Chapter 6: Publications

Back to Guide to Policies & Procedures
 

RUSA publishes:

  • A journal, RUSQ.
  • RUSA Update (a website, plus e-mail announcements, for keeping members up-to-date)
  • Professional standards, guidelines, and recommendations (see Chapter 4) 

 

Guidelines Governing Publishing Activities:

  • RUSQ, the division's official quarterly journal, has first consideration rights to publish products of a RUSA committee or section, subject to the guidelines established by the editor of RUSQ.
  • RUSQ: Articles and column material should be sent directly to the editor of RUSQ or as directed by the current RUSQ policy.Guidelines developed by RUSA units and given final approval by the RUSA Board of Directors for final approval may be submitted to RUSQ for publication consideration.
  • Promising manuscripts developed by RUSA committees or sections that are not appropriate for publication in RUSQ or elsewhere within the division should be referred to ALA Editions with the assistance of the RUSA staff. If RUSQ and ALA Editions both waive the right to publish, the manuscript may be made available to other ALA divisions or agencies outside ALA (e.g., commercial publishers). Such contracts and initial arrangements may be made by the body that authored the manuscript. Final contractual arrangements are made by the RUSA executive director. The RUSA executive director must be kept informed at each step in the process.

 

Style and definitions:

ALA follows The Chicago Manual of Style in all publications. ALA uses the Random House Webster's College Dictionary for spelling and word division. For definitions relevant to reference and adult services, RUSA uses those contained in American National Standard for Library and Information Sciences and Related Publishing Practices-Library Statistics (ANSI 239.7-1983 ISSN: 0276-0762).

 

RUSQ: A Journal of Reference and User Experience:

RUSQ is the official journal of RUSA. The purpose of RUSQ is to disseminate information of interest to reference librarians, bibliographers, adult services librarians, those in collection development and selection, and others interested in public services. The scope of the journal includes all aspects of library service to adults, and reference service and collection development at every level and for all types of libraries. The journal follows a policy of double-blind refereeing of articles in advance of publication.

The RUSQ editor is appointed for a three-year, once-renewable term by the Board of Directors upon recommendation of a selection panel. The selection panel consists of the following: the current editor, two column editors, and three representatives from the RUSQ Board: one from an academic library, one from a public library, and one from a LIS school to be selected by the current editor. The current editor will chair the selection panel.

The editor works with the executive director to implement Board policy, and to coordinate activities with the ALA Publishing Office and its staff. The editor reports administratively to the RUSA Board and presents to the Board, via the RUSA Executive Director, budget, policy, and other items requiring Board action. The editor provides informational reports to the Board as requested.

The editor is responsible for:

  • Managing RUSQ editorial office and the refereeing process.
  • Encouraging the submission of high-quality articles and maintaining and developing positive relationships with authors and potential authors.
  • Editing copy and related operations.
  • In consultation with ALA Production Services, determining the layout and design of each issue.
  • Managing the work of column editors.
  • Providing copy for four issues per year to ALA production services for layout and production.
  • Managing the work of the RUSQ Editorial Advisory Board.
  • Communicating regularly with the RUSA Board of Directors.

Members of the Board of Directors affirm their roles of non-interference with editorial decisions, in accordance with the spirit of encouraging units to "endorse and apply the principle of freedom of the press" articulated in ALA Policy Manual section 10.2. Source: RASD Board, June, 1991.

 

RUSA Update https://rusaupdate.org/:

RUSA Update (not to be confused with the formerly titled publication RUSA Update and later the Quarterly Update) is the site maintained by RUSA Office staff that includes major announcements, the calendar of RUSA events, and tools and resources useful for conducting RUSA business.  This site is also useful for member engagement and can include member blog posts moderated by RUSA office staff.  Additionally, major postings to the site go to members under the heading "RUSA Update."

 

For historical context and to help with confusion:

RUSA formerly had an update publication:

From 1980-1996 (as RASD Update) and 1996-2001 (as RUSA Update) this publication was published as a quarterly newsletter. 2002-2003 issues were published as a column in RUSQ. In 2004, the title was began publishing online as  RUSA Update and (from 2017) entitled Quarterly Update - http://www.rusaupdate.org/quarterly-update/).

 

 

(To be updated by the RUSQ Editor and by the RUSA Office Staff.) (Last updated 7/11/2025.)