Strategic Plan

2019-2022

Unless otherwise stated, these priorities will be addressed by January 30, 2022.
Revised: December 2020

Priority 1
Expand the relevance of Open Shelf by telling more stories outside the perspective of experienced leaders in traditional libraries.

Actions and metrics

  1. Publish two feature articles or column installments written by and for students and new information professionals by February 2020.
  2. Publish two feature articles about professionals in non-traditional libraries by February 2020.
  3. Publish two feature articles about library technicians by February 2020.
  4. Create a promotion for writing collaborations that runs at least five times per year.
  5. Publish the Canvas[s]OLA promotion and a more general call, in the OLITA newsletter for a guest Open Shelf editor from OLITA. 
  6. Create a link in Open Shelf to the Future Careers page on the OLA website.

Priority 2
Improve the geographic diversity of Open Shelf with more stories from rural, remote and Indigenous libraries.

Actions and metrics

  1. Identify the top three barriers that prevent library workers in rural, remote and Indigenous communities from regularly sharing their voices and stories to Open Shelf.  
  2. Identify the top three incentives that would encourage library workers in rural, remote and Indigenous communities to regularly share their voices and stories to Open Shelf.  
  3. Reach out and have conversations through library committee meetings, one-on-ones and other means.
  4. Recruit at least one individual from each area  individuals who will, in turn, engage others in writing at least one feature article or one column for at least six to eight issues of Open Shelf per year.
  5. Strengthen and maximize partnerships with at least one other organization and/or associations in rural, remote and Indigenous communities in order to grow networking opportunities for all.

Priority 3
Strengthen relationships, both laterally within OLA leadership and with the contributor community.

Actions and metrics

  1. Establish a Steering Committee responsible for policy development, in addition to Story Committee responsible for generating story ideas and other content. Both committees will be established by February 2020.
  2. Invite the advocacy staff member to attend an editorial meeting and to contribute content to Open Shelf.
  3. Invite at least two longer-term contributors to participate in editorial meetings and/or schedule an online/in-person meeting three times a year specifically for contributors and the editorial team. 
  4. Submit a written report from the Editor-in-Chief to the OLA Board at three regular board meetings and have the Editor-in-Chief attend one meeting per year in person.
  5. Establish the positions of OLA Open Shelf Board Liaisons to support and assist the editorial team.
  6. Report to OLA members at the annual general meeting.
  7. Create a volunteer recognition program.
  8. Review social media presence; create a strategic plan (with a Brand Story) focused on a specific audience and determine the most effective use of (potential) platforms. Ensure this plan aligns with OLA’s own marketing plan.

Priority 4
Expand strategic planning and assessment strategies to respond to reader expectations and demonstrate value.

Actions and metrics

  1. Create a strategic planning working group to develop an annual
    planning process. Members to be drawn from contributors and editorial board members. This group will be established by March 2019 and be maintained in 2020-2022.
  2. Develop metrics, including a readership survey and/or an open editorial session (or round table), for assessing the achievement of strategic goals. In particular, with OLA staff, use Google Analytics and other tools to assess readership.

Priority 5
Develop a sustainable, diverse editorial team with resources appropriate to the work of publishing Open Shelf.

Actions and metrics

  1. Revise one of the current digital editor positions and put out a call for candidates in September 2019. This call will appear in Open Shelf and will be shared via social media and word-of-mouth. The incumbent will be responsible for working with the Story Committee to identify new stories and contributors for future issues. 
  2. Collaborate with OLA staff to set an appropriate budget for 2020-2022 and finalize the Open Shelf  budget by September 2019.
  3. Explore various options for visualizing data related to workflow and readership by March 2020. 
  4. Using the resources team members offer, continue to streamline the Open Shelf publishing process by December 2019. 
  5. Create an images guide to ensure articles are accompanied by images that are attractive to our social media platform(s). 
  6. Seek collaboration between metadata working group and social media team, to generate content for social media and feature the content of the Open Shelf site in new ways. 

Quarterly reports

Open Shelf Year 1 (Q4) December 2020

Appendix A
Terms of reference: Open Shelf Steering Committee

Open Shelf is the official magazine of the Ontario Library Association. It is an open access publication issued for OLA members and interested readers as a forum for commentary on ideas, activities, trends, and issues affecting libraries and information professionals across Ontario and beyond. Open Shelf publishes articles on topics relevant to libraries, information professionals, information technology, and information management. The magazine also includes a wide range of columns and special features.

The Open Shelf Steering Committee is responsible for the overall editorial direction, management, and production of the magazine.

Membership

  • Editor-in-Chief
  • Deputy Editor
  • Digital Editors (including Digital Copy Editor)
  • Executive Director, OLA
  • Marketing and Communication Officer, OLA
  • InsideOCULA editorial team
  • Divisional liaisons
  • Members-at-large (4-6 people)

Terms of membership
The Editor-in-Chief chairs the Steering Committee and is appointed by the OLA Board of Directors for a 2-year renewable term.

Divisional liaisons will be appointed by their respective divisions and will be members of the Board as determined by their division.

Members-at-large will serve for three-year renewable terms. Members-at-large will be sought from throughout the OLA membership including current contributors (regular columnists and feature writers) and be appointed by the Steering Committee. Members appointed by an OLA division will serve a term as specified by the appropriate division.

OLA staff members, as appropriate, will participate in Steering Committee communications and discussions but will not hold a vote should voting be necessary.

Meetings
The Steering Committee  will meet annually at the OLA SuperConference and conduct its business throughout the year using a variety of collaboration tools. The Steering Committee will convene digitally three times during the year with a set agenda.

Quorum and voting
As much as possible the decisions of the Steering Committee will be achieved via consensus. Should a vote be necessary, a quorum will consist of 50% of Steering Committee members and a simple majority is required to approve a motion. Voting will be done electronically.

Current Steering Committee members (2019-2020) 

Open Shelf editorial team
Martha Attridge Bufton (Editor-in-Chief)
Bennett Steinberg (Deputy Editor)
Kerry Badgley (Story Editor)
Justin Ball (Digital Editor)
Catherine Fournier Boulianne (French Language Editor)
Kiah  Russell (Digital Copy Editor)

OLA staff
Marketing and Communication Specialist, OLA
Technical Analyst, OLA
Shelagh Paterson (Executive Director, OLA)

InsideOCULA editorial team and divisional liaisons
Vacant (OSLA)
Vacant (OLBA)
Rob Makinson (OCULA)
Jeff Dodge (OPLA)
Vacant (ABO-Franco)
Jennifer Brown (OSLA)
Rhea Smith (OLA Cultural Diversity and Inclusion Task Force)
Eva Stepanian (OLITA)

Members-at-large
Jennifer Brown (It’s Elementary)
John Pateman (Open to all?)

 

Appendix B

Terms of reference: Open Shelf Story Committee
Open Shelf (www.Open-Shelf.ca) is the official magazine of the Ontario Library Association. It is an open access publication issued for OLA members and interested readers as a forum for commentary on ideas, activities, trends, and issues affecting libraries and information professionals across Ontario and beyond.

Open Shelf publishes articles on topics relevant to libraries, information professionals, information technology, and information management. The magazine also includes a wide range of columns and special features.

The Open Shelf Story Committee is responsible for generating story ideas and identifying potential contributors.

Membership

  • Editor-in-Chief
  • Deputy Editor
  • Digital Editors (including Digital Copy Editor)
  • InsideOCULA editorial team (1-2 representatives)
  • Members-at-large including Open Shelf columnists and feature article contributors (4-6 people) 

Terms of membership
The Editor-in-Chief chairs the Story Committee and will serve the length of her/his term. The Deputy and Digital Editors will serve for the length of their terms.

InsideOCULA editorial term representatives will be appointed by the team.

Members-at-large will serve for three-year renewable terms. Members-at-large will be sought from the OLA membership as well as the current contributors (columnists and feature writers) and be appointed by the Steering Committee.

Meetings
The Story Committee will meet digitally three times a year (February, June, and October).

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