1. Professional Participation
John Webb
November 10, 2007

2. Professional Participation--Irony
When I was a library school student, I lobbied my classmates to AVOID joining ALA. I thought that it was a bureaucratic irrelevancy in the library world.
I began my first job after getting my MLS in September I joined ALA in 1973.
However, I started attending ALA meetings beginning with Midwinter 1971.

3. Professional Participation—Getting Started
ALA isn’t the only choice.
Special Libraries Association-SLA
American Society for Information Science & Technology-ASIS&T
Medical Library Association-MLA
Music Library Association-MLA
American Association of Law Libraries
State or Regional Library Associations
Others—ALA Affiliates--ALA | Affiliates
Most have student member rates.

4. ALA Complex Organization Many ways to participate
One can attend meetings just to attend programs and exhibits. One can attend an ALA Annual Meeting or Midwinter Meeting registering only to access the exhibits. Important: your conference badge is your “ticket” to events.
ALA association dues include a subscription to American Libraries.
However, much of the work of ALA happens in its Divisions and Round Tables.

5. The Library Profession
There is a reason ALA is such a complex organization.
The library profession, unlike many others which advance almost solely through research, “advances” through the work of committees that develop standards, best practices, methods of assessment, and even rules such as those for cataloging.
Much of this work happens in ALA’s Divisions and most meetings at ALA are those of the Divisions.

6. ALA www.ala.org Committees Chapters Affiliates
Divisions (many have the term “Association” as part of their names)
Round Tables
The Event Planner is online-ALA | event planner

7. ALA Divisions
ALA Handbook of Organization shows their structures as do their Web sites.
All have committees and Interest or Discussion Groups. Participating in the last two are good ways to begin professional participation. That’s more or less how I began.
Round Tables are also good ways to participate.
Divisions and Round Tables have dues that are over and above ALA’s dues. Dues include a subscription to a Division’s journal. Many members consider this the chief benefit.

8. ALA Awards
ALA | Awards

9. Alternative Sources of Funding for Professional Participation
Grants
Committee Work
Officer or Delegate
Consulting
Other

10. Grants
Washington State Library Travel Grant (other states have them also)
Provost Research Grant
Library Travel Grant
Grant that requires attendance at meetings & pays expenses
Grant that requires dissemination of results via conference presentation & pays for travel

11. Committee Work
Conference Committee that may pay registration or other expenses
Non ALA committees that meet at ALA or other professional meetings--National Committee on Educational Statistics or OCLC Committees, e.g.

12. Officer or Delegate
Professional society office that may defray some travel expenses
Delegate to an organization or in an organization that pays travel expenses—OCLC Members Council, e.g.
Liaison from one organization to another that may pay or defray travel expenses

13. Consulting
Most lucrative BUT ethical, legal, and financial implications
Consulting that pays for professional conference trip
Consulting that pays for trips to things other than meetings—visiting other libraries or vendors can be very rewarding professionally
Most consulting results in reports that add to one’s resume

14. More Grants: Research, Travel, Special Projects…
Grant-seeker handbooks
The "how to" grants manual : successful grantseeking techniques for obtaining public and private grants
Getting your grant : a how-to-do-it manual for librarians
The Research Funding Guidebook: Getting It, Managing It & Renewing It