SLA DERM
  ERMD Strategic Plan
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Added by Michael Sholinbeck, last edited by Michael Sholinbeck on Jun 23, 2009  (view change)

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Environment and Resource Management Division
Special Libraries Association (SLA) 
Strategic Plan 2009 - 2012  

Scope Note (approved by membership, June 15, 2009):

The Environment and Resource Management Division encompasses all aspects of the environmental and resource sciences including forestry, mining, toxicology, pollution management, environmental impact science, public, occupational, and environmental health, water resources, environmental law and policy, and more. The Division promotes the exchange of information and ideas about trends and advances in information storage, retrieval, analysis and dissemination, collection services and management in these fields to support research, education, public service, and commercial endeavors. 

Strategic Directions 

Direction 1: Increase member participation in Division activities.

Goals:
1. Provide opportunities at the annual meeting for members to learn about the Division activities and to meet fellow members.

  • Suggested action: Chair Elect organizes a social event at SLA's annual meeting for members to interact in a casual environment

2. Offer networking opportunities at the annual meeting and throughout the year.

  • Suggested action: Use Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social web tools to encourage virtual networking
  • Suggested action: Encourage members who live/work near each other to get together for social or professional development events

3. Ensure timely and effective communication among Division officers, committee chairs and members to stimulate interest, involvement and a sense of ownership.

  • Suggested action: Chair should check in with officers periodically
  • Suggested action: Chair should organize phone meetings during the year, as appropriate

4. Encourage and proactively solicit volunteers for Division activities.


Direction 2: Strengthen the Division's connections with members through continuing membership retention efforts.

Goals:
1. Timely contact of new members to welcome them. 

  • Suggested action: Someone from Board such as the Membership Chair should send new members a welcome note (via email, perhaps)
  • Suggested action: New Division members should be added to the members-only email list

2. Support special interest groups that fit within the Division's scope. This may include connecting with environmental information groups and professionals internationally.  

3. Use surveys and other communication tools to identify members' needs and interests.

  • Suggested action: Membership should be polled on the type of programming they would like to see at annual meeting. This would include not only topics, but speakers and formats
  • Suggested action: A wiki or web space should be set up to encourage and facilitate member input in this area

Direction 3: Support the professional development of Division members.

Goals:
1. Provide annual meeting programming and continuing education courses in the subject specialties described in the Division Scope Notes using knowledgeable experts as course leaders and conference session speakers.

2. Use the Web and other delivery mechanisms for materials and training to disseminate information to our members for their professional development needs.

  • Suggested action: Chair sends out calls to membership asking if anyone would organize an online program

Direction 4: Explore new and emerging technologies to support communication opportunities among members. 

Goals:
1. Expand the use of web technologies in the Division's coverage of substantive topics and resources.

  • Suggested action: Develop a wiki and/or blog for interactive information exchange. Another alternative is to create a Community of Practice on the SLA web site, http://cop.sla.org/COP

Direction 5: Market the ERM Divison

Goals:
1. Capitalize on Centennial Campaign activities to define the Division - its past, present, and future.

  • Suggested action: Scan old Division newsletters and other materials and post to ERMD web site

2. Use the results of the Realignment Initiative to develop new graphics and language in order to strengthen the ERMD brand.

3. Actively promote ERMD at Division-sponsored annual conference events in order to bring knowledge of ERMD to potential new members

  • Suggested action: Create bookmark, postcard, or other promotional item to hand out at Division-sponsored annual meeting programs

Comments  (Hide Comments)

Hello,  I would like to suggest adding, under the new member welcome email idea, that we also add new members to the listserv as they join, rather than wait for them to join later.  I had chatted with Cynthia about the idea of adding all members who are not on the listserv, and it would be easiest to add them incrementally than have to process a big batch retrospectively.

I think as long as we let them know that there is minimal traffic on the listserv, as it's for division business only, people will be ok with being added.  What do others think of this idea?

-Dawn Pointer McCleskey

list manager

Posted by Anonymous at Dec 12, 2008 16:34

Michael: Great job, but I'd suggest that we change the bulleting to numbering so that people can make comments more easily. The following would be my comments, just so that the more general statements within the plan are made more concrete:

1. Under Direction I (Increase member participation...), Goal B (Offer networking opportunities... throughout the year), I think that we need more information as to how we do this throughout the year, in person, through regional meetings, or virtually (onlin).

 2. Under Direction II (Strengthen the Division's connections...), Goal B (Support special interest groups), we might make specific reference to seeking outconnections with environment information professional groups around the world.  That would tie in to SLA's internationalization efforts as well, and give individual members much needed ties to colleagues around the world.

 3. Regarding polling the members on the type of programming they would like to see at the annual meetings, I'd expand "type" to include their suggestions as to content, format, and potential speakers, providing a mechanism for contributing these ideas throughout the year so that we only need reference one place on the wiki when the time comes to put the program together.

4. Under the Direction "Explore new and emerging technologies," I wonder if we should consider using the Community of Practice or come up with a product that we could work on together to develop. For another group, we're collaborating on a Directory of Experts. Perhaps a hot topic (green libraries?) might be something where we could wind up with a useful product.

Just some thoughts,
Barbie Keiser

Posted by Barbie Keiser at Dec 16, 2008 05:41