1 Membership Research Study Summary Report September 2008

2 Table of Contents Executive Summary3 Methodology5 Detailed Findings: All Responding Members –Employment and Benefits6 –Demographics10 Detailed Findings: All Divisions11 –Employment12 Appendix20 –Key Demographic Information by Division and ALA only21 –Benefits by Division and ALA only32 –U.S. Census Regions46

3 Executive Summary The American Library Association conducted an RFP process to identify a research firm to conduct an online survey of the ALA membership. Harris Interactive was hired for this work. The goals of the study were: –to gain an understanding of the demographic composition of the ALA membership –to gain an understanding of current employment and benefit patterns within the membership A total of 13,367 members completed the survey (26%) and this represents a statistically reliable sample of the membership. Summary of Demographics and Employment Findings: –ALA members skew heavily towards white females aged 35 or older with an advanced degree –Nearly half of the members (49%) responding earn more than $50,000 annually –The vast majority (82%) of ALA members are employed full-time while about half of those currently employed (full-time or part-time) are in a managerial position (manager and above) –More than eight-out-of-ten members are currently working for a library Public and Academic libraries are the most common library types by whom ALA members are currently employed (at 40% and 38%, respectively) –East North Central* (20%) and South Atlantic* (18%) are the top 2 regions where ALA members are employed * Please refer to Appendix for states included in each of the 9 U.S. census regions (slide 46)

4 Executive Summary (continued) Summary of Benefit Findings: –The majority of members pay their membership dues without employer support (including membership dues of ALA, state library association and other professional organizations). –Employers pay in full or in part for the education/training programs, conference registration and related travel. –Among the four non-monetary fringe benefits examined, flexible hours and compensatory time are two relatively common fringe benefits provided to members who work for a library (at 43% and 39%, respectively) compared to sabbaticals (at 16%) and partial year contracts (9%).

5 Methodology Sample: Current U.S. members of the ALA who provided address Interview method: Online survey, approximately 12 minutes in length Interview dates: May 12 – May 30, 2008 Response Rate: Sample MailedCompletes Response Rate Total54,73313,36724% Total minus bounce-backs52,40413,36726% ALA Only18,7683,58519% Divisions* AASL7,7491,61221% ACRL11,0383,35330% ALCTS3,7591,20832% ALSC3, % ASCLA % LAMA4,1731,41034% LITA3, % PLA10,3462,93528% RUSA4,0581,23530% YALSA4,7541,21826% Note: Member can belong to multiple divisions. ALTA members were not included in this study.

6 Detailed Findings All Respondents - Employment More than 4 out of 5 members are employed full-time while about half of those currently employed hold a managerial position (manager and above) Base:All responding members (n=13,367) Q800Please indicate your current employment status. Employment StatusPosition/Job Title Base:All responding members who are currently employed full-time or part-time (n=12,024) Q845What is your position or job title?

7 Detailed Findings All Respondents - Employment Among the members who are employed by a library, about 8 in 10 work for either a Public (40%) or a Academic library (38%) East North Central and South Atlantic are the top 2 regions where ALA members are employed Region of EmploymentType of LibraryWorking for Library Base:All responding members (n=13,367) Q805Are you currently working for a library? Base:All responding members who are currently employed full-time or part- time and working for a library (n=10,918) Q840Please indicate the type of library that you are currently employed with. Base:All responding members who are currently employed full-time or part- time (n=12,024) Q810In which state are you employed?

8 Detailed Findings All Respondents - Benefits While membership dues are largely paid by members, education/training programs, conference registration and related travel are paid in full or partially by employer for the majority of members Value-Added Benefits Base:All responding members who are currently employed full-time or part-time (n=12,024) Q870Are any of the following “value-added benefits” available to you through your employer? Please also indicate who pays for the benefit for each of the following. * Data label not shown for <3%

9 Detailed Findings All Respondents - Benefits Base:All responding members who are currently working for a library (n=11,100) Q875Which of the following non-monetary fringe benefits are provided to you by your library? Please check all that apply. Non-Monetary Fringe Benefits Flexible hours and compensatory time are two relatively common fringe benefits provided to members who work for a library, while one-third don’t have any of the four fringe benefits

10 Detailed Findings All Respondents - Demographics ALA members skew heavily towards white females aged 35 or older who hold an advanced degree Nearly half of the members (49%) earn more than $50,000 annually Base:All responding members (n=13,367)

11 Detailed Findings All Divisions

12 Employment Status Q800.Please indicate your current employment status. Base: All responding members 13,3673,5851,6123,3531, , ,9351,2351,218 The vast majority (82%) of members are employed full-time –At least 8 out of 10 members across all divisions are employed full-time –Two-thirds of the ALA Only members are employed full-time, much lower than the overall level * Data label not shown for <3%

13 Currently Working for a Library Base:All responding members Q805.Are you currently working for a library? Base: All responding members 13,3673,5851,6123,3531, , ,9351,2351,218 More than 8 out of 10 members are currently working for a library –The percentage of members working for a library is the highest for LAMA and ACRL (at 92% and 91% respectively) and the lowest for ALA Only and ASCLA (at 72% and 73% respectively)

14 Region of Employment Region of employment shows limited variation by division Base:All responding members who are currently employed full-time or part-time Q810In which state are you employed? (n=12,024) (n=2,863) (n=1,436) (n=3,182) (n=1,137) (n=892) (n=218) (n=1,360) (n=808) (n=2,772) (n=1,170) (n=1,138)

15 Enrolled as a Library Information Science (LIS) Student Less than 1 in 10 members are currently enrolled as a LIS student –ALA Only members show the highest percentage of enrollment in Graduate LIS (17%) Base:All responding members Q835Are you currently enrolled as a Library Information Science (LIS) student? (n=13,367) (n=3,585) (n=1,612) (n=3,353) (n=1,208) (n=972) (n=241) (n=1,410) (n=854) (n=2,935) (n=1,235) (n=1,218) * Data label not shown for <3%

16 Type of Library Overall, Public and Academic libraries are the most common library types that ALA members are currently employed with (at 40% and 38% respectively) –The difference among divisions in terms of type of library reflects the organization characteristics of the divisions Base:All responding members who are currently employed full-time or part-time and working for a library Q840Please indicate the type of library that you are currently employed with. (n=10,918) (n=2,470) (n=1,216) (n=3,011) (n=1,028) (n=794) (n=172) (n=1,286) (n=695) (n=2,620) (n=1,082) (n=1,029) * Data label not shown for <3%

17 Position/Job Title At the total level, about half of the members who are currently employed are managerial employees (manager or above) –The divisional differences can be largely attributed to differences in the member composition of each division Base:All responding members who are currently employed full-time or part-time Q845what is your position or job title? (n=12,024) (n=2,863) (n=1,436) (n=3,182) (n=1,137) (n=892) (n=218) (n=1,360) (n=808) (n=2,772) (n=1,170) (n=1,138) * Data label not shown for <3%

18 Number of Years of Working Experience The majority of ALA members (62%) have more than 10 years of working experience –ASCLA has the highest percentage of members who have more than 20 years of working experience Base:All responding members Q850Number of years of working experience that you have in the library/information science profession. (n=13,367) (n=3,585) (n=1,612) (n=3,353) (n=1,208) (n=972) (n=241) (n=1,410) (n=854) (n=2,935) (n=1,235) (n=1,218) * Data label not shown for <3%

19 Year of Retirement While more than 2 out of 5 members (43%) are not sure when they will retire, 1 in 5 expect to retire within the next decade (2008 to 2018) Base:All responding members Q855Please indicate the year of your retirement or your anticipated year of retirement. (n=13,367) (n=3,585) (n=1,612) (n=3,353) (n=1,208) (n=972) (n=241) (n=1,410) (n=854) (n=2,935) (n=1,235) (n=1,218) * Data label not shown for <3%

20 Appendix Key Demographic Info by Division and ALA only Benefits by Division and ALA only U.S. Census Regions

21 Key Demographic Info American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Base:All responding members of AASL (n=1,612 )

22 Key Demographic Info Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Base:All responding members of ACRL (n=3,353)

23 Key Demographic Info Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) Base:All responding members of ALCTS (n=1,208)

24 Key Demographic Info Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Base:All responding members of ALSC (n=972)

25 Key Demographic Info Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) Base:All responding members of ASCLA (n=241)

26 Key Demographic Info Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA) Base:All responding members of LAMA (n=1,410)

27 Key Demographic Info Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) Base:All responding members of LITA (n=854)

28 Key Demographic Info Public Library Association (PLA) Base:All responding members of PLA (n=2,935)

29 Key Demographic Info Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) Base:All responding members of RUSA (n=1,235)

30 Key Demographic Info Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Base:All responding members of YALSA (n=1,218)

31 Key Demographic Info ALA Only Base:All ALA only responding members (n=3,585)

32 Appendix Key Demographic Info by Division and ALA only Benefits by Division and ALA only U.S. Census Regions

33 Benefits - AASL Value-Added Benefits Base:All AASL responding members who are currently employed full-time or part-time (n=1,436) Q870Are any of the following “value-added benefits” available to you through your employer? Please also indicate who pays for the benefit for each of the following. * Data label not shown for <3%

34 Benefits - ACRL Value-Added Benefits Base:All ACRL responding members who are currently employed full-time or part-time (n=3,182) Q870Are any of the following “value-added benefits” available to you through your employer? Please also indicate who pays for the benefit for each of the following. * Data label not shown for <3%

35 Benefits – ALCTS Value-Added Benefits Base:All ALCTS responding members who are currently employed full-time or part-time (n=1,137) Q870Are any of the following “value-added benefits” available to you through your employer? Please also indicate who pays for the benefit for each of the following. * Data label not shown for <3%

36 Benefits - ALSC Value-Added Benefits Base:All ALSC responding members who are currently employed full-time or part-time (n=892) Q870Are any of the following “value-added benefits” available to you through your employer? Please also indicate who pays for the benefit for each of the following. * Data label not shown for <3%

37 Benefits - ASCLA Value-Added Benefits Base:All ASCLA responding members who are currently employed full-time or part-time (n=218) Q870Are any of the following “value-added benefits” available to you through your employer? Please also indicate who pays for the benefit for each of the following. * Data label not shown for <3%

38 Benefits - LAMA Value-Added Benefits Base:All LAMA responding members who are currently employed full-time or part-time (n=1,360) Q870Are any of the following “value-added benefits” available to you through your employer? Please also indicate who pays for the benefit for each of the following. * Data label not shown for <3%

39 Benefits - LITA Value-Added Benefits Base:All LITA responding members who are currently employed full-time or part-time (n=808) Q870Are any of the following “value-added benefits” available to you through your employer? Please also indicate who pays for the benefit for each of the following. * Data label not shown for <3%

40 Benefits – PLA Value-Added Benefits Base:All PLA responding members who are currently employed full-time or part-time (n=2,772) Q870Are any of the following “value-added benefits” available to you through your employer? Please also indicate who pays for the benefit for each of the following. * Data label not shown for <3%

41 Benefits - RUSA Value-Added Benefits Base:All RUSA responding members who are currently employed full-time or part-time (n=1,170) Q870Are any of the following “value-added benefits” available to you through your employer? Please also indicate who pays for the benefit for each of the following. * Data label not shown for <3%

42 Benefits - YALSA Value-Added Benefits Base:All YALSA responding members who are currently employed full-time or part-time (n=1,138) Q870Are any of the following “value-added benefits” available to you through your employer? Please also indicate who pays for the benefit for each of the following. * Data label not shown for <3%

43 Benefits – ALA Only Value-Added Benefits Base:All ALA Only responding members who are currently employed full-time or part-time (n=2,863) Q870Are any of the following “value-added benefits” available to you through your employer? Please also indicate who pays for the benefit for each of the following. * Data label not shown for <3%

44 Benefits – Non Monetary, All Respondents Base:All responding members who are working for a library Q875Which of the following non-monetary fringe benefits are provided to you by your library? Please check all that apply. Non Monetary Fringe Benefits Total ALA Only AASL ACRL ALCTS ALSC ASCLA LAMA LITA PLA RUSA YALSA Flexible hours Compensatory timeSabbaticals Partial year contractsNone of the above (n=11100) (n=2564) (n=1241) (n=3041) (n=1040) (n=803) (n=176) (n=1291) (n=701) (n=2645) (n=1087) (n=1039)

45 Appendix Key Demographic Info by Division and ALA only Benefits by Division and ALA only U.S. Census Regions

46 U.S. Census Regions Source:U.S. Census Bureau RegionsStates New England Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont Middle AtlanticNew Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania South Atlantic Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia East South CentralAlabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee West South CentralArkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas East North CentralIllinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin West North Central Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota Mountain Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming PacificAlaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington