compiled by Marsha Bishop

PASP Report
Paula Szkody, Editor PASP

The PASP had a normal Volume 122 in 2010 and is heading for a similar situation for Volume 123. There were 137 papers and 1543 printed pages in Volume 122. The PASP continues to publish research articles, reviews, and dissertation abstracts. The articles encompass planetary, stellar, galactic and extragalactic observations as well as new instrumentation, data analysis and atmospheric phenomena. Our median publication time for normal articles from receipt at UW to acceptance is 59 days, with the longest delays due to author revisions.

During the past year, the time for open access from time of publication decreased to 2 years, with authors retaining the right to make use of astro-ph with their accepted articles. Other changes included the UCP move of its journals to JSTOR to handle the web interface and access. The PASP continues to have advance notice of upcoming articles with its “Ahead of Print” link, as well as topics sorted by category in each issue for the convenience of readers.

For 2012, institution prices will remain the same as in 2011, while page charges for authors will increase from $105 to $110 (comparable to AAS journals). Color figures in print will remain at $150 per figure. PASP continues to solicit high quality review and scientific articles and to find ways to keep the journal affordable for both individuals and institutions.

ASP Conference Series Report
Joe Jensen, ASPCS Managing Editor

The ASP Conference Series published 23 volumes during 2010. Twelve have been published in 2011 thus far, with a few more on the way before the end of the year. Since the first of July, our readers have accessed 18,000 abstracts and more than 7000 articles. We average 30,000 visits from more than 5,000 unique visitors from countries all over the world to our website per month. This does not include abstracts and papers accessed through the popular NASA ADS service. In the past we have not collected usage statistics by institution, but due to recent demand, we are now collecting those statistics. We plan to provide those in an automated way next year; for now we will answer usage queries individually as needed.

The Conference Series continues to focus on three objectives: publishing more quickly, reducing workload for authors and editors, and maintaining a high-quality, affordable product. The ASPCS is also seeking to gain greater recognition, promote the ASP’s mission, and increase the impact of our contributing authors’ work by establishing and marketing a new type of inexpensive electronic-only subscription for non-research institutions. The purpose of our marketing campaign is to introduce the ASP mission and the ASPCS’s products (proceedings and monographs) to a wider audience of science educators and other professionals at non-research institutions. The flyers (see attached) have been sent to about 200 institutions. Please contact us for more information if you are interested.

Finally, in an effort to modernize our computer systems and significantly reduce workload for the authors, editors, and ourselves, we are designing a new user interface and database management system to automate many of the tedious tasks that are currently handled in a very haphazard and labor-intensive way.

by Stella Ota

It’s over 16 months away but planning for the 2013 SLA annual conference in San Diego kicked off at the SLA Leadership Summit in January. Changes are afoot! The most notable conference redesign is a reduced number of “lead” sessions allowed for each unit: five sessions max.

For PAM, this change provides both an opportunity and an imperative to rethink our traditional six programs: the four roundtables (Physics, Astronomy, Mathematics, Computer Science) plus the PAM-wide and the Business Meeting. What is most important for our division members at annual conference? As your 2013 program planner, I am definitely looking for input.

The conference redesign was based in part on attendee feedback and the economic times. The intent is to encourage collaboration among units, to develop sessions of high interest to a broad group of attendees, and to reduce equipment costs borne by the units.

PAM's own Sally Bosken, librarian at USNO, with Dr. James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress, at book donation.

by Geoff Chester, via Sally Bosken

The U.S. Naval Observatory’s (USNO) James M. Gilliss Library donated a copy of a rare book to the Thomas Jefferson collection at the Library of Congress Jan. 20.

Rear Adm. Jonathan White, commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (CNMOC), presented a Latin version of Sur la Figure de la Terre, written by the 18th century French mathematician and philosopher Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis, to Dr. James H. Billington, the librarian of Congress to help the library recreate its collection of books that were once owned by Thomas Jefferson.

While serving as the U.S. ambassador in Paris in 1789, Jefferson ordered a copy of Maupertuis’ Latin version, Figura Telluris de Maupertuis, which was published in Leipzig, Germany in 1742. It was one of a number of books he selected from a catalogue issued by a book seller in Strasbourg, Armand Koenig.

The book was ordered June 29, 1789. It was sent to Jefferson and was included in a bill from Koenig dated July 17. It was entered without price by Jefferson in his undated manuscript library catalogue.

In 1815, Jefferson sold his books to the Library of Congress to restart its collection after the burning of the original library in the War of 1812. His library – now on display in the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress – was considered one of the finest in the United States at the time.

Over the years the Library of Congress’ copy of Figura Telluris de Maupertuis was lost. The USNO library has two copies of the work, the original French edition printed in 1738, and the Latin version from 1742. Lt. James M. Gilliss purchased the French version and a copy of Maupertuis’ Astronomie Nautique in 1843 in Paris. USNO has no record of when the Latin version was purchased.

The USNO library was established in 1842 with an $800 allotment from the $25,000 appropriation which funded the observatory’s first permanent home in Washington’s Foggy Bottom district. Today it holds more than 80,000 titles and is considered to be one of the world’s premier astronomical libraries.

USNO’s mission includes determining the positions and motions of the Earth, sun, moon, planets, stars and other celestial objects, providing astronomical data; determining precise time; measuring the Earth’s rotation; and maintaining the master clock for the United States.

by Michael Chesnes

by Ruth Kneale

As Past-Chair, I have the distinct pleasure of hosting the Division Newcomer’s Lunch at the Annual Conference. This year in Chicago, we will be exploring the cuisine of Russia and Central Asia at Russian Tea Time (www.russianteatime.com)! This should be a grand culinary adventure – I can’t wait to try the latkes and pelmeni!

We’ll be lunching on Sunday, July 15th, time to be nailed down later. This lunch is open to all PAM newcomers – either new to the division or who are attending Annual Conference for the first time. Members of the PAM Board also attend, so you can get some quality time with them. If you’re interested in attending, drop me a line at rkneale@nso.edu before June 4th.

We are once again fortunate to have this special event sponsored by Lev Malov of Turpion Publications. Thank you, Lev and Turpion!

by Nisa Bakkalbasi

Happy and successful New Year to all PAM members and Bulletin readers!

Welcome to the new Executive Board of the Division:

Chair: Nisa Bakkalbasi (through 12/2012)
Chair-Elect: Stella Ota (through 12/2012)
Past Chair: Ruth Kneale (through 12/2012)
Treasurer: Michael Chesnes (through 12/2013)
Secretary: Elizabeth (Beth) Brown (through 12/2012)

I want to thank Ruth Kneale, for her tireless work, enthusiasm, creative ideas, and endless energy in 2011 and welcome Stella Ota, as Chair-Elect, and Michael Chesnes, as Treasurer. All new officers for the current year are listed at the PAM Staff Page (http://pam.sla.org/manual/staff/current/). Please extend a thank you to them all for their commitment to PAM. If you are interested in volunteering in any of the committees, please let me know.

I am delighted to begin the New Year with congratulatory announcements. First, congratulations to Ruth Kneale, who was nominated by PAM Division and selected by SLA Awards & Honors Program as a Fellow of SLA in recognition of her leadership in her career as information professional. I am also delighted to announce that Mr. Narendar K. Wadhwa is the winner of the 2012 PAM International Award. Mr. Wadhwa, serves as the Scientist & Head at the Knowledge Resource Centre, National Physical Laboratory in New Delhi, India. Thank you to Khue Duong, chair of the International Relations Committee, and his co-chair, Catherine Vu, for their outstanding work in coordinating the entire award process.

Stella, Ruth and I had the opportunity to attend this year’s Leadership Summit in Atlanta, Georgia, 25 – 28 January. 2012 President Brent Mai launched the Summit with the association’s vision for 2012-2014. We’ve attended sessions on how the association’s initiatives and priorities will affect our division. A most exciting component of the Summit was the research and best practices developed to date on the year-long Loyalty Project, which was led by James Kane. Leaders from the six chapters who have been working with him shared their experiences in following areas: member relationships; leadership relationships, engaging remote members; community relationships and vendor relationships. Stella, Ruth, and I can’t wait to put what we learned into practice as we plan programs for our division.

I would like to take this opportunity to give you a brief update on program planning for Chicago. Many thanks to dedicated and energetic PAM Staff and our generous sponsors, 2012 program is coming along very nicely. In the light of our current fiscal realities and rising cost of sessions, in 2012 we will offer a program that is simpler but rich in experience. Due to the increasing cost of food (e.g. $46 p/Boxed Lunch), beverages (e.g. $95 coffee p/gallon), and A/V equipment (e.g. $972.00 LCD Projector and Screen), we had to cut on food, beverages, and projections systems from some of the sessions. As we get closer to the date, I will be sharing details through PAMnet. The session moderators have been hard at work to ensure there will be engaging discussions on timely and relevant topics. Please take the time to respond to their calls as they seek your input.

In closing, I look forward to seeing all of you in Chicago in July. Even if circumstances prevent you from attending the conference, there are many ways for you to get involved. Just drop us a line.