CHLA/ABSC has surveyed health librarians and information professionals in Canada in 2001, 2008 and most recently in 2010.

2001

In 2001 the Canadian Health Libraries Association / Association des bibliothèques de la santé du Canada (CHLA/ABSC) celebrated its 25th anniversary.

Crawford DS. CHLA/ABSC 25 years on. Bibliotheca Medica Canadiana, 2002; 22 (2): 71-73.

It was determined that this was an appropriate time to learn more about the Association’s membership and the landscape of health information professionals in Canada. This was the first time since the founding of CHLA/ABSC that a survey of health librarians in Canada had been conducted.

• Ellis P, Scott L. Taking the measure of ourselves. Part I: CHLA/ABSC Focus Groups. Bibliotheca Medica Canadiana 2002 Fall; 24(1).
• Ellis P, Scott L, Tripp T. Taking the measure of ourselves. Part II: CHLA/ABSC Survey of Canadian Health Information Professionals. Bibliotheca Medica Canadiana, 2002 Winter; 24(2): 87-92.
• View the survey instrument used for this survey.
• View the presentation Laurie Scott and Patrick Ellis showed at the 2002 Annual General Meeting.

2008

In 2008, the CHLA/ABSC Board of Directors administered a survey to its members to guide the creation of a strategic plan, and to understand the value of CHLA/ABSC as it was perceived by its members and why members join CHLA/ABSC.

• Kharouba D, Powelson S, Slater L. The value of membership: the CHLA/ABSC 2008 membership survey. Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association (JCHLA), 2008; 29 (2): 47-50.
• The full results of the survey are available on the Members Only Publications section of the website.

2010

In 2010, the Board wanted to gain a better understanding of the full spectrum of health information professionals in Canada, including: CHLA/ABSC members, health information professionals who are members of their local chapters but not CHLA/ABSC, as well as those who are not members of a Canadian health library association. The objectives for this survey were to:

• seek input from members and potential members regarding the focus of CHLA/ABSC in the next 2-5 years, to help guide the creation of the 2011-2013 Strategic Plan;
• understand the perceived benefits of membership of current and potential members; and
• learn more about the demographics of the Canadian health library community.

Results from this survey were published in the 2011 Spring Issue of JCHLA:

Dingwall, O., Dorgan, M., Raworth R., Ticoll, M. Taking the pulse of Canadian health information professionals: CHLA/ABSC's 2010 survey. JCHLA. 2011; 32 (1): http://pubs.chla-absc.ca/doi/abs/10.5596/c11-012.

The full results of the survey are available on the Members Only Publications section of the website.