Please leave your feedback about these recommendations here in the comments.

Thanks!

I have been a member for more than 20 years. I appreciate all the news you send.

Thanks for these thoughtful recommendations!

The MCMLA dues really are too low. I’d be very willing to pay increased dues ($30/year)–especially if it means NOT having ads on our listserv. Thanks!

I think the recommendations are very reasonable.

Will advertisements, job postings, etc. on the MCMLA web site incur additional costs to implement?

What are the recommended amounts for member and institutional dues?

Good job. I have no changes. Comments: Ads on the website & newsletter are ok. Ads on the listserv are not. I agree that dues should go up to $30/yr.

I think the recommendations are reasonable and should be implemented. They are good efforts to tighten the organizational and operating structure. I do have a question. Is the recommended $200 in travel reimbursement for Executive Committee members only? If so, I think this is reasonable. The reimbursement for the Executive Secretary is reasonable. A dues increase is probably in order after many years of staying the course. Maybe smaller, incremental increases would be easier on membership but with the goal of $30 would be easier than doubling the dues? Even with a small amount doubling dues seems too steep. Like Paul’s comment, I would want to know what the institutional dues would be. I’m not sure the benefits warrant such a category. Good work!

RE: whether ads, job postings on the MCMLA web site incur additional costs. Since MCMLA is a volunteer organization, the task force doesn’t foresee additional costs in putting up ads on our website. The work would be done by one of our committees(e.g., the one responsible for the web). Finances would be handled by the executive secretary.
Claire

RE: Membership dues amount. MCMLA ranks among the chapters that have the lowest dues, $15. The highest dues charged is $35, by the Medical Library Group of Southern California and Arizona. All other chapters fall in between.
The task force hasn’t yet come up with an amount to recommend at this point. We’d like to hear from the membership if you would to suggest a new dues rate for individual memberships.
Thanks for your questions!

The Task Force did an awesome job and it was nice to see the comparisons to the other chapter activities. I agree with the rationale for the exec sec and mtg advisor – these 2 do lots of work during the year and if a reimbursement is easier for our non-profit group than a stipend, then I agree. I do wonder what might happen if one of these individuals is unable to make it to MCMLA (kids do get married and conflicts do occur at inopportune times) do they forfeit any reimbursement for their year of service? Doubling the dues isn’t horrible as they were so low, but with all the budgets cutting back everywhere, maybe phasing in or doing a 2-step increase might be worth considering. Recommendations look good. OVERALL TERRIFIC WORK – thanks so very much!

I agree with Rebecca’s comment:

“Ads on the website & newsletter are ok. Ads on the listserv are not. I agree that dues should go up to $30/yr.”

The dues have been so low for so long (I’ve been a member for 12 years and the dues haven’t changed) I don’t think a jump to $30 would really be too much of a shock to members’ purses.

I don’t think we’ll ever see again the great revenues we were getting from our annual meetings.
Are the current dues sufficient to run the day to day business of the Organization?
How much of an increase are we talking?

A raise in dues seems very reasonable – at least to $25, if not $30. I do not like the idea of advertisements on the web site. The other recommendations look OK. The task force has done a very thorough and thoughtful job.

Dues increase is totally reasonable. I pay more for my state library association than I do for MCMLA!

Suggestion for another incentive/perk for institutional members, if that goes through …. reduced ILL fees (say, $5) to other institutional members.

I think $30 is reasonable.

I think $30.00 is reasonable. The other recommendations look good to me. Thanks to the members of the task force for all your hard work.

I also think $30.00 is very reasonable (and although my institution does help some with travel costs, all association dues come out of my pocket). $30.00 really seems quite reasonable for all the benefit that I get from MCMLA. I do, however, agree that advertisements on the listserv are unwelcome.

RE: Pat Hamilton’s wondering about reimbursments for the executive secretary and the annual meeting advisor.

I guess we’re making these positions voluntary as are the chair and committee/task force member positions. If they don’t go to MCMLA or don’t travel they would not be reimbursed because there’s been no outlay of funds from their end. With our recommendations we no longer have any “paid” positions receiving a stipend.

RE: to those who object to increasing our revenue by including ads in our communication media. Please share why you object.

I think the ads could be placed on the web site so that they didn’t interfere with usability. And we could clearly identify ads on the subject line so that you wouldn’t open them. There could be a single day when the vendor messages would be sent out on the list. It would be helpful to know what your objections are in case we could come up with a creative plan that would resolve the problem.

EXPENSES-STIPENDS
I support the travel reimbursement up to $1,000 which includes registration for our executive secretary who is crucial to our organziation.
DUES INCREASES
I support a dues and membership increase. I think that $5.00 ($20.00) is reasonable.

I became a member of MCMLA when I was at Purdue. Now I’m further away in Buffalo, NY and I still maintain membership. I find MCMLA to be very distinct from other regional MLA organizations. Your CE offerings are rich..your officers are very active..you have many more opportunities for librarian growth and development than other regional MLA orgs for which I am familiar…you embrace change much more readily which is refreshing for me as a bioinformatics librarian. You are one of the best kept secrets of MLA in my opinion. I suggest you offer your membership with more visibility to those outside your geographical area such as I have taken the advantage of doing, to increase membership. I suggest that you continue to offer opportunities in bioinformatics, as most do not, as well as in medical informatics and translational medicine and bioinformatics. I feel you would attract more membership as these are emerging areas in librarianship with little opportunities elsewhere.

And, yes, your membership dues are way too low for what you offer and its quality. I suggest you go up to an annual membership fee of $30. And although I may kick myself for this, I suggest you think about a tiered membership fee if you actively seek membership outside of your geographical area, particularly if you open up travel and other funding opportunities to those outside your area if it becomes substantial.

I agree with recommendation to reimburse the Executive Secretary for travel expenses & MCMLA registration up to $1000/yr. I also think our dues are a bargain, so would not object to increasing to $25 or $30 per year.

If we need to increase the dues I think we should. I wish I could come to the meetings but that is hard for me anymore. Alma

I too think the Task Force has done an awesome job but have concerns re:several reveune recommendations & responses. I am opposed to the creation of institutional memberships, even if large organizations like mine get reduced registration fees. And the “reduced ILL fee perk” needs to be factored out of consideration. Add me to the group that doesn’t want ads on the list serv but does support a dues increase.

Executive Committee business is now much more efficient thanks to virtual meetings. But you’re making a mistake if you don’t have a face-to-face meeting once a year. Just use the time well – more strategy, less operations.

I would not object to a dues increase or allowing advertisements in the newsletter. I do not want to receive ads on the listserv. I like the appearance of our web site now, so would not want obnoxious ads or pop-ups on it.

I approve of the ads on the web site. They’d be okay with me on the list, too, if sent on a single day.

I think a dues increase to $30 is reasonable, and well worth it.

Dues increase is hard to argue with. Expenses go up. This is a “cost of business” decision.
I also support the travel reimbursement for executive secretary…a good way to handle this remuneration.
As for ads, I have no problem with this as well as they don’t interfere with the readability of the screen. However, they should not be on listserv but newsletter is ok since there is not a paper outlay any longer.

A lot depends. A limited number of tastefully placed ads could be acceptable or even of interest.

However, there are some ads which need to be avoided. Ads that cover the web page and force you to click a “close” icon are aggravating and tend to keep the users from the information. within the last few weeks, Windows Secrets has reported on focused ads on Google which not only contain spyware but even tend to come up with searches for anti-spyware programs; some of the payload delivered by these pages included some particularly nasty programs.

I could also do without ads for questionable medical products.

I agree that MCMLA is a great association and due of $30.00 is just reasonable.

I would not like to see advertisement in the listserv perhaps, but serious, clean, and informative advertisements are welcome, shown as a sponsoring entity, on the Web site and newsletters. Some advertisements may even benefit some users if they are informative, so just need to be selective.

Regarding Amazon.com: Would there be a way to have an agreement with Amazon.com to give some percentage of discount to buyers? That may attract more people to buy through Amazon.com. Many times, people may just forget about the benefits MCMLA would get by buying materials through Amazon.com.

“Have fund raising events at the annual meeting” is another great idea. Does MCMLA have a booth to sell goods? Goods may be donated by vendors? May need to create another committee for that purpose.

Diane’s idea of extending membership outside the midcontinental region could be a good thing. Increasing the number of members is always a good thing.

Excellent committee suggestions! Advertisements discreetly placed would not interefere with our communications. Dues of $25 would be reasonable. Thanks and hats off to all who are working on this and who commented!

Thanks to the Task Force for all the hard work! I agree with the idea of a dues increase – $30 seems very reasonable. I also agree with the reimbursement for the Executive Secretary.

From Dick Kammer:
Sales of advertising are based on the possibility of actual sales. I think you might be able to sell them at first, but later only on the basis of production. Placement is also an issue, as most would like them to be available, but not intrusive. I think it’s an interesting experiment and ought to be tried on that basis.
Submitted with Dick’s permission

I think $30 is fair. I do hope to see increased revenue used to make meeting attendance more affordable for all. Perhaps the website task force should look at using Google AdSense to automate ads on mcmla.org.

Great work by the Task Force! I believe a dues increase is reasonable. Ads would be acceptable within the previously suggested limits of having been carefully selected, and not interfering with the website or listserv, and not become overwhelming.

I think MCMLA has always been a bargain and I would not object to a dues increase to $25.00. I would like to see more of our revenue go towards expenditures/programs and less to reserves, so I’d recommend an 80/20 split instead of the 70/30 split.

Props to the committee for all their hard work. Great Job!

A couple of comments including – I am so impressed with the work being done with MCMLA and the leadership group!

Dues: $30 does not seem unreasonable at all.

As for the institutional membership: First thought was that it penalizes the one-person or one professional library. However I could live with the idea of meeting discounts for institutions that send 5 or more members to a meeting…or maybe 10 or more people from their institution.

Fund raising idea: The group planning the next year’s annual meeting typically gathers gifts to give away in a drawing during the business meeting. What if they gather items instead using their theme for the silent auction and they are bid on instead of being given away. Maybe even put up on the web page under the annual meeting events and chapter members not able to attend can still bid on the baskets, packages whatever.

I’m definitely in favor of raising the dues.

I’d also like to comment on one aspect that I don’t think has been addressed in other comments. There is a presumption that the annual meeting must ALWAYS generate revenue. I’d like to suggest that this issue be discussed by the exec committee on an annual basis — in years when the chapter treasury is robust, but the economy is weak and travel budgets are being cut, it might be reasonable to consider breaking even or even taking a slight loss in order to keep registration fees as low as possible. In any case, I’d rather see the exec committee give clear instructions annually so that the meeting planners have explicit financial expectations.

Peggy posted the recommendations on 10/27 to the list serv. In #2 recommendation above there is reimbursement of $1,000 limit on executive secretary reimbursement – but I didn’t see that in Peggy’s posting, just the $200 max below (#4) … I would be in favor of reimbursing the Exec Sec more as her work is so critical and active throughout the year.
4. Recommendation: $200 is the maximum amount that can be requested per meeting. If requesting reimbursement for attending MLA, the member must be attending an MLA section, council, etc. meeting on behalf of the chapter.

How about a group discount for attendance not tied to institutions? If I can get 4 of my pals together and call us a group, can’t we extend the discount to them?

I agree with the position of Rebecca Graves.

Kenny O

Also, on the idea of establishing an endowment that could be added to when renewing membership – I think that sounds like a great idea and we should pursue it. $10-$50 contributions can add up and with some good investment strategy can grow significantly over a 10 year period. I’m in favor of the idea.

I am in favor of raising dues and support the executive secretary reimbursement.
I would hate to see ads on the listserv and would prefer we not use them at all.

I think raising the dues to $30 is extremely reasonable. No ads on the listserv, however.
As co-chair for MCMLA 2010 Wichita, I was very interested in T. Scott Plutchak’s comments on the annual meeting generating revenue. We take this charge seriously, but I don’t think we can assume that the annual meeting will generate revenue with falling attendence, fewer people getting financial support from their institutions to attend, etc. And, if this is considered a necessary requiement to hold the annual meeting, I think there will be fewer voluteers to take on this hugh task.

I am definitely in favor of raising dues, and I don’t think $30 is unreasonable.

I’m in favor of raising our dues–go to $30 rather than incrementally. Make it the same for everyone. I don’t favor ads on the list but find them to be okay in publications–especially if they can be lumped at the end. I’m not sure about the website–don’t like the idea of ads but I don’t know how much revenue that would bring in. I’d like to know that before giving a final opinion related to ads on the website.
Peggy works very hard for our group and she should be compensated. I don’t think it’s necessary to pay MLA lisaisons–if MLA wants them, then they can pay if they are necessary.:-) Personally, to me [since I am one right now] I consider it volunteer work for one of my professional organizations. With the monthly meetings of the executive board and others, we have a much better sense of how our business is done, in real time, similar to physically being at a meeting. I do think the idea of a face to face meeting after MCMLA to do officer training, goal setting, etc. is a good one.

Travel Reimbursement – R 1: Sounds reasonable to me but do we need let the Executive Committee vote on each year on how much MCMLA will budget for a meeting and decide on criteria for how the money to be divided and who will get it since financial situations change each year. R 2: I think this would work and with technology such as “Skype” also expand the opportunities for officers to interact. R 3 & 4: Might leave it at $200 but with a provision to let the Ex. Com. Allocate more for some meetings as costs in some locations may be high and if individuals are already paying part of attending MLA it might make a difference. R 5 & 6: Sounds reasonable.
Chapter Expenses – R 1 & 2: Sound fine
Chapter Revenue – Most of the ideas listed are good with theses exceptions: I don’t know how much of a headache the Amazon idea might be. I would limit the selling of job postings to those without institutional memberships. I think we should keep the price of CE’s as low as possible and promote them as benefit for membership. I don’t really like the idea the members honoring programs since it seems to favor wealthier members/institutional members. A silent auction could really become a fun event. I think the reserve fund idea is appropriate.
Chapter Budge Schedule – R 1: I think this is a reasonable request so we should try it.

Thanks for all of your comments! The task force is meeting on November 11 to come up with the proposal that will be submitted to the Executive Committee.