The Strategic Planning and Executive Committees have identified three areas of emphasis to achieve the Florida Health Sciences Library Association's goals. This plan formulates objectives for the current year.

I. Membership

A. Goal: FHSLA will maintain, develop, and promote an active membership base of representative of all aspects of medical librarianship in Florida.

B. Objectives:

  1. Increase membership annually
    1. Develop a marketing plan each year for recruitment and retention of members.
    2. Involve the Executive Committee, Strategic Planning Committee and Committee Chairs in the recruitment of new members.
    3. Obtain membership directories of professional organizations, library school students, and other potential members each year and extend a membership invitation to them.
    4. Market membership along with the Annual Meeting. Include membership application and description in meeting materials.
    5. Market FHSLA membership at meetings of allied organizations (e.g. FLA, SLA, consortia, etc.)
    6. Publicize advantages of membership in professional newsletters and look for opportunities to build visibility.
    7. Initiate "Member-get-a-member" campaign.
    8. Develop a mentoring program.
    9. Promote attendance and participation at Annual Meetings to nonmembers.

      The Membership, Executive and Strategic Planning Committees are responsible for sharing implementation

  2. Increase and promote involvement of FHSLA members
    1. Invite new members to identify and join committees of interest. Use
    2. Use website, newsletter, discussion list, annual dues notice, Annual Meeting i.e., all communications, to publicize activities of committees and solicit members.
    3. Include focused workshops and roundtables at the Annual Meeting that brings together members and addresses specific needs of current members and potential recruits.

      The Membership and Program Committees are primarily responsible for implementation ion.

  3. Encourage continuous/ongoing networking among members
    1. Continue to hold roundtables, workshops, presentations, and CEs between Annual Meetings to create an environment of continuous networking.
    2. Learning groups
      1. Members may choose to form learning groups around a particular topic or a geographical region to foster discussions, journal clubs, networking, etc.
      2. Learning groups then prepare a poster or presentation to share at the Annual Meeting.

      The Membership and Program Committees are primarily responsible for implementation.

II. Professional Development

A. Goal: Provide support for the changing roles of the membership through the Association's activities.

B. Objectives:

  1. Facilitate discussions of emerging topics of interest to the profession through the annual meetings, newsletters, website and electronic discussion list.

    2. All members are invited to initiate discussions. The Program Committee, Newsletter Editor(s) and Webmaster are also responsible for this objective.

  2. Survey the membership as needed on areas of interest for speakers, CE classes, organizational activities, etc. Survey results will be used in identifying and planning educational and professional development activities.

    3. The Program, Continuing Education, and Strategic Planning Committees are responsible for this objective.

  3. Sponsor and/or develop continuing education opportunities to meet the needs of the diverse membership (academic, hospital, and public) and incorporate various levels of training (i.e., beginning, intermediate, advanced).

    4. The Program Committee and the Continuing Education Committee are responsible for this objective.

  4. Facilitate health information networking within Florida with other librarians, healthcare professionals and other groups interested in health information.

    5. The Strategic Planning Committee and Executive Committee are responsible for working with the membership on initiation and implementation.

III. Collaborative Relationships

A. Goal: Develop collaborative relationships with other information and health care organizations.

B. Objectives:

  1. Collaborate with other organizations (e.g., Florida Hospital Association, Special Libraries Association, Florida Library Association, Agency on Healthcare Administration, Florida Electronic Library, other state health sciences library associations, etc.) on mutually beneficial activities and invite representatives to the Association meetings.
    1. Florida Consumer Health Information Network (FCHIN), of which FHSLA is a part, is actively working with the Agency on Healthcare Administration and the Florida Electronic Library.
    2. Explore the possibility of creating a task force to work on a Go Local site.

    The Strategic Planning and Executive Committees are responsible for coordinating these efforts or assigning someone to act as the liaison. Additional FHSLA standing or ad hoc committees may also be asked to assist.

  2. Collaborate with SE/A NN/LM staff in areas of mutual interest.
    1. Work with the RML Task Force on the development of the Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Response initiative.
    2. Share documents to assist members in writing a emergency preparedness and response plan for their environment.
    3. Encourage members to develop a Memorandum of Understanding to provide contingency services for libraries in the event of a disaster.
    4. Disseminate steps to take in communicating with the RML regarding DOCLINE and other services during or right after a disaster.

Reviewed and Updated: 2008