Diane Dias De Fazio

Editor’s Note

It’s harder than one might think, writing your first Editor’s note for a storied publication. There are so many things to mention, and so many clichés to avoid. Take the “Here’s what to expect in this issue” approach, and an Editor might feel they’d taken the easy way out; expend words on personal philosophies, and hazard alienating readers from the outset. Compromise and offer a bit of both? —Well, that would be too obvious. Besides, someone will, eventually, ask: Writing, eh? Is that still a thing?

This issue of RBM, hyperbole aside, marks the start of a new era. I am grateful and honored to follow Dr. Richard Saunders, Dr. Jennifer Sheehan, and esteemed editors and editorial boards that established RBM as a noteworthy journal.

This issue is lean, but is presented with a promise: it will be followed by volumes that emphasize and showcase your work in greater depth. You, dear RBMS community, are doing great and important things. It’s time they were illuminated in print. RBM, going forward, will continue to reflect on our organization, and provide recommendations for the Section’s path forward. There will be articles in languages other than English. There will be essays that chronicle our presence and assess the impact of our activism. There will be essays based on recent RBMS conference presentations. Additionally, I hope to further emphasize the “Cultural Heritage” aspect of this journal’s title by working with public historians, museum educators, and our colleagues in the art librarianship community. This journal will be a platform for booksellers, early- and mid-career authors, students, collectors—and as many voices that previously felt RBM was not for them—as possible.

It is my goal to provide early-career professionals and global voices with an outlet in which to share their work and perspectives. This starts with being an open door in terms of any and all questions and suggestions!

RBMS has a solid track record of providing funding to attend the annual conference to individuals who self-identify as part of an underrepresented group. It is my mission to bring those voices to the journal, starting with reaching out to the lists of scholarship awardees and those who submitted proposals for the Power of New Voices sessions. And as a Latina, a person who grew up in Appalachia, and a person with a disability, I represent at least three groups that have, so far, not been widely heard in special collections librarianship writing. I hope that my presence will inspire—or infuriate—librarians and archivists, enough to spur creative and discussion-provoking submissions.

For the record, some topics I would like to see in future RBM issues include (in no particular order):

• Climate resilience and reevaluation of prior scholarship
• Censorship
• The future of special collections librarianship
• Protection services and security
• RBMS membership statistics
• Work/life balance: caregiving, work-from-home, post-COVID working landscape
• Twentieth-century duplicative technology, zines, and artists’ books
• Bibliography outside the U.S. and Western canon—looking toward the Caribbean, Africa, and non-western languages

RBM is a public service and has a responsibility to its members, and it operates under the good graces of ACRL and the RBMS Executive committee. I hope to engage more with our ACRL reps and RBMS’s Executive Committee, perhaps even publish a Chair’s message and/or something from the conference co-chairs in future Spring issues, timed to coincide with the annual conference.

In the meantime, share your ideas, and get to know me and the RBM Board a little better! Applications to volunteer with us open in December on the ACRL portal. We look forward to hearing from you.

Finally, a note on the cover, which reflects on the importance of documentation of non-white stories and experiences. Shown are images of places lost in the August 2023 fires of Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii. Documented as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in the 1960s, the images exemplify the role of special collections to preserve—and make visible—immigrant, migrant, and working-class histories that might have otherwise gone overlooked.