To Join or Not to Join: How Librarians Make Membership Decisions About Their Associations

WHYDO LIBRARIANS JOIN PROFESSIONAL associations? Although a literature review finds little research on the topic, the author’s survey concludes that many factors influence decisions. INTRODUCTION Librarians are urged to join and to participate in professional associations from the time they enter library school. Indeed, by offering free membership or greatly reduced dues to students, organizations such as the American Library Association (ALA) and the Special Libraries A s s o ciation (SLA) hope to build relationships with newcomers to the profession that will continue throughout their careers. Do librarians join professional associations? Why? If not, why don’t they join? Little research has been done on librarian behavior in professional organizations. Literature searches revealed only a few articles on librarians’ or other professionals’ relationships with their organizations. A 1992 survey of academic librarians in California found that 98 percent of the respondents considered the opportunity to network with colleagues as a very important or somewhat important reason to join professional associations;81 percent felt that professional membership was important for retention, tenure, or promotion; 84 percent used professional memberships to influence librarians’ professional goals and to keep up with developments in the field through professional journals; and 74 percent used their association membership to speak or to publish (Anderson et al., 1992). Sue Kamm, Inglewood Public Library, 101 W. Manchester Boulevard, Inglewood, CA 90301 LIBRARY TRENDS, Vol. 46, No. 2, Fall 1997, pp. 295-306 01997 The Board of Trustees, University of Illinois 296 LIBRARY TRENDS/FALL 1997 Although the authors are concerned with what is needed to start a new organization, Cornell and Farkas (1995) define benefits of professional associations to include “networking, technological advancements, sharing of knowledge, financial benefits, and career opportunities” (p. 44). Diamond and Haurin (1994) point out that membership in the American Economics Association which, like library associations, is voluntary, is probably more valuable for job-seekers-either younger economists or those with high mobility. Baldwin ( 1995) discusses the functions, history, membership, and individual and professional benefits that SLA offers. For the individual, she notes that leadership training for division and chapter officers, continuing education courses at all levels, and networking opportunities are benefits gained from SLA. On a professional level, she cites SLA’s focus on professional issues such as image, copyright, professional standards, education, and the future of the information profession. The (British) Library Association plays a different role than its American counterparts. Lowe (1980) notes that the Library Association had been “the indispensable custodian of professional librarianship status [but] begins to lose its hold in a free market for professional qualifications and conditions.” Reporting in the British Journal of Academic Librarianship, Fisher (1994) points out that “the acquisition of Chartered status is a benchmark in the career of the information professional” (p. 167). Havener and Worrell (1994) studied the extent to which U. S. academic librarians rely on continuing professional development activities. Their study found that 89.9 percent of academic librarians surveyed belong to professional associations. In addition, the librarians in their study had attended meetings within the past year (80.9 percent), served on committees (47 percent), or presented papers (6 percent). Their conclusions showed that librarians at doctorate-granting universities belonged to more professional associations, particularly to ALA, and were more involved in the organization than those at nondoctorate institutions. How LIBRARIANS WHICH ASSOCIATION DECIDE How do librarians decide which associations to join? For some, the choice is easy; their employers pay dues and conference expenses and, absent any financial pressure, the librarian’s decision is based on which association is most relevant to his or herjob. Most, however, do not have this economic freedom and must select from an array of professional organizations which include the American Library Association and its divisions; American Society for Information Science; Special Libraries Association; American Association of Law Libraries; Medical Library Association; Music Library Association and other specialized organizations; as well as state, regional, or local professional bodies. This variety of organizations does not include unions, staff associations, or collective KAMM/TO JOIN OR NOT T O JOIN 29’7 bargaining units, which are covered elsewhere in this issue. Since prospective members pay their own dues, they make choices based on the cost of dues and the return on their investment whether that return consists of informative publications, conference programs which are financially accessible, are relevant to their jobs, and which afford them the opportunity to network with colleagues or which serve as forums for presentations. Unlike attorneys who may be required to be members of their state bar association in order to practice law, librarians are under no legal compulsion to belong to national, state, or other professional groups. The author of this article has been active in professional organizations both nationally and locally but has dropped out of both the Special Libraries Association and her state association largely for financial reasons. Although her current employer paid her dues in the state library association, the association’s conference programs were of little interest or relevance to her job, its policy of charging for an exhibit pass was objectionable, and the association’s publication was of poor quality. With the SLA, her reasoning was similar-i.e., the cost of dues and the fact that association publications and conference programs lacked immediate job relevance. In SLA‘s case, the local chapter’s activities were frequently more pertinent or useful and offered greater opportunities for networking than did the national association. Additionally, meetings of the local chapter of SLA are open to members and nonmembers at the same fee.