There was a lot of SIGUCCS Activity going on this past week.
I attended the first in-person annual SGB (SIG Governing Board) meeting since before the pandemic, and the SIGUCCS Executive Committee met for two whole days to discuss various topics related to the SIG.
Some updates from the SGB include an overview of the state of ACM Special Interest Groups provided by the president of ACM, as well as information from ACM about Open ACM (their new publishing program), ACM Financials and SIG Overhead, and the services provided by ACM to the SIGS.
From the ACM president’s presentation, it was interesting to see that some of the issues that we see in our SIG are also common in other special interest groups, including declining membership and lack of volunteers. The president of ACM also talked about looking for ways to reach younger professionals and diverse populations, and how to use different modalities to perform different conference functions (presentation, publication, and interaction were the terms he used to describe the benefits of conferences).
The second most interesting thing to come from the SGB meeting was the information about Open ACM – their new publishing program. In 2020 they announced that all content would be open access starting in 2026. Since then, they have been working to create a program (Open ACM, see https://libraries.acm.org/subscriptions-access/acmopen) that will go into effect January 1, 2026. This program could impact the future of publishing papers as part of the SIGUCCS conference, so you should be aware of this program.
Turning to SIGUCCS business, the board was able to view the location for the 2024 conference and discuss logistics for our meeting in April. We are excited to be returning to Chicago at the other end of the Magnificent Mile. Within walking distance of the Westin where we spent the 2023 conference, the Embassy Suites location opens up a new set of opportunities for exploring dining and attractions at the end of the day. The hotel also offers breakfast every day and a reception every evening. The meeting spaces are perfect for our small conference and presentation information will soon be available for review. We think you will be excited to attend!
We also began to review sites for the 2025 conference. No news yet. But we have some prospects.
Another topic of discussion was the Affinity Groups that were begun after the last conference and their viability. While attendance at these is not large, and it is sometimes difficult to decide on topics, we feel that these are a valuable opportunity to reconnect and stay engaged between conferences. We plan to continue these meetings but we need your help.
ACTION ITEMS:
If YOU have ideas for a short presentation (10-15 minutes) that can be part of the Affinity Groups sessions, where you provide your expertise, followed by a discussion and conversation with your colleagues, please reach out to Miranda to schedule something! We’d love to showcase your expertise in this safe environment.
If YOU have ideas for a topic you would like to attend, please reach out to Miranda with that topic idea. We want to make these sessions something that is helpful and useful to you.
Lisa Brown (she/her)
ACM SIGUCCS Chair
http://siguccs.org
