Comments on: Library Association Memberships

By: The Liminal Librarian » Blog Archive » Associations with associations

The Liminal Librarian » Blog Archive » Associations with associations — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:04:55 +0000

[...] I went a-reading further and saw Nicole Engard over on What I Learned Today posting about library association memberships. Her reason for not joining more associations? I was recently asked to participate in an interest [...]

By: NeedtobeAnonforthis

NeedtobeAnonforthis — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 02:58:22 +0000

I am with you on this Nicole — I don’t need to be paid, but I do not want to be money out of pocket either. My presentations that I give for conferences are all done at home on my own time (usually late at night when I could be relaxing or sleeping). I do not charge for the time spent in preparation for an association.

Last year I was invited to speak at an association conference. I told them that I was not planning on attending as my Professional Development funds were going for other conferences. They called me back a month later and asked me again to please be on the panel… I relented and agreed. It was within driving distance and I could go just for the day. The gas money was not going to be more than $30 or so dollars.

I did not register for the conference and when I arrived I was asked to please register. I told them that I was going to speak on the panel, have lunch with some friends, and help out another friend who was presenting. They got very huffy with me that I would not pay the fee to register for the day.

I paid for gas, spent my own time prepping to prepare for the conference, took a day off work to present… and got paid zip. Yet they had the nerve to be huffy with me about not registering.

Needless to say, it will be quite some time before I present for them again. I have heard from others in libraryland of similar treatment from a variety of library conferences. It is not acceptable. Period.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:27:05 +0000

Tasha,

I’m not asking to be paid – I’m asking to not have to pay. Giving me free registration if you’re within driving distance is A-OK with me. If I have to fly and stay in a hotel then just give me free registration and cover my travel. I understand that financial times are tough – but remember it’s tough for all of us – so me having to pay to come educate your members just seems wrong for me.

By: Tasha

Tasha — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:33:03 +0000

I’m on the board of my state’s library association and there simply is not enough funding from people’s dues to be able to cover the costs of paying for all of the speakers at our state’s annual conference. I speak at our state conference almost every year. As a member, I would be attending the conference whether I was speaking or not. So I don’t require payment for speaking.

That said, if you want to make change, the way to do it is to get involved in associations rather than not becoming a member. Join units, create communities of practice, lead divisions, serve on the association board. Chances are that you will get changes made and get insight into decisions that are made.

By: Brett Bonfield

Brett Bonfield — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:45:12 +0000

There seem to be several instances related to librarianship in which the money appears to flow in the wrong direction. Have you ever found anyone who can offer more than, “That’s just how we do things”? Does anyone know how things got this way? Or, assuming SLA is an exception, how it went about deciding to be an exception?