ALA Executive Board,
Spring 2002 Meeting
$1.95-million Wells Fargo deal
gets meetings off to rousing start.
Sidebar: How Are We Doing?—the state of the Association
Announcement of a $1.95-million sponsorship deal with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage to support the Campaign for America’s Libraries was an auspicious beginning for the ALA Executive Board’s spring meetings, April 13–14. As board members cheered, ALA Executive Director William Gordon and Development Office Director Susan Roman announced that the deal had been clinched just the night before.
The sponsorship will provide $1,250,000 in cash for the campaign over five years, Gordon said. The first check, for $250,000, was to arrive in 30 days. He explained that the other piece of the sponsorship will flow through ALA’s Reference and User Services Association—$700,000 for a “financial literacy” program with $350,000 in the form of grants to public libraries.
Details of how the Wells Fargo support will affect the campaign budget were sketchy, but Gordon emphasized that the commitment was “real money” and not in-kind contributions. Wells Fargo is the largest retail mortgage originator in the country and will sign on as another founding partner of the campaign. The money is expected to arrive in $250,000 increments over five years.
“We believe this is one of the largest cash gifts ever given to ALA,” Gordon told an ecstatic board, “and may prevent us from having to take money out of the endowment to fund the campaign.”
The segue from Wells Fargo into a discussion of the FY 2003 Association budget (EBD#3.4, #3.4.1) was a smooth one, buoyed by the news that ALA membership dues “are doing very well,” according to Associate Executive Director for Finance Greg Calloway, “which in this kind of climate is counterintuitive.”
During Calloway’s presentation, the board learned that the headquarters lease agreement with David Green and Associates, who rent space on the seventh floor, has been extended to May 2004, although it was to have ended in December. Microsoft has informed ALA that it will no longer donate software as it has over the past few years, so it must be budgeted for. The Office for Intellectual Freedom is saving money by taking its newsletter entirely online. The budget contains no growth in the number of staff positions.
More money matters
ALA Treasurer Liz Bishoff, reporting for the board’s Finance and Audit Subcommittee (EBD#4.13), warned that the Association has developed only two new revenue-generating programs in 10 years. The board reaffirmed the budget-reduction plan adopted at its 2001 fall meeting—staggered staff hiring, reduction of temporary and outside services, and a 10% reduction in travel expenses—through August 31, the remainder of FY 2002.
The board allocated $16,000 from the Life Membership Fund to support a direct-mail campaign for the planned-giving program, with the stipulation that it be repaid. So that 25 scholarships can be awarded for FY 2003 in the Spectrum Initiative, funds generated by the Leo Albert and Louise Giles Scholarships will be incorporated into the Spectrum minority scholarship program, although the two scholarships will retain their names. A task force chaired by former ALA president Sarah Ann Long is working to establish the William R. Gordon Scholarship within the Spectrum Initiative to honor the retiring ED, who has already contributed $10,000 to Spectrum. The Development Office’s goal is to raise $200,000 for the initiative this year, said Roman (EBD#6.2).
Endowment trustee Rich Schweiterman reported by speakerphone on ALA’s $12.5-million portfolio, saying he expected slow growth for the endowment, but certainly better than last year.
With a $49.25-million ceiling, the budget now goes to the Budget Analysis and Review Committee (BARC) and presentation at the ALA Annual Conference this month.
ALA Immediate Past President Nancy Kranich led a discussion of the “transition team” that is paving the way for the Association’s split into two organizations with the forthcoming establishment of a 501 (c)(6) ALA Allied Professional Association. Joined by BARC chair Patricia Smith, ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment Director Lorelle Swader, and Calloway, Kranich revealed preliminary budget plans, with one possible scenario calling for a start-up loan from ALA and the transfer of a revenue stream (probably from Publishing) to support the new entity. APA will offer postgraduate specialty certification, advocate for pay equity, and address other issues related to the professional status of librarians. Smith suggested that the APA be the subject of the Planning and Budget Assembly at Annual Conference.
While the APA forges full-steam ahead, the creation of an independent, external accrediting body to replace the current ALA accreditation system seems hopelessly stalled. The idea came out of the first Congress on Professional Education in 1999, and a task force has done extensive exploration into how such a body could be established. Presented by Senior Associate Executive Director Mary Ghikas, the latest report on the issue (EBD#12.32) offers “a strategy for discussion,” which the board concluded was about the best that could be hoped for in view of the fact that there seems to be little enthusiasm for action. “Even if it goes down in flames,” said board member Kent Oliver, “it’s too important an issue not to be brought forward for a vote.”
A task force attempting to prepare a statement of core competencies in librarianship (EBD#8.6) also met with obstacles, inasmuch as the board felt a statement of competencies was somehow incomplete without a statement of professional values, which another task force failed to achieve to Council’s approval. The board tabled the discussion until Annual Conference, when a member of the competencies task force could be present to talk about the statement.
Much of the board’s Saturday meeting time was taken up with the presentation of business plans by Deidre Ross, director of Conference Services (EBD#12.28, #12.29), and Don Chatham, director of Publishing (EBD#13.30). Mary Ghikas placed the two plans within the context of an Association-wide business plan (EBD#12.27, #12.27.1).
The board discussed the degree to which it needed to be involved in the business plans, with Bishoff suggesting that more time be spent dealing directly with staff, since the plans ultimately come to the board for approval as part of the budget. Most board members said, however, that they wanted to avoid “mucking around in management,” as Ken Haycock put it.
Legal defense fund
Presented with a recommendation (EBD#12.33) to establish a task force to consider a strategy for endowing a legal defense fund to handle fundraising for court battles such as CIPA, the board debated at length how such a fund would compete with or complement the Freedom to Read Foundation, which was established in 1969 for much the same purpose. Ultimately, the board felt it lacked information for a decision and instructed staff to explore the ramifications of establishing the defense fund and to report back at Annual Conference.
ALA’s attorney in the case, Theresa Chmara, recapped the CIPA trial by speakerphone, saying that she felt the judges understood the unconstitutionality of CIPA and that she was optimistic about the trial’s outcome. The judges seemed to comprehend that blocking software will never be foolproof, she said, and that there is a stigma attached to forcing adults to ask that filtering software be turned off for unfettered access to the Internet.
Action wrap-up
In additional actions the board:
- Discussed, in closed sessions, the appointment of a new executive director (with board member and candidate Camila Alire recusing herself). The other candidate, Keith Fiels, was selected during the process. The board also discussed legal and personnel issues with ALA attorney Paula Goedert.
- Agreed to present to Council a policy amendment to shorten the term of the ALA treasurer from four years to three (EBD#4.14) because it has become what Bishoff called “a strenuous, time-consuming position.”
- Received a draft of an extensive disaster preparedness and recovery plan (EBD#12.25) from Ghikas and Al Companio, ALA director of Operations and Support. Kranich urged the addition of a communications plan for the press and media.
- Received a workforce analysis (EBD#12.23) from the ALA Human Resources Office.
- Discussed its own effectiveness in the context of a document (EBD#12.18) prepared by Haycock, who has been exploring ways to improve board meetings, interpersonal relationships, and strategic development.
- Disagreed over whether or not to approve Las Vegas as the site of the 2014 ALA Annual Conference, approving the site with three dissenting votes. Some board members recalled that in the distant past ALA Council had asked that the conference never again be held there. Other sites approved (EBD#12.29) were: Seattle for Midwinter 2013, and Washington, D.C., for Annual and Philadelphia for Midwinter 2014.
- Received written reports from President John W. Berry (EBD#7.5) and President-elect Maurice Freedman (EBD#7.6), as well as Executive Director Gordon (EBD#12.26), Washington Office Director Emily Sheketoff (EBD#12.24), and AED for Communications Gerald Hodges (EBD#12.21, #12.22).
Other board members present were: Alice Calabrese, Julie Cummins, Molly Raphael, Barbara Stripling, and Patty Wong.
How Are We Doing?
These intriguing tidbits were part of a business planning presentation to the ALA Executive Board by Senior Associate Executive Director Mary Ghikas.
Members
- The median length of an ALA personal membership is 8 years.
- ALA membership has grown 27% in the last 10 years.
- 60% of ALA members belong to at least one ALA division.
Members/Staff
- In 1980, ALA had 35,433 members and 218 staff—or one staff member for every 162 members.
- In 1990, ALA had grown to 50,509 members and 259 staff—one staff member for every 195 members.
- By 2000, ALA had reached 61,103 members, with 284 staff—one staff member for every 215 members.
Dues Revenue/Members
- In 1980, the ALA general fund earned $1,524,000 in dues revenue from 35,433 members, an average of $43 per member.
- By 2000, the ALA general fund earned $4,448,000 in dues revenue from 61,103 members, an average of $72.79 per member.
- Over the past decade, dues have decreased from 21% to 17%, as a percentage of total ALA revenue.
Payroll Expenses/Total Revenue
- In 1999, 35.3% of every dollar of revenue earned by ALA went to meet payroll expenditures, compared to an association-industry median of 31.5%.
- By 2001, that percentage had increased to 40.1%. Associations generally are reporting an increase in payroll expenses as a percentage of total revenue.
Staff/Total Revenue
- In 1999, ALA generated $130,371 in revenue for each full-time staff member, compared to an association-industry median of $148,183.
- By 2001, that number had increased to $140,128.
Member Equity, or Net Assets per Member
- 1980—$133
- 2000—$320
- 2001—$235
The latest figure shows the impact of draw-downs from the endowment and of the economic slowdown.
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