RUSA Structure Taskforce Final Recommendations Presented by Kate Kosturski RUSA Board Meeting 21 January 2012 RUSA Board, Midwinter 2012, #B1201

Task Force Charge The taskforce will review the recommendations of the RUSA Electronic Participation taskforce as part of its work, but will go beyond simply looking at electronic participation. The taskforce will make recommendations for structural changes that RUSA can implement that can help to: 1.Increase membership 2.Better meet member needs and interests 3.Facilitate member participation 4.Make the best use of RUSA committee and board meeting time.

Task Force Recommendations 1.Attract more non-academic librarians to RUSA 2.Provide Suggestions and Guidelines for Divisions and Committees to Transition from In-Person to Virtual Meetings 3.Build and maintain support resources on the RUSA Website/ALA Connect to foster electronic participation 4.Explore joint programming and other collaborative efforts with other ALA divisions and roundtables 5.Increase efficiencies and eliminate duplication across RUSA divisions

Recommendation #1: Attract More Non-Academic Librarians Did you know… Approx. ½ of RUSA membership is not an academic librarian Many RUSA members belong to at least one other ALA Division

Recommendation #1: Attract More Non-Academic Librarians Develop a Value Proposition Statement! RUSA Mission RUSA Membership Goals Facts about non-academic lib membership Testimonies of membership value Myth v. fact statements about membership

Recommendation #1: Attract More Non-Academic Librarians Marketing Initiatives Survey to non-academic librarians Targeted marketing Reform committee structure (ex. Medical librarian committee) Collaboration with other ALA Divisions RUSA “ambassadors”

Recommendation #2: Transition from in-Person to Virtual Meetings Areas of Issue/Concern for Transition Tools Access Timing Chair Responsibility Participant Commitment

Recommendation #2: Transition from in-Person to Virtual Meetings Tools Free vs. paid, ease of use Tools under consideration: – AdobeConnect, GoToMeeting, Skype RUSA Web Conferencing Task Force chose Blackboard

Recommendation #2: Transition from in-Person to Virtual Meetings Access Not all tech is created equal! Personal vs. work computers Operating systems – Mac vs. PC

Recommendation #2: Transition from in-Person to Virtual Meetings Timing – When is the best time to have a meeting? – Weekday vs. Weekend – Time of day – Time of year – Time zones – Level of Access

Recommendation #2: Transition from in-Person to Virtual Meetings Issues for Committee Chairs and Attendees For Committee Chairs… – Setting goals, meeting schedule and deadlines – Increased communication For Attendees – Funding not available for virtual attendance – Easier to zone out/multitask (not fully engaged) – In-person needs take priority

Recommendation #3: Building and Maintaining a Support Page Good News! The RUSA Web Page and RUSA ALA Connect Site are in place and ready to serve this particular need

Recommendation #3: Building and Maintaining a Support Page How can we make this relationship work? Use both sites in tandem! – Put general information on the RUSA website – Link to the details on the ALA Connect page! Make sure it’s updated! – Easy to do for ALA Connect – What about RUSA Website?

Recommendation #3: Building and Maintaining a Support Page But there’s room for improvement… Drupal Migration: Any Move is a Mess – Site looks great, but you can’t find things. We need good calendar applications/software! – Should be easy to use/update – Must have option to export/download events

Recommendation #4: Joint Programs with ALA Divisions/Roundtables Many RUSA members are also members of another ALA Division/Roundtable Other divisions have collaborated successfully in the past – LITA/LLAMA Leadership conference: 1996

Recommendation #4: Joint Programs with ALA Divisions/Roundtables American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA) Public Library Association (PLA) Future interest: Gov’t Docs Round Table (GODORT) Groups Interested in Collaboration

Recommendation #5: Increase Efficiencies and Eliminate Duplication Across Divisions Who should do this? Not this task force! 2012 Emerging Leaders Project Separate Task force, RUSA Board, Heads of Committees, RUSA O&P Committee?

Recommendation #5: Increase Efficiencies and Eliminate Duplication Across Divisions Some questions to ask in transition planning… Are all sections appropriately meeting RUSA’s Mission and Goals? Is the section based organizational model working? Are there roles that could be best performed by the RUSA board? Is there an appropriate degree of coordination among the six sections? Is there any degree of duplication among the six sections that can be reduc

Heartfelt Thanks to the RUSA Structure Taskforce Greg Fleming (RUSA BRASS) Sarah Jane Hammill (RUSA RSS) Geneva Holliday (RUSA STARS) Edward Kownslar (RUSA CODES) Mary K. Mannix (RUSA History) Donna Scanlon (RUSA MARS) Joseph A. Thompson, Jr. (RUSA Member) Heartfelt thanks as well to Gary White (RUSA President) and everyone at the RUSA home office!

Questions? Contact Me! Twitter: librarian_kate Google Plus: +Kate Kosturski