Action Plan
The mission of USAIN is to provide a forum for discussion of food and agricultural issues; to take a leadership role in the formation of a national information policy as related to food and agriculture; to support the National Agricultural Library (NAL) on food and agricultural information matters; to promote cooperation and communication among its members, and with other organizations and individuals.
USAIN Action Plan 2023-2026 (pdf)
Action Plan Goals:
Goal 1: Strengthen membership and increase participation in USAIN by members and other food and agricultural information professionals.
Objective 1. Retain present members and broaden membership base.
- Review the USAIN mission for accurate reflection of the breadth and depth of the field of agriculture information
- Develop membership recruitment and retention strategies to diversify and broaden the membership base
- Provide new member onboarding that supports new members with opportunities like mentorships, new member networking events, or affinity groups
- Continue recognition programs for outstanding individuals in, or supporting the field of, food and agricultural information
- Encourage new librarians or information professionals, graduate students, or librarians representing HBCU or tribal serving institutions with conference scholarships
Objective 2. Increase participation of membership and improve communication within USAIN.
- Provide a website with informative content about USAIN and a platform for member participation
- Manage and assess communication tools and plan in order to expand virtual participation.
- Conduct membership surveys
- Review and update the Action Plan, using a process that includes feedback from members
- Review the role and activities of Interest Groups
- Guide and coordinate the work of Committees
- Recruit new members of Committees and Interest Groups via an annual call
- Plan and hold a non-conference year virtual membership meeting or event to promote engagement and transparency. This event could include things like: updates from USAIN leadership and/or committee and interest groups; lightning talks; or other networking and learning opportunities.
Goal 2: Advocate for public policy, legislation, and institutions which support agricultural research and information communities.
Objective 1. Advocate for the National Agricultural Library as the leading U.S. resource for agricultural information.
- Act as an authoritative and influential advocate for NAL
- Promote member activism in regard to legislative and executive actions that impact NAL
- Encourage communication between NAL and USAIN regarding programs, services and avenues of cooperation
Objective 2. Foster collaboration between member institutions and with other strategic organizations.
- Promote liaisons and reciprocal memberships with other food and agricultural information organizations
- Create and strengthen partnerships with other library or food and agricultural information-related organizations
Objective 3. Enhance the visibility, credibility and favorable resolution of issues affecting food and agricultural information at federal, state, and local levels.
- Lead efforts to open the access to digital historic agricultural publications through legal and policy coordination (development) across partner organizations (i.e., Hathi Trust)
- Promote initiatives that provide equal and open access to publicly funded research, including data, and born and reborn digital land-grant publications, especially extension and experiment station publications
Goal 3: Provide educational and professional development opportunities for members and others.
Objective 1. Promote biennial USAIN conference.
- Ensure opportunities for members to present at conference
- Archive conference presentations in Cornell’s repository
- Determine best model and technologies for virtual and/or in-person conference offerings (i.e, blended, all virtual, etc.)
Objective 2. Facilitate knowledge of professional opportunities in agricultural librarianship.
- Announce opportunities using USAIN LISTSERV to membership
- Bring a stronger awareness to the membership concerns of social parity for agricultural information
- Identify “sister” or relevant organizations for collaborative information sharing and/or shared programming.
Objective 3. Co-sponsor preservation and digitization programs.
- Promote and support collaborative print preservation programs
- Promote and support participation by USAIN institutions in efforts to digitize the agricultural and food-related information produced by their institutions
Objective 4. Develop members’ skills so they continue as leaders in the creation, dissemination, and organization of food and agricultural information.
- Develop and utilize the USAIN website and LISTSERV as a platform for content delivery, communication, and skill sharing
- Demonstrate innovation and motivate members to adopt/adapt new and improved practices
- Encourage USAIN committees and interest groups to host online events in order to discuss or learn about current trends and/or follow up on conference themes
Previous Action Plans
