Onboarding and Education of Librarians New to Health Sciences - Charge

Title: Investigating and Designing a Dispersed Formalized Program for Onboarding and Educating New Health Sciences Librarians

Objective: The Task Force is charged with exploring, evaluating, and recommending strategies for establishing a dispersed formalized program aimed at efficiently onboarding and educating individuals new to the field of health sciences librarianship. This initiative seeks to enhance the transition process for newcomers, ensuring they receive comprehensive training and support to excel in their roles, and ease the burden of individual institutions through shared practices and training materials.

Scope of Work:

  1. Research Existing Programs: Conduct a comprehensive review of current onboarding and educational programs available for new health sciences librarians, in the USA and abroad. Evaluate their effectiveness, strengths, weaknesses, and applicability to our context.
  2. Identify Best Practices: Identify best practices and innovative approaches in onboarding and education within related fields, such as healthcare, academia, and information science. Determine how these practices can be adapted and integrated into a dispersed formalized program for new health sciences librarians, including experiences librarians transitioning into health sciences librarianship from other fields, such as public librarianship.
  3. Assess Needs and Resources: Collaborate with stakeholders, including current health sciences librarians, supervisors, human resources, and educational experts, to assess the specific needs and resources available for the development and implementation of the program.
  4. Develop Program Framework: Based on the findings from the research and needs assessment, design a flexible and scalable framework for the dispersed formalized program. Define the key components, curriculum structure, delivery methods, evaluation criteria, and ongoing support mechanisms that can be piloted by an implementation committee.

Deliverables:

  • A comprehensive report summarizing the findings from the literature review, needs assessment, and best practices analysis.
  • A detailed program framework outlining the structure, content, and implementation plan for the dispersed formalized program.

Timeline: The taskforce is expected to complete its work and deliver the final recommendations within [6 months], with regular progress updates provided to the AAHSL board.

This charge provides a clear mandate for the Task Force to investigate, design, and recommend a framework to a future implementation committee that can implement a dispersed formalized program for onboarding and educating new health sciences librarians, ensuring a comprehensive and systematic approach to their professional development across institutions.