RUSA professional development is key to success in business reference
Contact: Liz Markel
Marketing Specialist, RUSA/ASCLA
(312) 280-4398
NEWS
For Immediate Release
April 14, 2009
CHICAGO—Library professionals interested in adding basic business knowledge and business reference skills to their resume are invited to participate in
“Business Reference 101,” an online course, and
“Mastering Business Acumen (MBA) in a Day,” a one-day workshop, both offered by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA).
The consistently sold out “Business Reference 101” course is appropriate for all types of librarians and library staff and covers the “how to” of business reference. In addition to demystifying such topics as SIC, NAICS codes, ROI and 10ks, including hands-on use of such proprietary business reference databases as Standard & Poor’s Net Advantage and Thomson/Gale’s Business & Company Resource Center.
To complement the online course, RUSA is also offering “Mastering Business Acumen (MBA) in a Day,” a one-day workshop at the upcoming
ALA Annual Conference in Chicago. This preconference is perfect for public, academic and special librarians, as well as library school students new to business reference interested in building a solid foundation of basic business concepts to more effectively assist patrons with business reference questions. Those who have completed “Business Reference 101” will gain a more comprehensive understanding of topics touched upon in the online course, and will also have the opportunity to participate in small group networking lunches organized by RUSA’S Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS) member ambassadors.
The preconference features experts representing a variety of fundamental business topics, including Elisabeth Leonard, consultant, Library Solutions, and instructor for RUSA's
Marketing Basics for Libraries online course (Management); Chris LeBeau, business reference librarian, University of Missouri, Kansas City, and clinical instructor, School of Information Science and Learning Technologies (Finance); Susan Klopper, executive director, Goizueta Business Library, Emory University (Accounting); and Gary White, head, Schreyer Business Library, Penn State (Marketing).
The next session of “Business Reference 101” runs May 4-29 and is taught by Celia Ross, who has extensive business reference experience and is the chair-elect for BRASS. Registration for the course is open until Monday, April 27, and is
available online or by fax using a
printed registration form. Discounted registration is available for groups of two or more employees from the same institution, consortium or network—those interested should e-mail Liz Markel, RUSA marketing specialist, at
lmarkel@ala.org.
The preconference will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, July 10, in Chicago. This is a ticketed event—you do not need to register for the conference in order to attend, but you do need to register (event code RU3).
Comprehensive conference registration instructions are available at the RUSA blog. Advance registration rates, available until May 22, are $135 for RUSA members, $180 for ALA members, $255 for non-members and $80 for students and retirees. Lunch is not included in the registration fee.
Not a RUSA member, but interested in discounted registration rates on this and other RUSA events? Join, renew or add RUSA to your ALA membership at
www.ala.org/membership. Find out the most up-to-date information about this and all of RUSA's Annual Conference events at the
RUSA events page.
The Business and Reference Services Section (BRASS) represents reference librarians, business information specialist and others engaged in providing services in this area. The Reference and User Services Association, a division of the American Library Association, 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. For more information, visit www.ala.org/rusa.
