I heard some rumours about stuff under the bailiwick of the ALA Membership Committee [on which I am a virtual member] so I’ll share what I know (it should already be in Council minutes by now, so it’s not quite “pre-“news)
Council requested a recommendation on different dues structure options. The requested recommendation on dues *structure* was voted out of committee & went to Council today, (hopefuly to put to rest any more considerations on changing it). After some hard work, comparison, and delving into the ALA archives, the Committee recommended keeping the current flat dues structure. <2% of professional associations have salary based scales, >80% have flat dues.
An historical note: ALA used to have a salary based sliding scale (in the 1970’s) however, Council minutes reflected a feeling of distrust of self-reporting salaries, among several other reasons – which was funny to read 🙂
Soon ALA will have mechanisms in place to allow dues payment on an installment plan. The small caveat is this: in order for this to be revenue neutral to the association a small surcharge (approximately $2.00) to cover the costs for each extra transaction. On a related note, the renewals invoice process will soon change from 4 paper invoices (assuming one does not pay on the first or subsequent invoices) to a combination of a postcard, an email or two, a paper invoice, and a cover sleeve on one’s last American Libraries issue.
Questions, comments, smart remarks?
Post ’em in comments or email me & I’ll be sure to express them for you.