SSILA is thrilled to announce the launch of the SSILA Newsletter and Bulletin archives on the SSILA website! SSILA issued its quarterly newsletter from 1981–2012, and the electronic bulletin from 1993–2012. Both were edited primarily by Victor Golla. The archives contain copies of nearly every one of the newsletters and bulletins, serving as a rich and valuable insight into SSILA's history. We hope you enjoy perusing the archive!
Note: The Newsletter and Bulletin archives are available to SSILA members only. If you are already a member, simply log into the website here. If you would like to purchase a SSILA membership, you can do so on the memberships page.
Beginning with the founding of the organization in 1981, SSILA issued a quarterly newsletter under the Editorship of Victor Golla (initially Ken Whistler, and later also Karen Sue Rolph), first in physical form, and later in digital format. In its first year in particular, the newsletter was intended to "serve as an important forum for discussion of the goals of the Society". It then evolved into a forum for announcements of interest to members, and discussion of issues in the field.
In 1993, with the advent of the internet, email, and listservs, the Society also began issuing an electronic bulletin, which was sent to all SSILA members at approximately monthly intervals, and edited by Victor Golla. It carried announcements of upcoming meetings, job announcements, and other late-breaking news.
The Society launched a new website with the ability to make blog posts in 2012, around which time both the newsletter and bulletin were discontinued. However, these communiques provide a valuable insight into SSILA's history, and contain much useful information. As such, in 2017 the SSILA Executive Committee undertook an initiative to create an archive of the newsletters and bulletins. Carolyn MacKay (former Executive Secretary) headed the effort, while Randa Marhenke and Willem de Reuse were instrumental in providing copies of the majority of the bulletins from their archives. Frank Treschel and Marianne Mithun also provided numerous issues of the newsletters. The documents were then organized into an online digital archive by Daniel W. Hieber (the SSILA Webmaster).
The archives are accessible to SSILA members only, so you will need to log into the SSILA.org website in order to view them. If you would like to sign up for a SSILA membership, you can do so here.