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December 20, 2005
More on ALA not paying registration for speakers
Some follow-up posts are being written about ALA and other professional library organizations not comping their speakers' registration fees, much less paying them. A good deal of conversation has been taking place on the ALA Council list as well.
- Jenny emphasizes that she's not looking for travel expenses or an honorarium, but merely a waived registration fee.
- Meredith emphasizes that librarians shouldn't feel that it's our duty to pay ALA for the privilege of hearing ourselves speak [actually, Meredith's post is extensive and covers many arguments on both sides of this issue].
- Steven not only expects comped registration, he expects to get paid too.
- Walt is staying out of it.
I'd like to state once more that I think ALA's policy (and that of other organizations who also don't comp speakers in any way) is disrespectful to the speakers and devalues the professional contribution we make to the conference.
Unlike a lot of the people writing about this topic, the following things are true of me:
- I am not "on the speaker circuit." I speak at 2-4 conferences a year, mostly conferences that are close to home (to save on travel expenses).
- I don't get 100% of my travel/registration/lodging expenses covered. I think that's the situation for many of us in public libraries. It's somewhere between 50% and 75%, depending on the conference.
- I have to take some amount of vacation time to attend conferences or speak at other events. For conferences, one day usually counts as a vacation day and any outside speaking engagement (say, a presentation to the state's association of library trustees and commissioners) is completely on my own time.
For those of us in "poorly-supporting-of-professional-activities" libraries (which I'm sad to say seems to be the norm, not the exception), sometimes the choice becomes: do I spend $1,000 to go to PLA or do I spend $1,000 to take a nice long vacation? That's a sad choice, and while in the past I've been opting for #1, I can tell you that #2 is going to get priority treatment from now on. I'm tired of martyring myself for the "library cause." I bust my rear end writing, speaking, and blogging--because I care about this profession and want to share my ideas and get ideas from others. But I can't financially support that model any more on my own.
What's most sad for me is that ALA tries to encourage school and public library membership and participation, but we are so poorly paid and our libraries are so under-funded (the two are entirely connected) that it's hard or sometimes impossible for us to participate by joining organizations, taking on leadership roles, or speaking at conferences. ALA is doing itself and its members a disservice by not taking these things into account.
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Comments
re: ALA paying for members to speak...
It's YOUR Association...so WHY should it pay for you???
YOU get the recognition and experience...and contribute to the development and improvement of YOUR professional body.
A discounted registration (? 20%) should be ample reward?
If you don't think that's 'reward' enough, then you obviously don't 'believe' in what you are going to be preaching...so why expect others to pay and come and hear you?
If you want to contribute and improve YOUR peak professional body...then put in and do it...and don't expect $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
You get MORE out of contributing than 'expecting and taking'!
Trevor
Posted by: Trevor Wakely | December20, 2005
Trevor, not only do I think you didn't read either of my posts on this issue before dashing off a flaming reply, I don't think you grasp the issues being discussed.
1) Right now there is no discounted registration for any ALA Conferene, so I'm not sure why you believe that.
2) I do understand the idea of contributing to a professional association, and I do that readily: I am President of the IT Section of my state's association, on my state association's assembly, and a member of LITA's Top Tech Trends Committee. I don't get paid to do these things--in fact, I sink a lot of my own money into doing these things. However, speaking at conferences is different in my view. Speakers provide the conference with content--good content. And to get nothing in return (and no, I don't think "something to put on my resume" counts for anything) seems wrong to me.
3) Finally, I have never said I expected money. I don't. I never charge an honorarium unless the organization is required to pay its speakers (as is the case sometimes). I am merely asking that registration for speakers be covered, and that the organization not ask its members to pay for the privilege to speak.
Please take the time to actually read posts in the future before flaming the author.
Posted by: Sarah Houghton (LiB) | December20, 2005
Hey there... I too grasp the issues, m'dear... and am leading an exasperated battle to help people "get it." That said, I think you sell yourself short. You're a hot commodity, a great speaker, a super contribution to the profession. ALA could use fewer programs and better speakers.
Posted by: K.G. Schneider | December21, 2005
Personally, I would be honored to speak at a conference, and while paying me would be nice, not necessary. I guess I assumed that speakers were compensated in some way for their time. I know the speaker can get as much benefit if not more from a public talk as an audience can, but surely ALA with all of the dues they collect or the individual sections could comp. some stuff for speakers?
Posted by: Adam Haigh | December21, 2005
Another example of librarians selling themselves short. I asked my mom, who was a frequent speaker at medical conferences for many years.
"When I spoke, my registration for the entire conference was always provided. If I wanted to attend workshops, etc. for which there was a fee, I could at no cost, but was not entitled to the handouts. The organization always paid my travel expenses and 1-2 nights at a hotel, depending on the time of day of the talk and whether I could get a plane home the same day.
Because I worked for a hospital most of my career, that was the only way that I could attend conferences. The hospital would give me the time off, but no (or limited) expense money. So the only thing I had to pay out of pocket was any additional nights at the hotel. I could almost always get the speakers to give me a copy of their materials or send it to me electronically if I wanted it."
I bet if you surveyed other professions, they aren't nearly as "nice" as we are about speaking for free.
Posted by: Julie James | December21, 2005
Karen--Thank you for pushing this issue through the ALA hierarchy. I appreciate it. And thank you for your kind comments, though I don't believe I'm in as high a demand as you seem to think ;)
Adam--I think most of us don't even want to be paid an honorarium or travel/lodging expenses; we just want comped registration so we don't have to pay for the honor to speak.
Julie--I believe you're right. In speaking with friends in the IT, healthcare (like your mom), insurance, and non-profit sectors, it appears that across the board all their speakers get comped registration, an honorarium, and travel/lodging covered either by their place of employment or the conference organizers (depending on the arrangement). We are selling ourselves short and martyring ourselves for our profession. It's a damn good profession, but do we really need to accept the status quo?
Posted by: Sarah Houghton (LiB) | December21, 2005
I probably should just leave the flame alone... but I won't.
It's YOUR Association...so WHY should it pay for you???
It's not my association. It's a LIBRARY association. ALA certainly isn't about MY needs--it's about those of my library. Until my institution or ALA ponies up the money for me to participate, it isn't happening.
If ALA were my professional organization, it would be working for my concerns: better pay, better health care, reasonable employment opportunities, realistic job market evaluation. Instead, it focuses on the needs of the library. That's fine, but that does not make it my professional association.
YOU get the recognition and experience...and contribute to the development and improvement of YOUR professional body.
Pffffft. Presenting at ALA means absolutely nothing to most librarians I know. It's certainly only one of many ways of contributing to the profession. If it were an academic conference and we had to submit papers and be chosen, then the recognition and experience would mean something, but that isn't the case.
ALA takes advantage of a majority of its members, from its dues to its conference fees. If there were a professional organization for me that charged reasonable dues and had less bureaucracy and more focus on issues important to both me AND my library, I'd join it. But until I find one unaffiliated with ALA, I'll do without.
That doesn't make me evil or unprofessional. It makes me practical.
Posted by: Meg'n | December22, 2005
