Research Section
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Welcome to the Research Section |
Descriptions of Committees & Committee Members:
Executive Committee: consists of all elected officers and committee chairs of the MLA Research Section. The Section Chair calls and presides at its meetings. During the year the Executive Committee convenes approximately twice for virtual business meetings. Usually the Executive Committee meets during the MLA Annual Meeting on Sunday mornings.
Chair: presides over all Section meetings and represents the Section at all times and on all occasions not in conflict with other officers' defined duties and responsibilities; prepares the Goals & Objectives, Mid-Year, and Annual reports of Section activities for the membership and the MLA Headquarters by the dates requested
Chair-Elect: serves as Chair whenever the Chair is not able to do so, and acts as Program Chair by managing all aspects of the Section’s sponsored and co-sponsored programs and section meeting at the upcoming MLA Annual Meeting.
Immediate Past Chair: ensures continuity in the transfer of responsibilities to the Chair by providing counsel to the Chair as needed. Serves as Chair of the Nominating Committee by identifying potential candidates and conducting the following year's Section elections.
Secretary / Treasurer: is responsible for Section correspondence, recording the minutes of all meetings, maintaining Section membership and financial records (receipt, disbursement, and accounting for all monies due the Section), and preparing an annual Section financial report.
Section Council Representative: attends all Section Council meetings and represents the Research Section in the conduct of Council business; reports decisions and issues discussed by the Section Council back to the Research Section The Representative should serve on at least one Section Council committee, but no more than two at a time; and submits the committee's objectives, midyear report, and an annual report to the Council Chair by the assigned date.
Section Council Representative (Alternate): attend, if possible, all Section Council meetings and carry out the duties of the Representative when he/she is unable to attend; assume the office of Representative and serve out the unexpired term should the Representative become unable to complete the term of office.
Section candidate for nomination to the MLA Nominating Committee:
The Editorial Board of Hypothesis provides advice on the direction and content of the journal. Members may suggest topics for articles, submit book reviews, and solicit manuscripts from other authors. The issues are available to Section members for one month before they are released to the public. All issues are located on the Research Section Website: <http://gain.mercer.edu/mla/research/hypothesis.html>. Content is selectively indexed by CINAHL Information Systems.
Website Editor posts documents and other information relevant to the MLA Research Section and advises the Executive Committee on formatting, information design and other related issues. Also advises the committee on tools available to carry out Section work which would create or capture information for possible sharing via the website or other venues.
Awards Committee: administers all aspects of judging for MLA Research Awards at the annual MLA meeting, including awards for the best research-oriented posters and papers and the Hospital Libraries Award. The criteria for judging the awards for rigor in research include the following: validity, research design, reliability, and presentation. The Committee issues award certificates to all authors and recommends financial amounts to be paid for all awards.
Bylaws Committee: recommends any changes in the Research Section bylaws in accordance with existing bylaws of the Section
Continuing Education Committee: promotes continuing education opportunities (MLA and other) for those interested in research through the section discussion list and newsletter; helps identify areas of research for which CE courses, online journal clubs, presentations at annual meetings or other opportunities should be initiated.
Evidence-Based Librarianship Implementation Committee (EBLIC): fosters Evidence-Based Librarianship (EBL). It seeks ways to integrate EBL principles into all aspects of the practice of health sciences librarianship through education and by drawing attention to applied research with high relevance to our profession. During 2001, the EBLIC Committee organized an international collaboration to identify the most important and answerable research questions facing our profession. This project was summarized in the spring 2001 issue of Hypothesis. This committee has undertaken a similar project scheduled to begin in late 2006.
The Government Relations Liaison informs the Research Section membership of national information issues and policies of importance to the health sciences library community that are addressed by the MLA Governmental Relations Committee and the Joint MLA/AAHSL Legislative Task Force. The Government Relations Liaison helps to foster MLA’s Goal 3: Advocacy
International Research Collaboration Committee: ensures MLA Research Section representation in international research initiatives or other transnational collaborations. The Committee has been responsible for managing the MLA Research Section’s involvement in the first four international conferences on Evidence-Based Librarianship (EBL). This committee also advises the International Research Reviews Column Editor for Hypothesis, as requested, to identify possible topics and colleagues to feature.
Membership Committee: identifies potential members among the authors of original research appearing in peer reviewed journal articles in the health sciences library literature, winners of MLA Research Awards or Honorable Mention recipients, attendees in research or Evidence-Based Librarianship (EBL) continuing education courses sponsored by MLA or its chapters, and students at graduate schools of library science/informatics programs.
Nominating Committee (see Immediate Past Chair): identifies potential candidates worthy of running for Research Section offices and chairs..
Practice Guidelines Advisory Committee: assists MLA sections in designing evidence-based practice guidelines based upon relevant research in health sciences librarianship.
Program Committee: (see Chair-Elect)
Research Resources Committee: maintains and updates the Research Resources Bibliography on a regular basis
Research Results Dissemination Committee: