SSP President’s e-Letter – Winter 2015

Dear SSP Members,

The winter is upon us. For SSP, that is terrific news! Since I wrote to you in early autumn, SSP has been incredibly active! We have a new strategic direction, exciting new educational and networking events, plus changes at Learned Publishing!

New SSP Strategy

The SSP Board has activated a new exciting strategy for the organization to complement our continuing mission and vision.

Mission: To advance scholarly publishing and communication, and the professional development of its members through education, collaboration and networking.

Vision: SSP will be recognized by members and the global publishing community as the first place to turn for information and dialogue on current and emerging issues in scholarly communication.

Strategy: During the fall and winter of 2014, the SSP board developed and approved the following exciting new strategy for the organization.

Developing scholarly communications professionals for the future

The specific high level goals derived from this strategy are:

• Engaging Early Career Professionals
• Exploring Additional Content
• Reviewing and revising our branding and communication
• Reviewing and revising SSP’s value to its membership

Achieving these goals will lead to an enhanced image for SSP, as well as increased opportunities for financial diversification. I am sure you will agree this is an exciting direction, it nicely emphasizes what we have been doing during the past few years, and it provides focus for the next few years of our growth!

Search for New SSP Executive Director

SSP has seen tremendous growth over the past few years thanks to all of the hard work of its volunteers and the SSP staff of the Kellen Company.  As a result, the Board unanimously agreed that we are at a unique inflection point where it is time to expand our leadership with a dedicated Executive Director, hired by and reporting to the SSP Board. The SSP Executive Director will be the face of SSP and strategically lead the organization to new heights, while continuing to work closely with the President, the Board, and all of the great staff of the Kellen Company. Ann Mehan Crosse will help us in the search for the new position and will then continue to lead all of SSP operations. We are at the beginning phase of this search and more information will be coming soon. We are all looking forward to the continued growth and success of SSP!

Seminars, Webinars and Librarian Focus Groups – oh my!

Our 2014 Fall Seminars focusing on Professional Development, Digital Innovations, and the Library as a Publisher were huge hits. We also had an excellent Professional Development Pre-conference Workshop at the Charleston Conference. This format worked so well that we are well into the planning for next year!

We finished our 2014 Webinar Series with a well-attended webinar focusing on Publishing Services Vendor Integration. The amazing team already has the 2015 Webinar Series underway with:

• Webinar #1 – March 10 – “Oh, the places we’ll go! Career Management in the Scholarly Publishing Field”
• Webinar #2 – April 14 – “The World Is Flat for Scholarly Publishing”
• Webinar #3 – September 8 – “Evolving Engagement Strategies – are we getting sticky or stuck?”
• Webinar #4 – October 13 – “Who’s Wagging the Dog?  The Role of Funder Mandates in Defining the Needs of End Users”

Register today!

Our Librarian Focus Group was held on February 3rd at the National Academy of Sciences in DC to a sold out room. Aiming to capitalize on the massive interest in these types of events we have planned a second one on August 31st at the CHEST facility in Chicago. More details coming soon!

Much thanks goes to the coordinated leadership and members of the Education, Marketing, Development, Communications and Professional Development Committees for making these all happen.

Regional Events

Our members have spoken! Many of you have asked for more local programming and informal networking events. We have heard you loud and clear. Our Education Committee is already hard at work alongside some steadfast volunteers to bring the first of those to you in the New England neighborhood as soon as this spring! This first event will hopefully act as a springboard for more regional events near you. Contact Ann Mehan Crosse to find out how you can get involved.

2015 SSP 37th Annual Meeting: The New Big Picture: Connecting Diverse Perspectives – May 27 – 29, Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, Virginia (DC Metro area)

This is shaping up to potentially be the best meeting ever. Ken Auletta, The New Yorker magazine columnist and prolific book author, and Charles Watkinson, Associate University Librarian for Publishing at University of Michigan Libraries and Director of University of Michigan are joined by our third confirmed keynote speaker, Jennifer Lawton, CEO of MakerBot. She will speak about leadership and innovation from her very unique perspective. The program is now officially complete! Registration opens in early March!

Watch the SSP website for more information soon!

New North American Editor to Learned Publishing

For several years, Diane Scott-Lichter has been quietly doing a spectacular job as the SSP appointed North American Editor for Learned Publishing. So when Diane told us she needed to step down, we were extremely lucky and honored to find Judy Luther to replace her in October 2014. Judy has already made her mark by securing Learned Publishing a place on the home page of the SSP webpage. As an SSP member, get a complimentary subscription to this journal, so why not check it out!

We want your help!

I remind you all that our SSP organization is only as strong as our volunteers, so please let us know if you interested in helping out with any of these committees:

• Annual Meeting
• Audit
• Communications
• Development
• Education
• Finance
• Marketing
• Membership
• Nominating/Awards
• Organization Collaboration
• Professional Development
• Travel Grants Working Group:
• Scholarly Kitchen Cabinet
• Data Access Task Force

Click here for more details or to volunteer, simply contact our Executive Director, Ann Mehan Crosse and she will make sure you get connected!

At a little over my half term mark, it is my continued honor to be serving you as President of SSP and helping it go from strength to strength.  With all of your continued ideas and support, we will continue to grow this amazing organization to new heights. Keep them coming!

Warm regards,

Howard Ratner

SSP President, 2014-15