Why I, A Boston Librarian, Am Not Attending ALA Midwinter
Librarians’ largest, all-encompassing, professional organization–the ALA–is holding their midwinter conference in Boston this weekend. You’re probably thinking “Awesome opportunity, Amanda. You’re a young librarian with limited funds, and the conference is in your city. Score!” The fact is though, I’m not going to any part of the conference. Zippo. Zilch. My reasoning is two-fold: I have a problem with the ALA and I have a problem with how a lot of people in my profession behave.
The ALA was originally a good idea. However, currently the organization has a lot of issues. It charges exhorbitantly high fees to people who mostly just want to be members so they can put “member of ALA” on their resume. Multiple people who have been members in the past and dropped their memberships told me that they dropped them because the ALA did nothing for them. This is an organization of librarians, yet it can’t get organized enough to actually make a difference in librarians’ careers? There’s a problem with this picture.
Similarly, the ALA claims to be all-encompassing of all types of libraries, yet it consistently ignores and ostracizes special libraries and often academic libraries as well. It really should be called American Public Library Association, because that is how they behave. An example of this is the “I Love My Librarian” award that they offered last year for which any librarian except special librarians were eligible. (For my lengthier discussion on this, see my August 25, 2009 post). It’s not just the awards, though. Discussion, articles, and products take no thought regarding non-public libraries into account. It’s not just that it’s exclusionary. It’s that the ALA isn’t doing what it claims to do. The ALA’s exclusion of special libraries is so bad that both my boss and my professors have told me that special libraries look far more favorably on an MLA (Medical Library Association) membership than an ALA one. In fact, my professor said, “Don’t join the ALA. It’s a waste of money and won’t do your resume any good. If you really want to join some sort of organization, join the MLA.”
I also dislike the entire image that the ALA presents every year with Banned Books Week. I’ve discussed this at length before, but suffice to say that the ALA is using the wrong terminology. The problem for American libraries isn’t banned books; it’s challenged books. It’s getting their communities to support everyone’s right to choose what they want to read. The book not being available in a public library is not the same as it being banned though. True censorship requires that the government is banning a book. The entire week is making a mountain out of a molehill, when it would be so simple to have a challenged books week that looks at controversial books and discusses them and what it means for society. Similarly, a censored books week could look at books that actually have been banned by governments worldwide. Does the ALA even think of this? No. That’s the problem. Their ideas are bad yet they run around acting like their the best thing in the world.
Further, the ALA claims to be working to help librarians improve libraries’ image in the general public’s eye, but they’re doing it through cringe-worthy ad campaigns such as “@yourlibrary.” This is corny and last-century. It seems that the ALA’s idea of improving libraries’ image is to act like the awkward kid in class nobody likes who annoyingly announces to class that they have the awesome handheld videogame that was popular 3 years ago. The ALA is making us look like we’re becoming outdated and we know it when they constantly, desperately pitch how relevant we still are in the digital age. Why not simply talk about why libraries are vital in a democracy with the technology a side-note? That’s the kind of campaign that could work.
Finally, there is the fact that conferences like this bring out the worst in librarians that I see in my graduate classes as well–people posturing and desperately trying to seem relevant, intelligent, and important by stating the obvious or making a mountain out of a molehill. By no means do I mean all librarians do this. However, the ones who do are a vocal group and are pretty much impossible to drone out. Even on twitter. These are the people who think they’re progressive by arguing in favor of having graphic novels in libraries. Oh. You’re providing materials your public library patrons want? Which is your job as a librarian? And I’m supposed to think this is innovative? It’s also the people who talk about the library as place until they’re blue in the face instead of working to improve the library’s website, which is one of the most common complaints among patrons. I cannot stand these people who think they’re so intelligent and awesome for just doing the job they’re supposed to do in the first place and often neglect actually improving their own library because they’re spending so much time postulating. Yes, I’m looking at you, Library101 video from hell. I reiterate that I am not talking about all librarians. It’s just that the ones who behave like this are rampant at conferences.
So, why would I go to a conference full of people who behave in a way that is akin to fingernails on chalkboard to me run by an organization that consistently excludes special libraries, offers programs that are misleading, and presents a desperate library image to the general public? Any time I would put in at the conference would be much better spent learning more about the sciences utilized in my hospital.
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This work by Amanda McNeil is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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Your blog needs a like button. What did we ever do before FB and “like” … oh yeah, we left comments for people telling them what we thought. Since that’s obviously out of the question, I’ll try this:
☑ Like | ☐ Dislike
Also, good post!
Hehe, thank you! It would be great if blogs had the like feature like facebook. Maybe WordPress will get on that soon. In the meantime, your html version is great.
I have never been to an ALA conference but you bring up some great points. It is great to see librarians attending non-library conferences such as SouthXSouthwest and leaving the nest.
Thank you for the complement. You bring up a great point about librarians attending non-library conferences. I know that medical librarians are sometimes part of hospital/science/medicine conferences. I think such involvement helps establish us as part of the community instead of off hiding in the stacks.
I know a chemistry librarian that routinely attends the American Chemical Society meetings and is actively involved with them. It’s a large part of her career and it’s done much to positively increase the visibility of librarians in the chemistry community and how they are connected to it, helpful/involved/supportive of it, and supported by it.
I would like to disagree on a few things.
What you get out of ALA directly depends on what you put into it. The librarians that claim ALA does nothing for them…did they ever get involved? Or did they just sit there and wait for ALA to do what they want it to do…without ever actually participating or voicing their needs? As an active member, it’s the people that don’t even try that really piss me off when they speak negatively. Get involved first, and then you can say if it does nothing for you. It’s a MEMBERSHIP organization, not one that is just there to work for you…you have to work with it. And there’s an avenue available for anyone that wants to be involved. I’m not saying the ALA is perfect and that all their programs are fantastic (I do agree that “banned” is misleading), however, it is dependent on it’s membership to drive and direct it. For me, ALA works, and I’m an academic librarian. I got involved and it’s been a benefit.
I agree that the outward activities appear to be public library related. But I can also tell you that in some sections/divisions the opposite is true and people talk about it being too academic focused and excluding public library needs. Again, involvement is key. As is context and perspective.
The size is both a blessing and a curse. Is it overwhelming? Yes. But it means there are options for everyone and their interests. If you’re interested in something, there’s probably a group you can find to talk about it with and if not, start one yourself and you will find others interested in the same thing (interest groups are designed to be flexible like that). It’s also offered me exposure and connections outside my little niche in the library world. Those connections have been very valuable for me in my career in terms of networking and having a better understanding of how things are connected and how what I do is related to other areas of librarianship. It’s forced me to routinely look outside the box and outside my “world”. And that perspective is invaluable and something I can use daily in my library.
So while it has it’s problems, it also does much good for many people. Is there dysfunction? Yes. But then every organization I’ve ever worked with, including the smaller library related organizations, has their own dysfunction. The key is to find what serves your needs as a librarian the best. For your interests, that may be the Medical Library Association. But that doesn’t make ALA inherently bad. Just not good for you.
As for your statement about the kind of people and behaviors that are “rampant at conferences”…um, I actively disagree with that statement. One, context is key (again). Two, I’ve been to over 10 ALA conferences/meetings and I can say from experience that if you don’t want to hear it, there is always somewhere else to go and a different session to attend. Which shows that sometimes the size of ALA is very much a benefit.
Regarding what you get out is what you put in it:
I’m not a fan of banging my head against a wall talking to outdated, hypocritical, fake people. Particularly when I’m paying my hard-earned money for the privilege to do so. If all I’m after is self-starting, I’d rather self-start outside of the ALA. Technology and the internet has made this possible, and I’m grateful for that. I’m not the type to attempt to rework a large entity that is obviously not working. It’s broken beyond repair, and my hope is that the new, young generation of librarians will ditch it and figure out our own thing that will hopefully save the image of libraries and librarians in the general public’s eye. Frankly, I would love for a new organization to start that is actually all-encompassing of libraries, but that probably won’t happen until the dinosaur that is ALA dies.
It’s true that any group has its own dysfunction as human beings are involved, and where people are there’s bound to be some problems. However, the ALA’s dysfunction is at a level where it’s not only annoying to those involved, it’s also a hindrance to the survival of libraries in America.
I’m frankly not surprised that you disagree with my statement about the people, because in order to continue looking good, most librarians just agree and pat each other on the back instead of criticizing.
Oh, those people exist…I’m just saying that context makes a difference (what appears to be crowing from the outside may not have started that way in a discussion group or meeting) and that the organization is large enough and there’s enough going on that you can escape/avoid the ones that are doing that.
While I am a member of ALA and will be attending the Midwinter meeting, it’s great to hear dissenting opinions of the association. It’s so easy to get caught up in the rah-rah-rah of it all. I especially agree with your last two points (image and conference personalities).
Thank you. I’m glad to hear someone on the inside is cringing at the image too. I hope you enjoy your Boston visit!
OK…I am as big an ALA supporter as they come. I have been a member for more than 30 years. I have been on the Executive Board, and still am on ALA Council.
Now, ALA is not for everyone. For some either SLA or Medical Library Association is the better organization. What *is* important is to be connected with others so that you do not develop a very insular view of the world, and of your job.
Your second point about the “I Love My Librarian” contest, and I think I have mentioned this before. ALA did not make the rules. The people making the rules are the funders. You’ve surely heard the “golden rule” phrased as “He who has the gold makes the rules.” Well, with funded events and contests this is true. You need to approach the funder, not ALA! Please stop beating the wrong horse.
I’ll not comment on the ‘@ your library campaign.’ Everyone is entitled to a personal perspective. In many communities this has been an effective way to get librarians who have not done lots of PR to begin doing it. It has also started to get some branding done. You don’t like it? OK.
Your comments about the way people act at conferences and the Library 101 video are also personal. I have made some good friends and valued colleagues from my attendance at, and work at, ALA Conferences. I have been to places that I like (New Orleans [where I now live], Chicago, Toronto, Seattle) that I might not have been. I have also been to places that were less pleasurable (Orlando, Miami, and Dallas). But, you take the good with the bad sometimes. Just like with the people. Stay away from those who annoy you, and meet the others.
I’m coming to Boston. It is close to where I grew up, and to where I live. I hope to see many New England Librarians whom I have not seen in several years. It will be a boost to the local economy.
I’ll have fun, because that is what I expect to do!
Frankly, I don’t even want to bother responding to you since you’re obviously part of the problem, what with membership, executive board, and council. Of course you’re going to just flat-out defend the ALA and not really listen to what I’m saying. Of course you’re going to accuse me of being the problem instead of the organization. Fine. But let me remind you that I’m part of the new generation, and frankly I know my perspective of how the general public perceives librarians and libraries is far more in touch than that of most older librarians. It’s high time the older librarians started listening to us younger ones, or you will drive libraries out of existence.
Finally, the ALA is *supposed* to be for everyone. It claims to be about ALL librarians. They shouldn’t have endorsed an award in which the sponsor excluded special libraries. Maybe the sponsor was flat out unaware of special libraries, since most of the general public is. The ALA claims to be about all libraries, but that’s not what it does. Either stop excluding certain types of libraries and librarians or change the name.
Amanda, there are many ways to get a message across… and when your tone of voice and word choice gets in the way, the message gets overwhelmed with the noise. The “I have a problem” piece is clear…
I’ll address points in their own comment, as it is easier to address them individually
“conferences like this [Midwinter] bring out the worst in librarians … trying to seem relevant, intelligent, and important by stating the obvious or making a mountain out of a molehill.
- kind of like the biblioblogosphere
The fact that the first part of your response to a piece in which I criticize an organization by attacking me personally says loads about who you are as a person, and none of it is good.
I am not making a mountain out of a molehill. This is an issue that I have discussed at length with other young librarians who feel the same or similarly.
I can’t help but notice from your picture, that you cannot count yourself among the young librarians, so I am not surprised at your defensive response.
“Exorbitantly high fees”
- the base ALA such as membership ($130) is cheaper than many large professional associations such as:
ASIS&T $140,
SLA [graduated dues $114, $185, $200],
MLA $165 (or $100 if you earn less than $30K)
But, yes, ALA with all the ad-ons is expensive
This comment got put into my spam filter, which is why the response is out of order.
Again, one can tell that you’re an older librarian making plenty of money. $130 is a lot of money when that’s almost your entire budget for a week. I know many young librarians who actually cannot afford to pay the fees. If the ALA is as important as you say it is, you’d think they’d do something to provide equal access, such as a sliding scale for membership.
I agree that the SLA and MLA membership fees are high, and for the record the fees are why I and even my own boss have not joined MLA, but that is a discussion for another post. The MLA is its own separate issue.
“people who mostly just want to be members so they can put “member of ALA” on their resume”
- if you join ALA just to have a resume line?
There is plenty more wrong with th esituation than the memberhsip dues you’re paying.
“dropped them because the ALA did nothing for them”
- What, exactly, do people think ALA can do for them *directly*?
This is not snark, btw (just to be clear)
- define the expectations, without knowing what is expected, how can the Association address them?
I’ll be glad to push for what members want (I got fired up and worked my way down to Council, after Council denied me the opportunity to speak when a Councilor invited me to address a topic at hand) members are where the power of the association originates.
People join the ALA purely for their resume because the older librarians who are the ones doing the hiring think it’s useful and often widely discredit the manner in which the new generation of librarians are connecting and working together, such as via twitter. The issue there is clearly with the people doing the hiring not moving forward with the times, but for some reason, that doesn’t surprise me at all.
I’m certain that my post outlined clearly enough what’s expected of the ALA without me needing to rehash it. Go reread it.
“organization of librarians, yet it can’t get organized enough to actually make a difference in librarians’ careers”
- ALA is making a difference in *my* career.
Why?
Because I found a group of people working (working too slowly in my opinion) on things I find important (specifically, Federal Govenment Information and Technology Policy, copyright and fair use, the Google book settlement travesty, and plenty more) and me throwing my weight behind their efforts helps, and being able to call on their expertise for preparation when I go to speak with (directly influence) my elected representatives.
Golrick was right, above. You will get out (far more than) what you put in, imho.
As I said to Golrick, I refuse to go bang my head against a wall and participate in an organization that is as backwards as the ALA and that refuses to listen to the voice of reason coming from younger librarians, as the comments on this post show. This doesn’t mean I’m not advocating for my career in more modern ways though.
In fact the ALA is hurting librarians’ careers by the terrible image they’re putting out into the public eye. You should go read the scathing Wall Street Journal piece about Banned Books Week to see how the ALA has made us appear to the public.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204518504574420882837440304.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
“ignores and ostracizes special libraries and often academic libraries”
- ALA generally doesn’t address Special / Medical Libraries issues directly because SLA and MLA are quite strong advocates for their niche markets. ACRL is part of ALA & both organizations address academic issues as appropriate (if slower than I would wish). Neither Special nor Medical libraries are a core constituency, why would ALA do more than partner with the other associations?
Public libraries get a lot of attention and support in ALA efforts. Why is that bad? Public librarians make up close to half the ALA membership, are you saying they should they be marginalized?
PS I just noticed, you mention “at your hospital,” so you’re aiming toward Medical or Special librarianship?
Absolutely, MLA or SLA would be more on-target associations for your interests.
If an association doesn’t meet your needs, don’t join – no reason to join (or bash) a group which doesn’t meet your needs
First of all, apparently we’re not relevant because we’re a minority? I’d love to hear you make a similar comment about African-American librarians.
I would have no complaint with the ALA if they called themselves the American PUBLIC Library Association, but they don’t. They CLAIM to be about ALL libraries, and then hypocritically leave out almost entirely special libraries and frequently academic libraries.
But maybe I should be glad the ALA isn’t giving us the kind of “attention and support” they’re giving to public libraries that’s driving them into the ground.
There is plenty of reason for me to criticize an organization that is supposedly all about my career. The fact that you and other ALA members can’t even fathom to admit that there’s something wrong with the organization is just further proof that I’m right about the inflexibility, hypocrisy, and backwardness of the organization.
And don’t worry. I won’t be joining anytime soon. I’ll be hoping and working for it to break up so something new and modern can come around that hopefully will save libraries instead of destroying them.