Guide to RUSA events at Annual Conference now available for download

Untitled Document

Contact: Liz Markel
Marketing Specialist, RUSA/ASCLA
(312) 280-4398
lmarkel@ala.org

NEWS
For Immediate Release
May 26, 2009

<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />CHICAGO—A comprehensive guide to the Reference and User Services Association’s (RUSA) programming and events at the upcoming ALA Annual conference is now available for download from the ALA/RUSA website.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

The guide opens with RUSA’s 2009 preconferences, which are sponsored by the division’s various special interest sections. Participants in “Reinvented Reference V,” sponsored by RUSA’s Reference Services Section (RSS) and Machine-Assisted Reference Section (MARS), will tackle the challenges of technology, assessment, collaboration and reference staffing in a collaborative program format. RUSA RSS’s “A Dialogue With the Aging Network and the Library Community: The New Guidelines on Library and Information Services to Older Adults” will Investigate opportunities for collaboration with local organizations serving older adults, and review the newly revised RUSA guidelines on library services for older adults. The Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS) will host Mastering Business Acumen (MBA) in a Day, which tackles all of the business knowledge necessary to effectively address patrons’ business-related questions and complements the successful Business Reference 101 online course offered by RUSA. The fourth and final preconference, “From Lincoln Logs to Linkin’ Families,” is offered by RUSA’s History section and focuses on African-American family history research techniques and Illinois-based genealogy resources.

Also featured in the guide is RUSA’s premiere event for book lovers: the Literary Tastes Breakfast. Sponsored by the Collection Development and Evaluation Section, the annual event features authors from RUSA’s 2009 literary award sections, and provides attendees with an opportunity to hear from the authors firsthand about their books. This year’s author lineup includes Toby Barlow (Sharp Teeth), Mark Harris (Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood), Peter Manseau (Songs for the Butcher’s Daughter),and Nick Taylor (American-Made: The Enduring Legacy of the WPA: When FDR Put the Nation to Work). The breakfast and preconferences require advance ticket purchases; participants may register for preconferences without registering for the entire ALA conference. Registration instructions can be found at the RUSA blog.

The guide also lists RUSA’s 2009 programs, which cover topics relevant to all types of libraries. Specifically, this year’s programs will address reference, including business reference, historical reference and the latest research in reference services; resource sharing and user privacy; collection development, including Spanish-speaking populations and genre fiction; cataloging; customer service; and readers advisory. Download the guide for complete information and program locations.

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