Past President's Reflection: Ed Barnas

I am not a Charter Member - I joined SSP in the mid-1980s at a point in my career when I wanted to expand my knowledge and experience beyond those areas my job required. I went to a number of publishing meetings, found much to learn in all of them, and met a number of wonderful colleagues, many of whom were involved in multiple societies.

I soon found myself gravitating to SSP because of its explicit commitment to fostering communication across the entire scholarly publishing cycle. Having a forum where all actors in the process can meet and exchange views is important in a world of specialists and is one of the reasons why so many of our members come to SSP. I soon found myself getting more and more involved in SSP activities, sitting on program committees, editing the print newsletter, being elected to the Board of Directors, and eventually having the honor to serve as president for our 25th Annual Meeting in 2003.

While I have learned much during my years in SSP, what I value most are the opportunities SSP offers to meet with colleagues across the spectrum and to talk with and learn from each other. We may not always agree, but we have a forum to express our views and discuss our differences.

Even though I have recently retired from Cambridge University Press, I plan to stay actively engaged in our publishing community, maintaining my membership in SSP and looking forward to the 2009 Annual Meeting in Baltimore.

Ed Barnas has been involved with scholarly journal publishing since 1972. His career began at a society publisher (AIP), moved through both large and specialized commercial houses (John Wiley & Sons, Raven Press), and then back into the not-for-profit sector at Cambridge University Press. Ed has been active in a number of scholarly publishing groups. He  plans to pursue a balance between consulting and photography.