ALCTS Financial Plan

ALCTS Financial Plan 2015

Adopted February 4, 2016
ALCTS Strategic Plan 2015

ALCTS Vision

The Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS) is the recognized dynamic leader and authority for principles, standards, best practices, continuing education, and new developments in the selection, management, and preservation of all information resources.

ALCTS Mission

To shape and respond nimbly to all matters related to the selection, identification, acquisition, organization, management, retrieval, and preservation of recorded knowledge through education, publication, and collaboration.

Environment

  • Rapidly changing technology-based environment
  • Declining membership
  • Uncertain national economy and library funding and their impact on the level of participation in the organization
  • Changing member expectations and increased competition for limited membership base
  • Evolving staffing patterns and increased need for practical staff training

Areas of Increased Focus

  1. Increase awareness of the ALCTS mission and activities to outside groups
  2. Increase participation in ALCTS activities
  3. Develop ALCTS as a vibrant, relevant organization

Financial Considerations and Strategies

ALCTS will ensure a reliable, positive financial position:

  • Generating additional income cash flow
    • Increasing membership base and membership revenue
      • Recruit new members by targeting under-involved groups (such as students and faculty), newly identified groups (such as library support staff, retirees, information professionals in non-library settings), and public and special librarians.
      • Collect and analyze ALCTS membership trend data and membership dues structure.
      • Investigate and implement additional ALCTS members-only benefits to encourage the participation, retention, and growth of members.
      • Identify and implement best practices for virtual participation, while balancing the costs and increasing efficiencies for in-person participation.
    • Expanding fundraising efforts for one-time and continuing education programs, as well as initiate a general fundraising effort
      • Leverage improvements to and market new personal donation opportunities.
      • Initiate new corporate and foundation general donation opportunities.
      • Review current fundraising practices and evaluate to see which ones are most successful in order to capitalize on the success for new fundraising ideas and generate new ideas and venues for fundraising in order to create and develop new and sustainable resources and services.
    • Ongoing development of new products or expanding on existing ones
  • Providing cost-effective continuing education and professional development programs
    • Increase capacity for online courses and programs to reduce cost and increase participation.
    • Diversify continuing education opportunities by exploring new topics and programs as well as new methods and packages for instruction. New methods might include asynchronous learning opportunities, such as streaming video tutorials, virtual symposiums, and pre-conferences. Other changes could include adjusting for different time zones, supporting other languages, and partnering with ALA’s International Relations Office.
    • Increase section and interest group activity in identifying topics and program planners with more consistency.
    • Publishing quality, cost-effective publications
    • Continue to examine publishing process for efficiencies.
    • Develop a method for a continuous stream of completed manuscripts for print and/or digital publications.
    • Review Monographs collection to expand and develop new offerings.
    • Increase section and interest group activity in identifying timely topics and promising authors on an ongoing basis.
  • Maintaining a cost-efficient ALCTS staff operation and infrastructure
    • Maintain a staff organization that meets the needs of the association
    • Continue strong working relationships between the ALCTS Budget and Finance Committee and the ALCTS Planning Committee to facilitate financial planning and assessment of the organization’s financial and strategic plans and encourage innovation.
    • Support non-revenue producing projects and grants.