Many exciting changes have taken place to YALSA’s structure since our new Organizational Plan went into effect in 2016. As things continue to change, Organization & Bylaws must investigate new ways to adequately measure the success and impact of the committees, juries task forces, and advisory boards.
To that end, O&B has put together a proposal to investigate industry standards and best practices related to measuring the outcomes and impact of members and volunteers. O&B will present their findings and make a list of recommendations at the Midwinter Meeting in February 2018.
At the same time that O&B is researching best practices, they will be working with the YALSA Board and YALSA staff to institute an exit survey for group members to complete as they finish their terms. Survey results will be made available to Standing Board Committees for review. The exit survey will be instituted on a trial basis, beginning in July 2017 and ending June 2018.
This effort supports the following areas of the Learning Agenda, which is included in the Organizational Plan:
- An exit survey would provide additional information about the appointed group experience beyond the quarterly chair report. Feedback from individual group members can give insight into the efficacy of intra-group communication, clarity of a group’s assigned charge, evaluation of virtual environments, and more.
- Leveraging research into industry best practices to develop recommendations for an outcomes measurement plan for YALSA will allow the Board to ensure the goals outlined in the Organizational Plan are being met.
If the Board accepts the proposal from the Organization & Bylaws Committee, work would begin immediately following Annual.
Organization and Bylaws has submitted the following board doc, http://www.ala.org/yalsa/sites/ala.org.yalsa/files/content/MeasuringImpact_AN17.pdf which will be discussed at Board I Sat. June 24 from 1:00-5:30 pm, convention center room W176c. If you have any questions about this board document or any others, please contact YALSA President Sarah Hill at gsarahthelibrarian@gmail.com or Executive Director Beth Yoke at byoke@ala.org
Melissa McBride is the Chair of Organization & Bylaws and a Board Member. She is a librarian at Southold Elementary School on the North Fork of Long Island.
