Mary Helen Guider-Shaw Library of Social Science on-site book exhibit manager, author of this report. PUBLISHERS THAT EXHIBITED AT THE RSS MEETING: APA Books Bayou Publishing Berghahn Books Brill Cambridge Scholars Publishing U. of Chicago Press Cornell U. Press Cornell Southeast Asia Program Publications Emerald Group Publishing Fulcrum Publishing ISBS Johns Hopkins U. Press Lynne Rienner Publishers U. of Minnesota Press Nehora Press New Society Publishers U. of North Carolina Press Oxford U. Press Perseus Books Group/Westview Polity Princeton U. Press U. of Regina Press Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group Rutgers U. Press SAGE Publications Social Ecology Press Springer SBM Netherlands SUNY Press Taylor & Francis/Earthscan Taylor & Francis Journals Temple U. Press Transaction Publishers Verso Books West Virginia U. Press Wiley/Blackwell Wisconsin Historical Society Press 78th Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society (RSS), August 6-9, Madison, WI RSS is the largest and most important North American organization generating and disseminating knowledge about rural communities, rural life and the environment.

Conferees had many choices for fresh food in the area, and it was no surprise that many commented on how wonderful snacks were at this conference—especially the baked brie served with fruit at the Friday and Saturday morning breaks.

Thankfully brie and books go well together, as our exhibit was in the same room as the coffee breaks and registration at the Madison Concourse Hotel and Governors Club. The location was perfect, allowing attendees to browse titles on display whenever they had a break from sessions.

The book exhibit was spread out across 18 tables around the perimeter of the Senate Rooms, and featured 328 titles from 38 publishers. It was one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of titles on Rural Sociology that attendees had seen—and they were ecstatic about it.

Many attendees commented on how relevant the books were to their research and planning for upcoming classes. Professors who had suggested titles for our exhibit were thrilled to see their books included in the display.

Attendees found titles from Taylor & Francis/Earthscan, Routledge Journals and Springer especially intriguing. Johns Hopkins’ collection of titles focusing on the Amish caught many attendees’ attention

Polity provided a stunning display of 74 titles.

The theme of the conference this year, “Knowing Rural,” focused on different definitions of “rural” and what implications these definitions have. The conference featured two Author-Meets-Critics sessions, including one for Jess Gilbert’s Planning Democracy: Agrarian Intellectuals and the New Deal. We stocked 20 copies of his book and almost sold out!

Next year RSS will meet in Toronto, ON, where we look forward to creating another book exhibit highlighting new, pertinent and exciting titles.

Wisconsin Historical Society highlighted local author, historian and retired professor Jerry Apps’ books.

Jess Gilbert with Planning Democracy before his Author Meets Critics panel.

Attendees stopping in, browsing—and meeting over coffee.

Taylor & Francis/Earthscan’s titles were a hit with attendees.

Johns Hopkins University Press’ titles on the Amish drew a lot of attention.

Cornell Southeast Asia Program Publications to the left of West Virginia University Press’ most recent Rural Studies Series titles.

Titles from Rutgers University Press, Rowman & Littlefield and New Society.	Co-authors Mark Shucksmith and David L Brown with Rural Transformations & Rural Policies in the US & UK (Earthscan).
Students get younger every year: Mary Helen with her son, Jonas.	Springer SBM’s books are always a great draw.