ALA Council approves dues adjustment proposal

CHICAGO – The Council of the American Library Association (ALA) approved a dues adjustment proposal at the Midwinter Meeting in Denver and directed that it be placed on the spring 2018 ALA ballot for membership approval.

If approved by the membership, personal member dues in September 2018 would be adjusted between $1 and $5, depending upon the membership type. Members will also vote on a mechanism for adjusting dues between September 2019 and 2022. For this the ALA Executive Board would review personal member dues annually in consideration of a dues adjustment not to exceed the percentage change in the national average Consumer Price Index (CPI). Any increase proposed above the CPI would be subject to a vote of personal members, and any subsequent dues adjustment after 2022 would require approval by the ALA Executive Board, Council, and a vote of ALA personal members.

ALA Membership Committee representative Janet T. O’Keefe, librarian, Flint (Mich.) Public Library, presented the proposal to the Council and stated, “We want to provide an initial bump in resources to pro-actively support ALA’s strategic goals and then use the CPI to maintain the resources to move forward.”

ALA President Jim Neal said, “This dues adjustment will allow ALA to advocate for federal investment in our nation’s libraries, promote our values of diversity, intellectual freedom, and social responsibility and support libraries in addressing community concerns and needs.”

“Member support through their dues is a critical part of ensuring ALA’s continued success not just next year but in the years to come,” said Susan Hildreth, ALA treasurer. “Member dues directly fund the professional development, advocacy, and mission-focused work that is the purpose of the Association.”

A question and answer document about the dues proposal is available on the ALA website at http://www.ala.org/membership/updates . Polls for the 2018 ALA election will open on March 12^th and close on April 4^th.