Member Participation Task Force

The Member Participation Task Force met in Seattle during the ALA Midwinter Meeting. Here are the notes from the discussion.

• We need to tap members’ enthusiasm
• Who in ALA is doing online leadership training?
• We need to look at what is in the “member only” category of the ALA Web site. (This came up as well at the December Web retreat at ALA headquarters.)
• We should encourage early engagement by truly welcoming new members
  
  • John Chrastka says his office is working on this
  • Renewing members needs this as well
    
    • American Libraries will have information—new members, renewals, and near-expiring members
      
      • This is a good supplement to emails sent to members
• NMRT has and online newsletter with one print issue before annual
• Membership card mailing is an opportunity to welcome new members
  
  • Welcome kit is under revision
  • This information should also be on the ALA Web site
• A wiki for student members is under development
  
  • How can ALA partner with library schools?
• See Read Write Connect on ALA homepage
• There are member opportunities in the divisions and round tables (e.g., LITA Web editor)
• Threaded discussion—user friendly—allows observation
• ALA orientation for committee interns with committee chairs present
  
  • Suggests opportunities of ways to use interns successfully
• John Chrastka wishes for participation by the divisions in marketing efforts
• Recommend training programs for committee chairs
• Encourage moving things in ala.org
  
  • New CMS offers opportunities
• Look at moveon.org as a model
• No micro-engagement in ALA
  
  • ALA involvement tends to be all or nothing
  • Micro-engagement opportunities need to be available
    
    • e.g., petitions through the Washington Office (not sure what this means?)
• Random acts of kindness from ALA
• We can’t rely on retention of “checkbook” members
• ALA has 10,000 student members

Recommendations

1. Welcome new members


2. Inform them of ways to contribute/get involved


3. Engagement through brief meaningful encounters

Jim Rettig wrote an essay addressing Scenario #3 posited in the August 20 memo. Scenario #3 is:

You have been an ALA member for x years. Your personal financial situation (kids, mortgage, car loan, orthodontia bills, maybe some remaining student loans, etc.) prevents you from attending the ALA Annual conference and the Midwinter meeting. Your employer, for whatever reason, can’t or won’t subsidize such participation. But you want to get involved and contribute? What does ALA offer such members today? What should it offer them? How can it offer them opportunities for meaningful involvement?

Several members of the Task Force addressed the scenarios posited in the August 20 memo. Sally Gibson addressed scenario #1:

Assume you are new to the profession. You have very recently earned your MLS and are starting work in an engaging professional position. You want to contribute and get involved. You are au courant with information and communication technologies. How would you like to get involved? What tools, behaviors, technologies, whatever do you want to employ in your involvement?

In early October Task Force members edited a shared document about "If I joined ALA tomorrow, what would I want to experience?" Take a look at the document with tracked changes.