2011 has been an eventful, productive and busy year for e-HLbc, the Management Committee and your Co-Chairs.

A major focus of the year has been the creation of a strategic plan. We held a 1.5 day planning retreat in February, conducted interviews with members and stakeholders, created working groups to analyse findings and massage the reams of documentation into a draft plan.  The final draft was approved at the fall 2011 Steering Committee meeting.  This plan refines our mission, vision, and core values and provides the momentum that will drive the consortium forward for the next several years.  The Strategic Plan will be released and posted on our new website once it has been ratified by the BC Academic Health Council Board of Directors

This year has also seen an intensive review of consortium governance. The Management Committee and Co-Chairs have been working with the re-organized BC Academic Health Council (BCAHC) to ensure that communication, financial reporting, terms of reference, and guiding principles are all appropriate for the mature consortium that e-HLbc has become.  e-HLbc is one of two major initiatives of the BCAHC, and this review process has helped to ensure that the needs of both e-HLbc and BCAHC are supported as we evolve and grow. The e-HLbc Co-Chairs attended the BCAHC Annual General Meeting in September, and have been attending regular Board of Director meetings to provide updates on e-HLbc activities.

Another focus this year was the invitation to become a network subscriber of the Canadian Virtual Health Library (CVHL) http://cvhl.ca/ - an initiative of the Canadian Health Libraries Association.  CVHL has a similar mandate and mission to e-HLbc, but on a national scale, and they hope to accomplish their goals by building a network of networks. After a thorough analysis of risks, benefits, and examination of possible mitigation strategies, the e-HLbc Management and Steering Committees decided that e-HLbc would become a partner in this worthy initiative.

I mentioned earlier that this had been an eventful and productive year for e-HLbc, and I meant that quite literally.  e-HLbc Coordinator Leigh Anne Palmer had a baby boy two months ago, and is off enjoying the fruits of her labor (bad pun, sorry!) for a year. Of course the Co-Chairs can't take any credit for Leigh Anne's gorgeous little guy, but we feel very proud of her accomplishment, nonetheless.  Congratulations Leigh Anne!

And finally, we would like to welcome Leigh Anne's maternity leave replacement Megan Crouch to the e-HLbc team. Megan comes to us from SFU where she was Health Sciences Librarian / Collections Librarian.

Cathy Rayment
Health Co-Chair