Professional Recruitment & Retention Committee

Established December 2003 as ad hoc committee; approved as standing committee September 2006; charge revised 11/2014

The purpose of the committee is to attract and retain individuals from diverse populations into the health sciences librarianship field. It determines ways to offer mentoring, outreach, and training opportunities to organizations and to individuals already in the field, transitioning to new roles or seeking information about the field. Specifically, this standing committee is charged to:

• Collaborate with local chapters to support relationships with career counselors and faculty advisors, especially those serving minority students, to promote health sciences librarianship as a viable career option.
• Collaborate with local chapters to promote health sciences librarianship to library and information school educators to encourage the inclusion of health sciences courses and curriculums.
• Collaborate with local chapters to partner with library/information schools to develop health sciences librarianship programs for distance learning, including Web-based courses, to aid those students who are geographically bound in an area without an ALA-accredited library/information science program.
• Identify and implement strategies to inform other types of librarians and second-career-seeking individuals about health sciences librarianship.
• Facilitate, staff and promote the annual Resume Clinic and provide additional career resources as needed.
• Refine and promote the Mentor Database.
• Collaborate with Special Interest Groups (SIGS) and other MLA groups to recruit and retain professionals.
• Recommend new or update current career recruitment materials as needed.
• Maintain inventory of MLA chapter and section recruitment efforts and encourage MLA chapters to conduct recruitment efforts at the local level.

The Committee consists of at least seven members, two appointed annually for three-year terms. If a third-year member is chosen for chair designate, that person may remain for a fourth year to serve as chair. The committee also has a board liaison and staff liaison that are non-voting members of the committee. Liaisons from the Chapter and Section Councils and the Medical Library Association’s Membership Committee and other MLA units may be appointed as nonvoting members as needed.