Barry Trott takes on new duties as editor of Reference & User Services Quarterly

CHICAGO - Barry Trott, digital services director at Williamsburg (Va.) Regional Library and past-president of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), has been appointed as the incoming editor of Reference & User Services Quarterly (RUSQ), the research journal of RUSA, a division of the American Library Association.

In accepting this position, effective July 1, 2012, Trott takes over for Diane Zabel who has served as editor for the past six years and recently led the successful conversion of the journal from print to a completely digital format. The journal is now hosted by Metapress and is accessible at the Metapress website.

Trott has a long history with RUSQ, having edited the journal’s readers’ advisory column from 2004-2012. He is also a noteworthy contributor to readers’ advisory writing across the profession as a writer for the NoveList database; as the series editor for Libraries Unlimited’s Read On series; and as the author of "Read On . . . Crime Fiction" (2008). He has contributed articles or chapters to numerous publications, including "The Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science," "Reference Reborn" (Libraries Unlimited, 2010), Journal of Library Administration and "Research-Based Readers’ Advisory" (ALA Editions, 2008); and has presented programs on books, readers and reading for the ALA Annual Conference, the Public Library Association (PLA) conference, the Virginia Library Association conference and for library systems throughout the country. In 2007, he was awarded both PLA’s Allie Beth Martin Award and RUSA’s Margaret E. Monroe Library Adult Services Award in recognition for his work in readers’ advisory services.

“RUSA is extremely pleased with the selection of Barry Trott as the new editor of RUSQ,” said Gary White, RUSA president. “Barry has demonstrated his exceptional leadership as president of RUSA in 2010-11 and he had held other leadership positions in the organization for many years. We look forward to the continued success of RUSQ with Barry as editor, and we also acknowledge Diane Zabel’s outstanding work in editing the journal and successfully guiding it to its current digital format.”

In his current capacity at Williamsburg, Trott coordinates the library’s digital collections, services and programs, including the library website and social media. He previously served as the library’s Adult Services director from 2001-2012. He received his BA from the College of William and Mary in 1983 and then worked as a musician for 10 years. He earned his MSLS from The Catholic University of America School of Library and Information Science in 1997, where he also currently serves as an adjunct faculty member.

Reference & User Services Quarterly is the research journal of the Reference and User Services Association. Its purpose is to disseminate information of interest to reference librarians, information specialists and other professionals involved in user-oriented library services. A digital subscription to RUSQ is included with every RUSA membership. Join RUSA now at www.ala.org/membership, or invest in an e-subscription to RUSQ by contacting subscriptions@ala.org or 1 (800) 545-2433, option 5.

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.