President’s Letter | December 2021

It’s hard to believe that 2021 is coming to an end; and even harder to realize that, for many of us, it’s been another year of not being able to spend time in person with our family, friends, and colleagues. However, there is still a lot to be thankful for! Here in the US, we have just celebrated Thanksgiving—a time for expressing our gratitude—and I’d like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to the individuals and organizations who make up the SSP community, including:

• Our members — we know that the past couple of years have been tough on many organizations financially, but I’m delighted to say that SSP membership has remained very stable. We greatly appreciate your continued support and, to those of you who have already renewed for next year – thank you! If you haven’t got around to renewing yet, we hope you’ll do so as soon as possible.
• Our volunteers — SSP literally couldn’t function without you! Whether you’re a Board member, a Co-Chair, or a committee member, we can’t thank you enough for so generously sharing your time and expertise. I think I’ve now attended every committee’s meetings at least once and your level of enthusiasm and commitment is truly inspiring.
• Our donors —  the Generations Fund is just one year old, and we have been really delighted by the response to date. 125 donors, most of them individuals, have taken us to nearly 50% of our goal, and we are so grateful—as you can see from this video! The fund is intended to help SSP provide permanent, sustainable support for future generations of scholarly publishing leaders—with a particular focus on increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion. If you haven’t contributed yet, please consider doing so. For those of you in the US, donations are fully tax-deductible and there’s still a month to go till the end of the tax year…
• Our speakers — this year’s webinars have been the most successful ever and, together with our first-ever virtual annual conference and another great New Directions seminar, we’ve had the opportunity to hear—and learn—from an amazingly diverse and knowledgeable group of speakers from all around the world. 
• Our chefs — The Scholarly Kitchen continues to thrive, thanks to the work of both our regular chefs and a growing number of guest chefs, whose posts are helping us better reflect the diversity of our community. Pageviews this year are up, making 2021 the most highly read year in Kitchen history!
• Our staff — I can’t end without thanking the SSP staff for everything they do to keep our organization running so smoothly and well. I know I’m not alone in wondering how on earth we would manage without them!

Here’s hoping that 2022 will finally be the year when we are able to start meeting up again in real life. We are planning for an in-person annual meeting June 1-3, in Chicago, IL, and the planning committee is already hard at work reviewing the 80+ proposals received. The theme, Building a More Connected Scholarly Community, couldn’t be more timely and relevant, so look out for more news on this and all the other good stuff we have planned for next year.

In the meantime, I wish you all the very best for a happy holiday season, wherever you are and whatever you’re celebrating!

Alice Meadows
2021-2022 SSP President