The Society for Scholarly Publishing President’s Letter highlights scholarly publishing news from the last quarter, resources you might have missed, and reflects on progress toward our community’s strategic goals.
Spring has not yet sprung here in Connecticut, but our daily high temperatures are an improvement over a few weeks ago–and I’ll take any positive things I can identify right now. With this latest letter, I want to stress again the importance of caring for yourself and those around you. Seeing you in Baltimore in May remains a bright spot for me. Early registration is now open–it’s not an understatement to say that the hotel rooms will fill up fast, so make your plans today!
In case you missed it, the SSP Board released a statement on February 12 reaffirming our core values. SSP’s support for expanding the diversity of professionals working in scholarly communications has long been a part of our organizational DNA.
We had a great check-in with our new Fellows a few weeks ago. They are working hard on their posters and preparing to present in Baltimore. Adding the poster presentation to the list of fellowship requirements wasn’t just a “make work” project; the effort promotes teamwork and gives Fellows a tangible research output (which they can go on to publish if they wish), as well as a hands-on activity at the conference itself. I can’t wait to see how these posters come out!
Judges have been hard at work scoring the entries for the first-ever EPIC Awards. These awards for Excellence in Publishing, Information Technology, and Communications, which will be presented for the first time at the celebration dinner in Baltimore, are certain to become highly sought-after achievements across our industry.
Have you heard that we have a new strategic plan? The Board and the Committee Chairs were hard at work during the past year in identifying and discussing a wide range of SSP activities and assessing our top priorities moving forward for the next five years. With the assistance of President-Elect Rebecca McLeod and Board Member Mike Di Natale, I’ll be presenting a high-level overview during a webinar on April 9 at noon Eastern. You can register now!
You may have received our communications around the Generations Fund–we’re doing all we can to finish it by the Annual Meeting. I’ve chipped in with a recurring monthly donation. Maybe you could consider joining me? The highly popular silent auction will also happen again this year, along with the Virtual 5K (registration open)—which I completed last year while walking my dogs, so there are many ways to contribute. Help SSP help future generations with programming and support!
If you are looking for inspiration now, you can still join the current Leadership Academy cohort–the second session, Synergy in Action: Elevating Leadership through Dynamic Teamwork and Collaboration, is coming up on March 19th!
Submissions are also being accepted for the Emerging Leader Award. I’m sure you have amazing individuals in your organization who don’t receive the recognition they deserve. Submit an application by March 28!
Presidential and Board Elections are coming up; watch for the announcement in mid-March. This is one opportunity for your vote to shape the current (and future) direction of SSP. While industry service can be time-consuming (and daunting sometimes), I guarantee you that it’s worth the effort.
In other news, the Inaugural Rosenblum Award for Scholarly Publishing Impact was given to the DOI. I can’t imagine what our industry would be like without workaday infrastructure like the DOI. I’m sure that Bruce would be pleased to see this choice. Thanks to everyone who submitted ideas and judged the entries.
I, for one, am exhausted just reviewing all that’s in this letter. Think of all the people required to bring all of these things to fruition. There is no group of people I would rather come together with to make things happen!
Sincerely,
Heather Staines
2024–2025 SSP President
