THE ROLE OF LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS IN GUIDING CHANGE
Barbara J. Ford
American Library Association
Chicago, IL 60611, USA
University Library Services
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA, USA
E-mail: bjford@vcu.edu
People organize associations to accomplish goals. This may be a simple goal or it may be move complex and abstract such as empowering the professional in the development, promotion and delivery of quality library and information services through leadership, advocacy, cooperation and strategic alliances. People will join the association because they believe in its goals and wish to support it, either financially or with active involvement. People will remain members because they derive benefit from their connection. This may be a simple good feeling or it may be a more direct benefit expressed as a gain in status, skills, or solution to a common problem.
Library professionals form organization at the local, regional, national and international levels to accomplish goals, effect change, influence policy, and maintain currency. Participation provides opportunities for planning and communicating to develop aspirations and goals. Professional organizations guide change by providing an infrastructure that creates a climate for innovation.
2. WHY PEOPLE JOIN LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS
Member programs and services are the means by which associations involve people in their work and keep them interested in and supportive of activities. Putting together the correct combination of programs and services to accomplish goals and serve the needs of members is a planning and marketing challenge. Library associations have varying goals and structures. Some are educational associations, some are trade unions, some provide direct library services, some are all volunteers and some have a number of paid staff.
There are many reasons why people join library associations. Some of the most common reasons are to:
• learn about new developments and methods
• improve welfare of members
• participate in research, develop standards, gather statistics
• solve mutual problems
• foster cooperation among libraries
• improve image and status of profession
• extend or maintain professional contacts
• feel part of profession.
Having strong goals and principles is essential for library associations. All programs and services are planned and implemented with these principles in mind. The guiding principles for the American Library Association's (ALA) goals include the following items:
• ALA is recognized as the voice of the library and information profession and source of leadership on information policy, intellectual freedom and intellectual participation
• ALA provides leadership in continuous lifelong learning
• To represent libraries and librarianship to the
larger society, ALA celebrates both diversity and commonality.
• ALA will be accepted by the public as a voice and the source of support for the participation of people of all ages and circumstances in a free and open information society.
• ALA will be an active formal participant in various national arenas discussing and defining aspects for the information society that affect libraries and their public.
• ALA will be in collaboration with organizations and groups working for broader public participation in the development of information society issues.
• ALA will have broadly communicated its position and role within the emerging information environment.
• ALA will continued to learn about, analyze, share information about and shape important national information issues in addition to tracking traditional library issues.
• ALA will have provided training and support to library professionals and members of the public to create an awareness for the variety of social and technical issues related to the information society and provided the necessary background for promoting further dialogue at the local level.
Five key action areas have been identified as overarching objectives for the American Library Association in the years after 2000:
• Education and continuous learning are key priorities. ALA provides opportunities for the professional development and education of librarians, library staff, and trustees; it promotes continuous, lifelong learning for all people through library and information services of all types. Education and continuous learning are supported for the profession and for all people through libraries and information services of all types.
• Equity of access to information and electronic resources are essential and must be provided by libraries. This includes access to the fundamental tools and materials of intellectual participation regardless of income, location, ethnicity, or age of the information seeker. ALA advocates funding and policies that support libraries as a great democratic institution, serving people of all ages, income level, location, or ethnicity, and providing the full range of information resources needed to live, learn, govern, and work.
• Intellectual freedom is a basic right in a democratic society and a core value of the library profession. It is fundamental to democratic processes and full intellectual participation. ALA actively defends the right of library users to read, seek information, and speak freely as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America.
• Twenty-first century literacy is recognized as a fundamental skill for continuous lifelong learning. This includes basic literacy, which is the ability to read, and information literacy, which is the ability to effectively utilize information resources. ALA assists and promotes libraries in helping children and adults develop the skills they need - whether the ability to read or use computers - understanding that the ability to seek and effectively utilize information resources (information literacy) is essential in a global information society.
Association leaders must address the needs of the members or the membership base will be lost. Areas of member programs and services for library associations include the following:
• Conference and seminars serve the needs of members in several ways. A conference enables people to debate issues and concepts and to work together in small groups to draft statements and standards and encourages networking where the span of professional contacts is expanded. Because the conference is the one time people see their association, careful planning of facilities, schedule, and programs is vital. Conferences cost a lot, but they can also help the association make some money to support activities which members view as important but for which they will not specifically pay or for which it is hard to set a price.
• Advice and consultation are fundamental services provided by associations. How extensively the services of professional advice and consultancy are provided to members depends on the stated mission and how the organization is structured. In a volunteer association, advice will be collegially sought and given. Associations can also specifically offer advice and consultation as part of the service package made available to members. The important things to remember are to be sure these services are offered based on the mission and strategic plan and that their cost is understood.
• Member recognition, such as awards for excellence in some professional aspect of librarianship, responds to member desires to feel part of a profession and to improve image and status. The simplest method of recognition is a letter of thanks for a job well done. Awards or certificates of recognition require planning. Competitive awards for publications or for innovative programs or services in libraries are other possibilities. Even at the simplest, member recognition programs improve self image and translate into improvements in how others see us.
• Membership support includes keeping addresses accurate, mailing on time, processing memberships, preparing accurate ballot papers, and sending out membership credentials linking new members with appropriate groups. These kinds of member services are a cost but are basic to the ongoing success of the association and retention of members. Orientations to enable members to be effective in volunteer roles are essential.
The organization and delivery of services are being shaped by a series of changes. Quality is dictating a new philosophy of service to customers. Fundamental rethinking of processes and structures in the face of economic trends and market competition is essential. Personal computing has expanded the power to access, analyze, and control information individually. A vast telecommunications network is providing a platform for delivering publishing, learning, and needed resources. Accountability is essential as funding agencies seek to control costs and enhance productivity and quality. Promoting higher levels of cooperation and collaboration among organizations is a requirement of success. A team-based work force is essential for the current environment. Change brings many issues and opportunities for associations, and the American Library Association is responding:
• Operations must be responsive and timely.
• Effective marketing and excellent communication are essential to be in touch with members and to accomplish organizational goals.
• Fund raising is needed to accomplish organizational goals. Partners in the corporate sector can be key to success.
• Recruitment of new members and retention of current members must be kept as a high priority.
• Legislative agendas are key if funding for libraries is available through these bodies.
• External relationships with other organization are needed as alliances are built to accomplish goals.
• Global issues are central as technology has enhanced communication and the opportunities to work collaboratively across national boundaries.
• Online training can be provided for librarians and library supporters. Discussion lists can allow wide participation and sharing of experiences and expertise.
• Specialized content on the web can include interactive web-based training courses. Collaboration with sites like the UNICEF trilingual "Voices of Youth" web site is possible.
• Printed newsletters and journals can be supplemented and replaced by more timely web based publications.
• Technology can help reach out to provide learning opportunities for the general public. Library funders need to see how the library can support lifelong learning for all. Creativity is essential in the programs and services offered to members. Ideas can be borrowed from other associations and adapted to local needs. Creativity can enable organizations to take a practice from another culture and make it their own. We are moving to a global society, so a solution developed in one part of the world may address a problem in another part.
Ours is a small world, and the global reach and local touch of libraries are key. The new era of globalization demands that we reexamine our professional roles, responsibilities and values. As librarians, we bring skills and expertise that can help communities around the world deal with new political, social, and economic realities. Local advocacy is key, and we must take an active role in advocating funding and support needed to keep information free and open in the 21st century. The expansion of electronic networks linking libraries and their resources makes possible more, better, and more easily accessible information for library users around the world. Libraries support a globally competitive workforce with basic literacy programs, computers, and other resources to help children and adults learn to find, evaluate, and use information they need for their jobs, health, education, and other needs. If peoples of the world are to enjoy free and open access to information in the next century, we must convince local, national and international leaders of the vital importance of libraries and librarians. Libraries provide a forum for global dialogue and idea-sharing that can lead to improvements in governments and cultural institutions. Libraries are part of the solution to many problems related to illiteracy, unemployment, poverty, and lack of educational resources. Libraries provide insights into the history, customs and traditions of global cultures that can lead to greater understanding and help to resolve problems and conflicts in our countries.
Libraries have the responsibility to provide the collections, services, and technology that will help citizens understand our increasingly diverse societies and prosper in the new world economy. We must unite with colleagues around the world in addressing funding, information equity, copyright and other issues that will shape the global information infrastructure. Today's libraries offer access to worldwide information resources and local accessibility. As librarians, we have the responsibility to facilitate the flow of communication. We understand how to organize and present information and how people use information once they have it. International cooperation will further transform the library's role from warehouses for books to electronic information-delivery centers.
Just as information easily crosses borders, our challenge now is to take a larger role on the world state. We need to lead our associations in addressing critical issues that will shape the global information infrastructure. We need to urge members of the public and policy-makers to use and support libraries as multicultural institutions that connect even the smallest and most remove communities to global resources. As important and exciting as new technology is, it is the local touch that sets our libraries apart and will ensure their future as treasured institutions in the next century and beyond.