MLA Section Council
Goals and Objectives 2001-2002

Goal 1: Professional Development
d. Develops and promulgates standards and educational policies for health sciences library and information professionals;

Objective 1: Complete a survey of Headquarters and MLA representatives to allied organizations, to locate standards developed by external groups.

Who, Expertise Needed: Standards Committee.

Time Needed: Between July and May.

Resources Required: None.

Product Outcome: Continued development of resources to assist in answering questions related to standards activities.

Evaluation: None.

Objective 2 : Develop resources, including expert reviewers, bibliographies and relevant documents which may be used by MLA members engaged in standards development activities.

Who, Expertise Needed: Standards Committee, MLANet Liaison.

Time Needed: Between July and May.

Resources Required: None.

Product Outcome: Continued development of resources to assist in answering questions related to standards activities.

Evaluation: Usage statistics.

Goal 2: Advocacy
d. recruits qualified individuals into the profession;

Objective 4: Invest in the future of the profession through participation in MLA membership recruitment and retention initiatives, focusing on the development of marketing efforts that promote the value of Section membership. Expand the development of the "Quilt Square Project" started in 2000 and explore the creation of promotional materials to be distributed at the MLA New Member Breakfast and in the annual meeting registration packets. Explore the costs involved in creating a Section Council logo.

Who, Expertise Needed: Communications Committee, Council membership, MLA Headquarters staff.

Time Needed: June to May.

Resources Required: $700

Product Outcome: Increased membership in the Sections.

Evaluation: Section membership statistics.

Goal 3: Organization
d. Develops, evaluates and enhances programs and services responsive to member needs.

Objective 5: Facilitate the last phase of the Council transition to the new structure, through the continuing coordination of section bylaw revisions and section election processes.

Who, Expertise Needed: Council, Council members, and MLA Bylaws Committee.

Time Needed: Between September and May

Resources Required: None

Product Outcome: A streamlined governance structure that empowers the Council to serve the MLA membership more efficiently and to more effectively serve as a consultative body to the MLA Board.

Evaluation: Feedback from Section Council members, Section Council chairs, the MLA Board and MLA Headquarters.

Objective 6: Annual review and revision of the Section Council and Section Chairs' web versions of the procedure manuals.

Who, Expertise Needed: Chair, Vice Chair, Webmaster.

Time Needed: Between July and April.

Resources Required: None.

Product Outcome: Continue to reduce the number of procedural questions at orientation sessions by addressing frequently asked questions in the manuals and by providing the manuals at the Council web site as a quick reference tool to address Council membership questions through-out the year.

Evaluation: Council membership feedback on the effectiveness of using the web versions of the procedural manuals to answer questions through-out the year.

Objective 7: Provide information and advice to groups involved in seeking Section or SIG status. Review, establish, revise and monitor Criteria for the establishment
Sections or SIGS and submit recommendations to Council as appropriate.

Who, Expertise Needed: Chair, Section/SIG Review Committee, and MLA Headquarters.

Time Needed: Between July and May.

Resources Required: None.

Product Outcome: Networking of professionals through the continued development of relevant shared interest groups.

Evaluation: Ongoing communication with groups and feedback on improving methodology to expedite governance processes.

Objective 8: Coordinate Section programming, identify papers for general sessions and schedule the business meetings for the Annual Meeting.

Who, Expertise Needed: Chair, NPC liaisons, paper reviewers and MLA program planner.

Time Needed: Between September and May.

Resources Required: None.

Product Outcome: Quality programming options to assist the MLA membership in the expansion of their professional roles as leaders in the provision of health information.

Evaluation: Program evaluations at the annual meeting. Percentage of contributed papers accepted for the annual meeting.

Objective 9: Collaborate with the MLA Fixed Program Evaluation Committee to explore and make appropriate recommendations regarding issues associated with Section Programming at the Annual MLA Meeting.

Who, Expertise Needed: Council representative to the MLA Fixed Program Evaluation Committee, Chair, NPC Liaisons.

Time Needed: Between September and May.

Resources Required: None.

Product Outcome: Implementation of programming recommendation changes or continuation of the status quo.

Evaluation: Program evaluations at the annual meeting.

Goal 3: Organization
e. Fosters effective communication within the association and with external constituencies.

Objective 10: Maintain consistent communication with Council members, Section Chairs and Board members through the distribution of two Council informational mailings each year. Promote the use of electronic resources to enhance the communication process, including the use listservs, web sites, fax etc. Mailing #1 will be completed electronically for the first time this year.

Who, Expertise Needed: Chair, Council members.

Time Needed: September and April.

Resources Required: Postage, printing and supplies for Mailing #2; $800

Product Outcome: Reduce the cost of the mailings through the continued transition to an environment that fosters the electronic distribution of Council business items.

Evaluation: Feedback from the Council membership on the efficiency and effectiveness of electronic mailings

Goal 6: Information Technology
a. Uses technology to improve communication among members and to enhance remote access to association services and programs:

Objective 11: Participate in building the MLA Virtual association through the maintenance of the Section Council Web site and the expansion of web resources to assist in the communication process among Council members, MLA members and the profession at large. Coordinate and clarify the procedural issues related to the transition of the SC Web site management, including Webmaster changes and MEB (MLANet Editorial Board) Liaison responsibilities.

Who, Expertise Needed: Webmaster, Communications Committee, Chair, MLANet Liaison, MLANet Editorial Board, Web Committee.

Time Needed: June to May.

Resources Required: Storage space on MLA server.

Product Outcome: Continued maintenance and development of the Section Council Web site.

Evaluation: Site usage statistics and feedback from Council members.

Objective 12: Continue to provide for the collaborative development of MLANet and MLA Council Web pages through participation in the MLANet Editorial Board (MEB).

Who, Expertise Needed: Webmaster, Communications Committee, Chair, MLANet Liaison, MLANet Editorial Board, Web Committee.

Time Needed: June to May.

Resources Required: None

Product Outcome: Enhanced communication between Council, the MLA membership, MLA Headquarters

Evaluation: Ongoing membership evaluation through surveys and statistics on web access.

Objective 13: Collaborate with MLA Headquarters to develop a proposal that will provide MLA server space at no cost to host section web pages.

Who, Expertise Needed: , MLANet Liaison, MLANet Editorial Board, MLA Headquarters staff

Time Needed: June to May.

Resources Required: Unknown

Product Outcome: Enhanced marketing to an international community regarding the value of Section membership in the MLA Association.

Evaluation: Section requests for web space and the migration of section web pages to the MLA server if a proposal is approved by Council and the Board.

Send comments or questions to Webmaster Melissa De Santis at desantis@uthscsa.edu

Last updated on: September 18, 2001.