President’s Letter | September 2025

Greetings from my office in Cambridge, Massachusetts. As I write this during the final week of August, I find myself, as always, reflecting on how quickly the summer has flown by. With September just around the corner, we are all preparing for the renewed energy and faster pace that the fall season brings.

It is a pivotal time to serve as SSP President. Our industry is navigating a host of ongoing challenges―including market consolidation, evolving publishing models, emerging technologies, and sustained concerns about research integrity. Added to this is a shifting U.S. political landscape, which now brings further threats to academic freedom, research funding, and efforts to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA).

At our Annual Meeting in Baltimore this May, I described myself as your “wartime president.” I pledged that, despite the chaos and uncertainty, SSP will keep “calm and carry on.” We are committed to supporting our members, staying true to our values of community, inclusivity, adaptability, and integrity, and remaining steadfast in our commitment to DEIA. While it may sound like a cliché, I firmly believe that SSP serves as a beacon, helping us weather these turbulent times—together.

The Annual Meeting itself was a powerful reminder of our strength as a community. We welcomed 835 scholarly communications professionals to share ideas, exchange knowledge, connect with friends, and build professional networks. A highlight of the event for me was our joyful flag-waving celebration of the successful completion of the Generations Fund. Thanks to the generosity of 527 individuals and 40 organizations, we achieved our fundraising goal of $500,000!

With the Generations Fund now fully endowed, SSP will be able to support our Fellowship, Mentoring, and DEIA programs for years to come. The stability of this funding will safeguard these crucial initiatives against unforeseen events, such as economic downturns, pandemics, or shifting political climates.

Making SSP a welcoming home for scholarly communications professionals at every career stage remains one of our core strategic goals. No matter what is happening in the wider world, we strive to be a safe harbor for all our members. I recognize that many in our community are impacted by these uncertain times in a variety of ways. Our Career Center, OnDemand Library,  Regional Committee events, and Communities of Interest Network—including the AI in Scholarly Publishing group, Early Career Professionals group, and the Mental Health Awareness and Action group —are just a few of the support, educational, training, and networking resources available to you, wherever you are in your professional journey.

For members facing job displacement, please remember that SSP offers a reduced membership fee for those between positions. Please get in touch with our Membership Administrator, Madelyn Stone, at info@sspnet.org

Thanks to our wonderful community of SSP volunteers and staff who have “kept calm and carried on”, we have finalized the 2025-2026 membership rosters for all 15 committees. I’ve had the privilege of attending several committee kick-off meetings and was truly impressed by the high level of energy and engagement on display. Despite the challenging headlines, I am confident that we have an exciting year ahead.

Please mark your calendar for these upcoming SSP events and opportunities:

• Sept 13 – SSP Washington DC Regional MeetUp
• Oct 7-8 – 2025 New Directions in Scholarly Publishing 
• Oct 15 – SSP Community Dinner at Frankfurt Book Fair
• Oct 16 – The Scholarly Kitchen Live at Frankfurt Book Fair
• Oct 29 – SSP Webinar Series: “Marketing Best Practices: Tips and Tricks to Drive Engagement, Track Metrics, and Support Revenue and Mission Building”
• Nov 4 – SSP Community MeetUp at Charleston Library Conference 
• Nov 19 – SSP Webinar Series: “The Scholarly Kitchen: Current Trends in Scholarly Publishing“

Thank you to everyone who participates in SSP – publishers, librarians, service providers, staff, Board members, co-chairs, committee members, sponsors, fellows, mentors, and mentees. Your time and dedication make this community so very special and resilient.

Best wishes,

Rebecca McLeod
2025-2026 SSP President