ILA Membership Committee

2006-03-02T07:44:00.000-08:00

Since I don't know if I'll be reappointed to the Membership Committee next year (though I have asked--feel free to lobby on my behalf, as I'd like to continue!), I figured I'd share the information I've found about mentoring programs for new librarians.

On the national level, the ALA New Members Round Table has a very active mentoring program, including both conference and career mentoring. The conference mentoring program started several years ago, and the career mentoring program is in its early stages. The program has been very successful thus far, and each year they have had more volunteers as mentors as well as mentees. Their web site has a variety of documents, including volunteer applications, descriptions of the program, and testimonials. If we're looking for a model for an ILA mentoring program, NMRT would be a good one. (As an aside, I'm very involved with NMRT, and I'm running for Vice President/President-Elect this year.)

The South Carolina Library Association's New Members Round Table has a mentoring program as well. They based their program on the NMRT program. 2005 was their first year, and they had some good results, although it seems that their program is off to a slow start. (From my experience, that's not unusual with mentoring programs--it takes time to get the word out, and they tend to grow each year.) Based on their brochure (in .pdf format), they promote their mentoring program as a benefit of membership. It would probably be too soon for them to tell if the mentoring program has boosted SCLA membership, but I do believe it would be an excellent benefit for students and new librarians. Some of the other programs that the SCLA NMRT offers for new members are also worth a look, particularly their writing/presentation award.

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) also has a successful mentoring program in place. According to Fiona Bradley, ALIA started with career mentoring, since they found that many new/early-career librarians do not attend their conference, and because face-to-face communication isn't necessary for career mentoring. (They also have a biennial conference specifically designed for early-career librarians.) ALIA has put together some excellent guidelines for mentors and mentees--some of the best I've seen. They advertise their program in the usual places--electronic discussion lists, state association newsletters, and the ALIA publication. They structured their program based on other programs, including the ALA NMRT program, and they found that ten pairs of mentors/mentees was the optimal size for their organization.

I think a mentoring program would be very successful for ILA. I'd really like to take a lead role on this, if you're willing to let me. I would like to do some further research before a program is set, but I think it would be wonderful to have a pilot in place for the 2006 ILA conference. Please let me know what you think!

2005-11-17T07:30:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

Here's our to-do list. Am thinking we should discuss via this blog, make some decisions, divvy up the duties, etc. Please comment.

Am thinking that anything we need to run past the Board should be run past Bob first. Perhaps talk with Bob over the phone and then draft a list of suggestions for the Board.

Keeping existing members - incentives
1. Give a prize for continuous membership at 5, 10, 15, etc. years. - Gotta suggest a prize and run this past the Board.
2. Do a social event. - If it's dutch treat, the committee could organize an upstate and a downstate social event. Will this be attended, i.e. will people travel to get there and pay a fee to attend? We don't have to ask the Board about this, my gut tells me they won't fund it. Maybe find a donor?
3. Send a welcome letter to new members with info on how to get involved. - Committee drafts, office sends.
4. Pair new members with a seasoned member as a mentor. - Committee organizes.

Recruiting new members - incentives
1. Lower student dues. - Gotta suggest a level and run this past the Board.
2. New dues category for support staff. - Suggest a level and run this past the Board.
3. A prize to the member who recruits the most new members. - Suggest a prize (hotel or registration at conference?) and run it past the Board.
4. Provide a New Member ribbon for name tags at the conference.

Other incentives
1. Students who work the conference get their registration free (or paid by a donor ) - run past the Board.
2. Provide a Student ribbon for name tags at the conference..
3. Rewrite the brochure. - Jocelyn is working on this.
4. Create a traveling exhibit, ask for donors to fund. - run this past the Board.
5. Arrange and cover promotional booths at library events.
6. Figure out a way to convince members that they should recruit new members at their places of employment.
7. Coupons for prizes.

Testimonials
1. Institutional members. - Tim is working on this.
2. Academic people. - Jocelyn is working on this.
3. Public library people. - Amy is working on this.
Re: these three items: Tim, Jocelyn and Amy are coordinating this effort. They may/will need help in making contacts and writing letters.

New Member Reception at the conference - I'm working on this.
1. New members being 0-5 years.
2. Schedule at a no conflict time so ILA leadership can attend.
3. Finger food and milling.
Re: this item: I've already talked with Cindy and she thinks it's doable. Will be following up.

Conference program
1. The Membership Committee is requested to sponsor/organize one program for the 2006 conference. Any ideas?
2. Maybe also in addition do a poster session to promote forum/committee involvement??

Am I missing anything?

Thanks.
lad

2005-10-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

I wanted to both e-mail and post to the Blog the notes from our meeting to be sure you-all received them today but, I can't figure out how to copy the e-mail to the Blog so, check your e-mail for the notes.

I've got some follow-up questions:

Tim, re: your recruiting Sarah Long, Ken Gross and Shirley Mae Byrnes to sign testimonial letters. Are the letters being written and if so, are they doing the writing? If we're doing the writing, will one draft work for all three or do we need to draft individual letters for each? And if the latter, would you like help?

Kristy, re: Reaching Forward North and South. Do you need help staffing the booths? Have the RF people given you any ideas on what incentives they'd like?

Jocelyn and Amy, please keep us posted on how it's going with recruiting testimonial signers for your respective areas. If you need help drafting letters, please ask.

Kim, I'll be in touch with you concerning our approaching the Board about:
Lowering dues for students.
Can we ask vendors for money to create a travelling promotional item.
A prize for the member who recruites the most new members - either conference hotel or registration.
Suggesting students who volunteer to work the conference registration desk be given a free registration to the conference.
Providing a prize/incentive for continuing members at 5 yrs, 10 yrs, etc.

Everyone, How are we doing at this point? Is there anything else we need to discuss now?

Thanks -- lad

2005-10-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

Perk for most new members

Hello Tim,

Thank you for your note.

It was great seeing you in Peoria too. Yes, we will consider the sponsorship as you outlined below. Also, I am copying my colleague Maureen Scully on this response. Again, thanks for the time we spent together and I hope to see you again soon.

Best regards,
Otis Foster Account Executive, Field Sales Academic Research Libraries Thomson Gale

Tim Jarzemsky [mailto:tjarzemsky@linc.lib.il.us] Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2005 5:30 PMTo: otis.foster@gale.comCc: kristy@ila.orgSubject: ILA membership committee "donation"

Dear Otis,

It was great seeing you in Peoria. As I discussed with you and Maureen Scully I am currently working on the ILA membership committee. The committee is exploring ways to increase membership and to increase benefits to current members. Our latest brain storm is a perk for the ILA member who gets the most fellow librarians to join ILA as new members (no renewals).

The prize would be one paid admission to the next ILA conference in Chicago for the current member who brings in the most new members. The ILA staff could track the statistics – Thomason Gale would simply pay the conference fee. I am not sure what ILA 2006 will cost but ILA 2005 cost $175. This could be a win for Thomson Gale as you would get positive PR out of the contest. Let me know if this is something you would consider. Thanks and stay in touch.

Ps. go white Sox!!

2005-09-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

Hi Nanette -

I think we're definitely going to meet during the conference; Larry and I are working on a meeting time and date and will post something soon!

Kim

2005-09-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to put together my schedule for ILA, and I was wondering if the Membership Committee will be meeting. If so, when and where?

Thanks!

2005-09-01T14:32:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

Update on what's going on with Michael Gorman's letter:

1. Kristy has compiled the mailing list and it's ready to go.

2. Bob/Kristy have printed the letter on ALA stationary.

3. Bob will send to Michael for his signature.

4. The finished letter should be in the mail sometime next week.

5. We are on schedule.

Larry

2005-08-22T06:51:00.000-07:00

Hi All -

I'd like to get started with my part of the letter writing campaign. Are we still all picking a target audience and drafting letters encouraging ILA membership / renewal? I'm not certain what audiences are left over since I missed the orientation (Friends groups????). I realize this may be best answered by Larry.......

Hope everyone's summer is wrapping up nicely!

Kim

2005-08-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

Here's the latest draft for Michael Gorman.

-----------------------------------------

Dear Jane/John Doe,

I am writing to ask you to join the Illinois Library Association (ILA).

As President of the American Library Association (ALA), I understand the importance of membership in professional organizations and I am grateful for the commitment that you have made to librarianship by joining ALA. ALA and ILA work together to promote and advocate for libraries.

ILA is a grass roots organization with many benefits for its members. In addition to networking, publishing, career development and continuing education opportunities, ILA coordinates advocacy for libraries in state government through direct contacts with members of the General Assembly, the Governor's Office, and the Secretary of State all of whom make decisions that affect Illinois libraries daily. ILA's advocacy efforts this spring successfully defeated legislation that would have required all Illinois libraries to filter their computers; defeated changes to the Illinois Library Records Confidentiality Act; removed draconian changes to the Public Library District Act regarding disconnection; and sponsored a bill increasing the bid threshold limit. This is an extraordinarily successful record in the spring session of the Illinois General Assembly, a session in which libraries faced many challenges.

As a former resident of Illinois and member of ILA, I know that Illinois libraries and library employees are innovative, collaborative, and active in their pursuit of quality service and in the defense of our core values. The Illinois Library Association has been a leader in advancing the cause of librarianship both within Illinois and in Washington, D.C.

I ask you to join and become active in the Illinois Library Association in addition to your ALA membership. Being involved with both will add value to your professional pursuits and interests. Please use the membership application on the back of this letter to join ILA today.

Cordially,

Michael Gorman, President
American Library Association
www.michaelgorman.org
michaelg@csufresno.edu

P.S. As an ILA member, you receive a substantial savings on the ILA Annual Conference registration. I will be speaking at the ILA Annual Conference in Peoria on Wednesday, October 12, 2005, 2:00-3:00 PM. I am looking forward to visiting Illinois and meeting you and other colleagues at the Conference.

2005-08-04T10:30:00.000-07:00

Here's some of my thoughts on recruiting students and student outreach--two things that are very near and dear to my heart!

A couple of years ago, a student at the University of Illinois library school tried to get an ILA student group off the ground. (Kristy will probably remember this--she volunteered her help to get the group going.) Nothing ever really happened due to lack of interest.

As I see it, the main difficulty with recruiting students into ILA is that many students do not know where they will be living once they graduate. When finances are tight, it's difficult for students to justify membership in a state library association if they don't think they'll end up staying in that state when they get a job. Perhaps a better idea would be to promote state library association membership in general. That way, people who stay in Illinois after they graduate will consider joining ILA, and people who move to other states will have received the message about the importance of state library association membership and will consider joining the state library association in their home state. I see this as an opportunity for us to possibly partner with other state library associations, particularly in states where there's a library school or states that seem to be popular with graduates looking for their first jobs (i.e., California, Oregon, Washington, Florida, Massachusetts, New York).

Of course, there are many UIUC LIS students who live in Illinois and plan on staying here, and they can certainly benefit from student membership. However, we have to come up with incentives to inspire them to join. Student pricing is a good deal, of course, but what else can we do for them? I hate to sound negative, but ILA can seem awfully closed off to new members as far as getting involved is concerned. (That's actually part of the reason why I let my ILA membership lapse after I graduated from library school--I couldn't see any way for a new member without institutional connections [i.e., library director on the executive board] to become involved in the work of the association. I don't like to join an organization and be a passive member who just reads the newsletter and sometimes attends the conferences!)

Perhaps we need to highlight the benefits of student membership beyond "it's cheap and it looks nice on your resume" by letting students know how state library association membership can benefit them in the early stages of their career in professional librarianship and by providing ways for them to get involved and get to know the association.

Also, we should not forget the students at Dominican when we discuss marketing to students. I'm under the impression that there are probably more Dominican students who will be staying in Illinois post-graduation, so we may be more successful marketing ILA membership to Dominican students. I am most familiar with UIUC GSLIS (I graduated in 2003 and my husband is a 2005 grad, and we both still have strong connections to the school through the alumni association and the student groups), but I know there are a number of ILA folks who are Dominican (or Rosary) alums who likely still have connections.

Please let me know what you think about what I've said. I'm curious to hear other committee members' opinions on student recruitment and student outreach.

2005-08-02T13:40:00.000-07:00

I am about to email Instutional members that I know and ask for testimonials . Hopefully we get a number of good replies.

2005-08-02T12:57:00.000-07:00

test

2005-08-02T09:55:00.000-07:00

Here are the notes from our meeting on July 28.

ILA Membership Committee Meeting
Alliance Library System
Thursday, July 28, 2005

Present:
Larry D’Urso
Amy Falasz-Peterson
Timothy Jarzemsky
Jocelyn Tipton
Karen Becker
Lynn Ward
Sally Duchow

Target Audiences
Lynn volunteered to use her contacts with the University of Illinois library school students to tell them about the benefits of an ILA membership.

The group felt that recruiting new members among your coworkers is a good place to start.

Amy suggested that we should target our efforts towards existing library employees.

The committee could work with the marketing committee to develop a traveling exhibit/information about the benefits of ILA membership. Create enough information to keep at each system. Perhaps this could be underwritten by a large vendor.

Encourage speakers at ILA to become members.

Karen is going to find out when SPLMI and ISPL is for 2006 so that the membership committee can do something at these conferences.

Incentives
Lynn & Tim will be working on ideas for incentives for ILA membership.

Financial incentives need to be approved by either Dianne or Bob.

Some ideas that were introduced yesterday include:

Offer membership at ½ off to first year members
Impress upon decision makers (library directors, etc.) the importance of membership in ILA
Give incentives for institutional members (work with a large vendor to offer a discount)
If an institution is a member, then an employee can join at a reduced rate (5-10% off; $5-$10 off).
Have a flat fee for all trustees.
Possible to have a contest of some sort among the systems to encourage the most new members and offer a free conference registration to the staff.
Do a raffle at the conference: free renewal next year
Redesign form so that if you refer someone to join, you get a discount on your renewal dues.

Brochure
Update 2/03 brochure to be distributed among members that emphasizes what ILA offers, not necessarily the types of libraries served.
Include what ILA does for targeted topics or projects.
Make sure people can sign up for forums on the brochure.
Stamp/barcode brochure so the committee can track the effectiveness of the piece.
FOLLOW UP when people express interest. Follow up with an email, phone call or letter.

Jocelyn will contact the marketing committee about the brochure.

Testimonial Letters
Larry is drafting a letter for Michael Gorman to sign to be mailed to the 1,000 or so members of ALA who are not ILA members.

Amy will contact him to see if he would sign the letter.

Timothy is writing his testimonial letter, emphasizing institutional memberships. He will also contact other directors to write a similar letter.

Jocelyn will do the same, targeting academic librarians. She will emphasize the individual memberships.

Amy will write one for support staff and other employees in public libraries.

Goal
The number one goal of the membership committee for the upcoming year is to increase membership.

Communication
Kim has volunteered to set up a blog.

The committee will meet during the conference. Everyone should check their calendars for available dates.

2005-08-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the ILA Membership Committee blog! Committee members will use this blog to stay in touch, to report on accomplishments and tasks, and to exchange ideas on recruiting Illinois librarians to the association.

Kim Litland