Bailing out from ALA (not me)

Eclectic Librarian has had it, for now, with ALA, and does the courtesy of telling them why (hint: rhymes with Mormon). I've been hemming and hawing about whether or not to run for Council again when my term expires, and I think EL has convinced me that I should, so that I can contribute to making it a more progressive, appealing and useful organization.  But, ask me again after Annual.

Is there anyone else who is not renewing ALA membership for specific reasons (besides poverty)?

Comments

[ams]

I'm still a student, but I'm not going to be supporting the ALA. Truthfully, it doesn't seem to do anything for librarians and for public discourse, as far as I can tell.

And for the more techy side of things - where I tend to live - the people at ASIS&T are a lot more fun.

[Angel]

I came here from jumping from another blog, kind of lost track where, since this seems to be getting bigger by the moment. Sometimes I just want to blot out every Gorman and Cronin comment and event, but the cat is out of the bag. The impression it is leaving on a new librarian (but experienced educator) is not a good one. Right now, I have my ALA membership, along with the obligatory roundtables and sections, but I do cringe at renewal time considering that it does boil down to a bunch of subscriptions. My work does not exactly provide a lot of support financially, and it sure as heck is not viable for me to go on my penny, not to mention tell my wife and kid, "honey, I have a conference, be gone for a week or so." (And before anyone says, "make a vacation out of it," if I can't afford it for me, I sure can't for them as much as I would love to). I have to agree also, the organization is just extremely bloated. If I could keep a membership in parts of ALA, like the Instruction Section and LIRT for instance, that would work. But you have to have the whole enchilada. At the moment, my only hope of ever attending may be when MidWinter makes it to San Antonio, which I think may be the chance for a few of my colleagues as well (if I decide to go and depending on what help I get from where I work). Actually, as far as I can tell, involvement in my workplace is pretty relaxed. Some of my colleagues are involved in the State Association, though it seems more oriented to public librarians, but I can't tell for myself since I have not been to one of their conferences yet; it has been what I have been told. I "brought" my ALA membership with me when I came out of library school. Overall, it is the most pricey of my memberships, and it just does not seem to be very representative.

Anyhow, I am just one small lonely voice, and maybe that is part of my apprehension as well. I get the impression you have to know someone,and often, know someone who knows someone, to get a foot in the door. Maybe I need more time to settle in, so to speak. My first year evaluation is coming up in a couple of months. I was asking my supervisor a bit about things I would like to do next, and I think I mentioned that now that I have been in my job, which I love, a year, attending at least one conference, large or small, would be one of my next goals. In her wise motherly way, she kind of told me to worry about it. She meant it in terms of I would be able to figure it out when the right time and conference came along. But I also wonder, since overall, we are practicing librarians. Something like ALA seems far and distant. Yes, they keep us informed, publish some good things, but they are way over there, and I am over here, and I have more immediate things to do.

Now I know I am on a ramble, so I better shut the tap while I can. I am just a little guy wondering if it is really worth the bother to try, or should I let them kill each other and see who is left standing? (haha). Seriously, at some day, I think I would like to be involved, but right now it is not only not affordable, the environment is just not right. In the meantime, best to all.

[Kathleen]

I've been a member over 30 years but one more Laura-a-thon issue of AL (the most recent has a pro-Laura editorial, a photo, a story AND a lead off Bush quote in 'Thus Said.') and I could just use dues money to get the National Review or support the Heritage Foundation.

[Matt]

I have never been in ALA, but even though I am switching my career focus from archiving to librarianship, I will not join until the organization has a leader I feel is not an embarrassment to the profession. So, sometime around mid-2006 at the earliest.

[Mark]

As a comment on the current Gorman flap—this is why I'm not quite ready to give up on ALA. I need to be a member of ACRL to be a member of our student group, and how can I pass up the opportunity to help get the 1st ACRL student group up and sizzling? The balance is certainly tilting though, I have to say. When I no longer get away with the student rate, and ACRL has raised their rates? And yes, Mary Ellen (Davis), we still want a student rate for ACRL. The problem we are told, fellow students, is that there isn't enough of us as members to make it worthwhile. So get involved, start your own student chapters; and agitate for a student rate for ACRL.

And while I publicly stated over at FRL that "I agree with you that Gorman is not a racist, at least not based on an uniformed comment using the term "hip hop,"" I do believe that the comment borders on racism, intentional or not. It is certainly unacceptable, along with ALAs non-response. I certainly hope that someone at headquarters is reigning him in, although I also feel something should be stated publicly. As much as it pains me to say this after spending over 20 years swearing an oath to our protect and defend our Constitution, Gorman needs to be censored—before he opens his mouth or dips his pen in the inkwell. With all the issues facing our field in this 21st century wartime America, and our culture even if we weren't at war, we do not need the kinds of public comments from a so-called leader in our field that are coming from Michael Gorman. Get it together ALA! Because I fully agree with Dorothea and many others; there is an awful lot of grassroots work that needs to be done; work that can't be done at a national level to begin with. I do beleive that there is an important function to be filled by a professional organization such as ALA. I'm just not convinced that ALA is.

[Fiona Bradley]

I'm in. I just added ACRL to my membership last month (I just had SRRT before). I'm an interntional member so that plays into things to - for me, ALA really isn't much more than a bunch of magazine subscriptions. I can't run for council, or committees, or go to conferences so things that happen there don't affect me (though I do pay attention in the hopes that one day I'll be able to go).

ALA is still in the affordable bracket for me at the moment. My local association, ALIA costs me more but is much more valuable to me as I do a lot of commitee work with them. I also shell out lots of money to IFLA, though as I am not on any committees, and don't go to conferences, again it's just an expensive way of showing support for the organisation.

At least all of these are tax deductions.

However, the Gorman kerfuffle has impacted in it's own way with me. I'm coordinating the program for a conference next year. Gorman was on our initial list of possible speakers. Needless to say, he's been unceremoniously cut from our list.

[rochelle]

You guys all rawk immeasurably! I honor all of your decisions and thank you for taking the time to explain your positions. Jessamyn is right--poverty does play a role. If my library didn't help out at some level, there's no way I'd be able to participate (thank you, BPL). Will offer a longer response later. Got a 14 y.o. breathing down my neck for access right now.

I think this post has garnered the most responses thusfar on the blog. Obviously, a big deal. I hope ALA is reading. (I see Carol and Keith and Nann and Michael and Michael and Terri and .....). Or, really, I hope that ALA Council is reading. (I see Mark and Michael and Jessamyn and Hector and Jim and Ling and Sue and KR and ....)

[staple]

For a cataloger in a research library, ALCTS is not optional. So I stay, though I cringe every year when renewal time comes...

[nanette]

i'm renewing because of committee appointments and an elected position in nmrt (which i am really really excited about). but when i got my renewal notice in the mail and saw that my dues including divisions (i'm in three and can't drop any) and roundtables was over $200, i was wondering where in the heck i was going to find the $$$ to renew. my work is very supportive about sending me to conference, but they don't pay dues. between ala and ila, i shell out just over $400 in association dues each year! i stay involved to get my money's worth, to work towards change, and to provide my noisy little public librarian voice in divisions (particularly) that are really dominated by academic librarians. seriously...i've been at alcts meetings where i was THE ONLY public librarian in the room.

i'm actually thinking of running for council next year. it all depends on another opportunity that i'm interviewing for at annual (an online newsletter editing appointment for a division). if i get that, i probably won't run because i'll have to attend a bunch of meetings at conference. but if i don't, i will hopefully be joining rochelle & co. on council in the next year. that's another reason you should stick around, rochelle--i need a mentor on council!

[Lisle McKenty]

I am another who is contemplating quitting. I have been an ALA member since 1989, I think. I haven't gotten that much out of it. I enjoy conferences, and I have learned some things. MPOW has reaped some advantages through my attendance. But at the same time, I don't know if free reading copies is enough of a return on my time. I have been on a committee the last two years. Money is an issue. I really can't justify going to Midwinter and Annual at my own expense (I used to get airfare, but no more). The committee service has made me think less of ALA. Now I am advising newbies from MPOW, and questioning my own commitment. The whole Gorman thing infuriates me, but it's kind of tangential. Offhand, I can name one ALA president from the last 15 years.

[nichole]

Hard to say. Looking at the opportunity costs, there do seem to be a long list of more worthy causes for my professional time and money.

[Jenica]

I'm out. I rejoined so I could go to ACRL for the member rate, and because it seemed like 'the thing to do' now that I have a good job that pays well. But I'm done. The blogging episode was enough to make me buy a "blog people" button and get amusingly cranky, but this last bit is enough. What does ALA give me in return for my (exorbitant) dues? Michael Gorman's shortsighted views and racist comments?

No. I'm done.

[Rikhei]

I confess I haven't been a member of ALA for two years, and I'm not very tempted to renew my membership now, for many of the same reasons that others have mentioned:

(1) I see little evidence it can help me to secure me more permanent or better-paying employment. In fact, I rather feel the organization is working at cross purposes by continuing to focus on recruitment.

(2) Few of my coworkers are involved in the ALA, while many of them are involved in our state library association.

(3) ALA's members, as a whole, do not appear to have the same hopes or goals I have for libraries and librarians, demonstrated in part by their election of Rhymes-with-Mormon.

The other thing that bothers me about ALA is how bloated the organization seems. There are so many committees, round tables, task forces, divisions, chapters, and so on. Do any of them know what any other is doing? I agree with Karen that the best way to effect change is from within, but the organization seems so big that trying to make a difference seems remarkably like facing a giant, cranky squid armed only with a small, pointy stick.

[Dorothea Salo]

I'm out, and I've said why on my blog. ALA isn't the only game in town, and it seems -- well, a bit odd to expend so much energy trying to reform the organization when there's so much that needs doing in other library- and information-related organizations (perhaps especially state and local ones).

Not that I don't respect the voices crying in the ALA wilderness. I do, very much, and I wish those voices all possible success. I also hope everybody has fun at Annual.

We're on the same page. We're just using different-color highlighters. (Did I just make everybody cringe?) The same-pageness is far more important to me than the highlighter color, and I hope that's true of other voices in the debate as well.

[jessamyn]

Thinking about it, though the poverty issue is part of it. I've never had a job that paid my way to ALA, or given me more than four hours of leave to go.

As much as I feel that I've been useful in Council discussions, and I've learned a lot from others, it's exhausting being on a mailing list with so many people who are so different from me: who think laptops belong on your lap, who think asking for wireless is like asking to be able to smoke in Council chambers, who think it's appropriate to call people names because they disagree with them and then cry "free speech" when people suggest they might be more civil.

On the other hand, things are improving. The new web site might not embarass us. Certain councilors who give me a hard time regularly might mellow out. More people might actually learn how to use email properly [including the Council list admin] so that reading the mailing list wasn't like being sent back in time. ALA might establish a reputation that wasn't so toothless [we've seen some of this with CIPA and the regular contact with the attorney general lately] and Michael Gorman might learn to appreciate the range of opinions and expression in the world the same way I do.

I have the same take as you: ask me after annual.

[A. N. Nym]

Me. While I appreciate Karen's call to stay in and fight the good fight, I am just too tired, looking for professional (pay for the) work (I already do as a para). Byzantine municipal union rules make it nigh impossible in every public library I've ever worked (I thought my $15K union card [er, MLS] was enough to at least get a foot in, but no - classic catch 22). ALA has nothing to offer me. Their shortage talk is salt in the wound. No one else where I work is a member, so why should I care?

Sorry. Bit of a down mood today.