President’s Letter | December 2022

Part of working in the publishing business is you can’t help but look ahead. Production schedules are already nudging us along three or four (or more) months beyond the current calendar day, and library budgets are locked in place months (if not years) beyond tomorrow. The biggest scholarly communications news in 2022 (OSTP Memo) was an announcement in August 2022 to check back with the big funding agencies in February 2023 to learn what they will publish in 2024 to be ready for 2025. When the world tells us to stop and be present, it’s not what comes naturally. This is why we must concentrate on our accomplishments and remind ourselves that “adaptability” is one of our guiding core values. And, as an industry, we are poised to challenge the “status quo, embrace new ideas, and maintain effectiveness in an evolving environment”. As we collectively end 2022, be confident the Society for Scholarly Publishing’s community will be there to provide the collective knowledge, relationships, and networks to thrive in 2023. 

That said, I’m still disappointed in myself. In 2022 I broke a personal promise. I did not take as much time off from work as I could have. Instead, I accepted Friday afternoon invites and dragged my feet on planning long weekend getaways. Now the year is over, and it’s use it or lose it time. If you’re like me, you’re working hard to close out the year and plan the new one. One thing that centers me during times like this is writing a list. Getting my professional priorities out of my head and on a notepad that will sit perseveringly on my desk until I return from a much-needed respite. Here are some items you may want to add to your 2023 list:

• Expand your professional community by posting and following the Member Exchange on the C3 Forum. Did you know there was a place to share and learn about conferences, events, resources, announcements, and developments related to scholarly communication? More than 1800 people receive regular updates from C3 and have engaged in more than 700 discussions, ranging from let’s meet in our town to how to handle an Editor Search. 
• Find a mentee. Either within your organization or through programs like SSP’s Mentorship program, there is a path for you to support those following your footsteps. One of my goals as SSP president is to ensure resources are available to support professional growth for those just walking into a publishing house or library to those who have held titles like manager, director, or executive. Many of those resources are stored under the SSP page, Getting Into Publishing, but my suggestion is we rename this page to Your Publishing Career. It’s filled with links to open positions, and early career support, including the fellowship program, and the Professional Skills Map. The map is a great tool for everyone to identify the skills they have and skills they’d like to explore. The professional profiles, also linked from this page, introduce you to scholarly communication professionals by industry level and career stage.
• Attend SSP’s Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon: “Transformation, Trust, and Transparency,” happening May 31–June 2, 2023. This will be your chance to learn and network with colleagues.
• Plan some fun around making a difference. Make a commitment to participate in the Generations Fund activities in 2023. From Games for Good virtual parties to the events like the reception held this year at American Geophysical Union, there will be plenty of opportunities to enjoy supporting such an important cause.

All these items will be on my 2023 to-do list. I’d love to hear about your 2023 priorities. Stop by the Member Exchange and share! 

Thank you for being part of the SSP community.