ALAHead to 2010

Overview of ALA Membership Growth and Demographics

Contents

     Overall ALA Membership Growth 1995 - 2005
     ALA Personal Members by Type 2005
     Membership Ratios in 2000 and 2005 by Member Type
     ALA Personal Members - 2005 by Anniversary Month
     Month Anniversary Date Comparison by Percentage between 2002 and 2005
     ALA Personal Members - 2005 by Type of Responsibility
     Source Codes for New and Reinstating Personal Members - 2005

Last updated: 1/11/2008

   ALA Membership Growth
ALA Membership  posted steady growth in both 2004 and 2005. Factors which have contributed to this growth include the new Library Support Staff member type, a reactivation of the Oprah Book Club as an organizational member benefit, and a renewed focus on new Corporate membership initiatives. In 2005, membership increased by 3% while dues revenue increased by 1%. This is attributable to more members opting for lower priced dues in categories such as Support Staff, Students and Retired.   

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   Personal Members
Between 2000 and 2005, new trends in membership emerged. As a factor of overall membership, Regular members declined by 4% while Student members increased by the same amount. In real numbers, 2,869 Student members have been added and 1,064 Regular members were lost in that period.  

Library Support Staff (LSS) promises to be an area for significant growth. In the first year, projections for membership included 600 new LSS members. The projection was exceeded by 50% and 928 support and paraprofessional staff have been welcomed to membership

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   Membership Ratios

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   Personal Membership Anniversary
Personal Membership anniversary dates are also beginning to shift.  As recently as 2002, December renewals were 4% points higher than today. Since 2002, August has seen the most increase, with an additional 3% of renewals occurring in that month. 

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   Month Anniversary Date Comparison by Percentage between 2002 and 2005

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   Membership by Type of Responsibility
Most ALA Members continue to be in positions of responsibility at their libraries, based on self- reported levels of job responsibility. Despite the advent of the Library Support Staff membership, a dramatic increase in support staff job titles or responsibilities has not been observed.

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   New Member Acquisitions
Over the years, it has been noted that new member appeals are most effective when mailed in the late winter and early fall.  For FY 2006, mailings to prospective members will occur during both seasons.  The Fall mailing is focused on type of library and includes an invitation to join PLA, ACRL, or AASL, depending on the place of employment. 
The spring mailing will be focused on the type of work done and will offer LITA, ALCTS, RUSA, and combined ALSC/YALSA opportunities, again depending on the nature of the mailing lists purchased. The chart below describes the source codes for our new and renewing member campaigns.

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