlike other sessions about user experience design, the proposed workshop will focus on providing attendees with concrete skills and techniques they can apply at their home institutions with relatively little expense or pre-planning. *Registration not available yet. Please check back early next week. Read more.
Only 55 days until Midwinter Meeting 2016!
Register by 11:59am CST January 4, 2016 and receive Advanced Registration rates. Register here.
2016 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Non Fiction
The American Library Association has announced the six books shortlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, awarded for the previous year’s best fiction and nonfiction books written for adult readers and published in the United States. The two medal winners will be announced by selection committee chair Nancy Pearl at the RUSA’s Book and Media Awards event at ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Boston on Sunday, January 10. Read more.
Seeking Nominations 2016 RUSA Achievement Awards
RUSA is seeking nominations for its annual series of awards and grants. Nominations and supporting materials for most awards must be submitted by December. 4, 2015.
RUSA encourages members to nominate their colleagues whose work has influenced their thinking and performance and whose contributions merit recognition by the profession. With over $30,000 generously donated annually by industry sponsors, RUSA has, and will continue to, nominate, select and honor the very best in the field of reference and user services. Read more.
Plunkett’s Research Scholarship
Congratulations to Lisa Hansen, Marlinda Karo, Meghann Kuhlmann, Leslie McNabb and LiangLei Qi! They were students in the October session of RUSA’s Business Reference 101 course and were each the lucky winner of a Plunkett’s Research Scholarship covering the cost of their registration.
Five more lucky winners will be selected from members of the current session of BizRef 101 for a total of ten scholarships. Thank you to Jack Plunkett, CEO of Plunkett Research Online (http://www.plunkettresearchonline.com/), who is behind this generous scholarship program.
November 2015
Introduction to Spatial Literacy and Online Mapping
The perfect opportunity for librarians and library staff from public and academic libraries to gain a basic understanding of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology and learn about specific technologies that they may be exposed to at the library. Register here. Read more.
February 2015
Xtreme Bibliographic Searching for Interlibrary Loan & Reference
This four-week class, will take you from Mansel Pre 56 to Digital Repositories, DOAJ to Trove to HathiTrust. Don’t know those terms, then this course is for you! Register here. Read more.
Learner-Centered Reference and Instruction: Science, Psychology, and Inclusive Pedagogy
An Introduction to empirically sound approaches to learner-centered teaching that can be applied to creating effective reference and instruction services that maximally facilitate student learning. Register here. Read more.
Reference Interview 101|
This comprehensive course covers such reference interview topics as cultivating an approachable reference environment, successful questioning and listening techniques and appropriate follow-up methods. Staff of all levels at all types of libraries will find this content, presented in a multi-media format, helpful in their day-to-day engagement with library patrons. Register here. Read more.
Genealogy 101
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. Register here. Read more.
Reference Research Forum – Call for Submissions
The Research & Statistics Committee of the Reference Services Section of the Reference & User Services Association (RUSA) invites the submission of reference service research project proposals for presentation at the 22nd Reference Research Forum at the 2016 American Library Association Annual Conference in Orlando, FL. Researchers and practitioners from all types of libraries, library school faculty and students, and other interested individuals are encouraged to submit a proposal. Get all the details here.
The division has a multitude of volunteer opportunities available for its members through RUSA and special interest section committees.
Committee members have the opportunity to:
- Choose award-winning adult reading and reference books on the Notable Books Council or the Dartmouth Medal Committee, among others
- Honor colleagues for their outstanding contributions as part of an achievement award committee
- Plan discussion forums for online and in-person conference meetups
- Dabble in event planning as members of conference program committees
- Be at the front lines for shaping professional standards and guidelines, evaluating policies and making important decisions for the association
- …and much more!
Please consider volunteering for one or more committee to help us meet our objectives and move RUSA forward in new and exciting ways. Virtual members are encouraged and welcomed.
To volunteer or for more information, please click on this link.
