A History of Innovation and a Future of Possibility

Abstract

Close to fifteen years ago some very bright people in RUSA decided to create a space where the most significant reference research of the year could be shared with RUSA members and other ALA Annual Conference attendees. The Reference Research Forum, sponsored by the RSS Research and Statistics committee, highlights three research projects and informs the community of cutting edge and vital considerations in the field. Over the past fourteen-plus years, the forum has stood as an example of the best of RUSA. It was innovative and allowed to happen--we are really good at trying new ideas. It was focused on front-line staff we are all about the work that happens at the desk with the user. And it was collaborative--we are big on bringing people together. We have a long history of doing good, and our past inspires our future. Long before the Reference Research Forum was conceived, RUSA established such venerated institutions as the Dartmouth Medal, the Notable Books List, and the Isadore Gilbert Mudge Award. All three groups select the best of our profession--the best reference book of the year; the most notable fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for adults; and the librarian who has best embodied our ideals. If RUSA's achievements stopped at the creation of the Reference Research Forum, Notable Books, Dartmouth, and Mudge committees, we would have much to be proud of in our history But RUSA has done a great deal more and is solidly focused on a future full of possibility. RUSA's guiding principle is its focus on the user, and much of our work is designed to help librarians working on the front desk or managing a department. We have national guidelines that inform professional practice, help us set benchmarks and local policy, and develop internal training and standards. Just recently, RUSA revised its definition of reference--a definition long recognized as a core document of the profession--and our guidelines on virtual reference (VR) have been used as part of the foundations of a new book on offering VR in your library. Virtual Reference Best Practices: Tailoring, Services to Your Library by M. Kathleen Kern (ALA Editions, 2008) illustrates how RUSA's guidelines can be used to shape local policy and guide implementation. If you have never spent time looking through the guidelines RUSA offers, take some time to do so. You will find the best thinking of our profession, sharply honed to help address any number of issues. Looking toward the future, RUSA has many projects underway that will help us figure out what is next. MARS, the Machine-Assisted Reference Section of RUSA, debuted the MARS Virtual Poster Session, a project run by the MARS Management of Electronic Resources and Services Committee, at ALA Annual Conference 2008. The sessions all focused on using evaluation data to change and improve virtual reference. In future years the poster sessions will examine other hot topics in the field. Hot off the presses, as it were, RUSA founded a juried book list that selects the best single book in eight different genres. The Reading List marks the first time ALA has focused its collective experience and attention on genre literature. …