Editor's desktop

Abstract

We have photos galore in our expanded Inside ASIS&T coverage of the 2010 Annual Meeting. Also, we bring you an article on Lucy Suchman's plenary address as reported by Steve Hardin. My thanks to Steve who has faithfully taken on this duty for us for as long as I've been editor of the Bulletin, which now qualifies as “many years.” Related to this coverage we have several articles on leadership development for the Society and especially on the recruitment and retention of student members. I don't think we can say “catch them while they're young” because so many IS students have had significant careers before they turn to this profession, which makes them very able to make immediate and significant professional contributions. As the New Leadership Program shows, ASIS&T is particularly fortunate in this regard. Aspects of this theme are covered in contributions by Crystal Fulton, this year's winner of the James M. Cretsos Award, Candy Schwartz in her report on the New Leaders Program and Linda Smith on her President's Page. Our special section on the business of independent information professionals is continued from the October/November 2010 issue (www.asis.org/Bulletin/Oct–10/index.html). The theme of Part III is “Making It Work.” Seven authors discuss such issues as expanding your business through subcontracting with domestic and international partners, marketing and using teaching as a strategic part of growing your business. In his IA column, Thom Haller reinforces the customer focus of the special section with his look at the importance of considering the corporate context within which a particular project, such as a website redesign, takes place. Looking beyond the content, the Bulletin package itself is undergoing a transitional process aimed at improving its visibility and utility. Most of the intended changes will roll out over several future issues. But beginning with this issue, you'll see an important addition. Indexing that has always been available for the Bulletin version hosted in the ASIS&T Digital Library will now be included in the versions hosted at asis&t.org. Also, we are adding abstracts for all feature articles, including those in special sections, and many of our other columns and editorial elements. These improvements will give us more options for displaying content in the future.