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Partnering With TLA To Explore Member Dues Options
By Marcie Peck, MA and Moira Edwards, MS, CAE
LAST YEAR, THE TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION (TLA) SOUGHT THE HELP OF OUR COMPANY, ELLIPSIS PARTNERS, to explore and assess the organization’s current member dues structure and make recommendations for an alternative dues structure. Ellipsis Partners serves as a trusted advisor to associations across the country and has previously counseled TLA on several major initiatives. We were honored to partner with TLA once again on this effort.
Currently, TLA has a complicated structure of member dues, based on member income, and the division, roundtable, and district options a member chooses. Originally developed in alignment with the dues structure of the American Library Association, TLA’s dues structure has since become burdensome, clunky for members to navigate, and complex to administer.
Goals
Working closely with TLA’s leadership, we established the following goals for this project:
• Develop a simplified member dues structure that is easy to understand, administer, and pay.
• Continue to have a dues structure that reflects TLA members’ ability to pay.
• Remove barriers for new members to join and engage.
• Grow TLA’s membership.
Over the past year, our team has engaged in a multi-step process to accomplish these goals:
Conversations with TLA staff: Ellipsis Partners met on multiple occasions with TLA staff to gain historical context behind the current dues structure and deepen our understanding of member and organizational needs.
Comparative Research: We identified five member-based organizations, including Texas-based non-library associations and larger library-focused organizations, and conducted detailed interviews with them about their membership and dues structure. We conducted additional online research, gathering information from all 50 state-library organizations to identify trends in membership dues structure and implementation.
Literature Scan: Membership structures are often the subject of discussion in association forums and publications. We reviewed and distilled the most current thinking on membership structure from association literature and combined that with our experience with membership structure challenges and innovations that we have seen addressed. This provided an understanding of best practices and a framework in which to place our recommendations.
Focus Groups: Utilizing a focus group format, we met with 40 current TLA members, both in person at the TLA Annual Conference in Austin last April and online in June. Participants represented all library types, sizes, and geographic locations. Members told us why they joined and remain members of TLA and described the value of that membership to them personally and professionally. We learned much about their goals and expectations of TLA membership, their perception of the value of membership, and how that measures against the cost of membership.
MEMBER SURVEY:
Working closely with TLA staff, Ellipsis Partners designed and fielded a survey to understand current and former TLA members’ needs and preferences, and how that relates to paying annual dues.
We asked about members’ work environments, participation in districts, divisions, and roundtables, attendance at conference, how long they’ve been a member, and who pays their annual dues.
In an open-ended question, we inquired, “what is the best part of being a TLA member?” and received a wide variety of responses reflecting how much the association means to participants, both personally and professionally.
Finally, we tested members’ comfort level with various flat dues rates for librarians, students, vendor/suppliers, unemployed, and retired members.
The survey was open for two weeks, between Oct. 12-27, and 2,702 current and former TLA members participated.
Overall Findings
Members value TLA immensely. Attendance at the conference; involvement in roundtables, districts, and divisions; and participation in programs like TALL Texans and the Texas Bluebonnet Award are very important to their professional lives. Members were passionate about how TLA has given them a professional home, as well as additional career opportunities.
However, those involved in library services have limited budgets. A high level of dues would be an immense barrier for the many who pay for dues themselves or have to rely on uncertain budgets to fund their membership.
At the same time, the current multi-tier structure is tricky, and hard to figure out. A simplified structure would make it easier to explain, understand, and pay. This applies especially to library systems that might be paying dues for multiple members. In addition, the move nationally is away from dues reflecting a direct correlation to individual income, toward a simpler structure that still accommodates those at different income levels.
As a result, our recommendations for TLA consideration are:
Remove levels of income
• Move away from the current multi-tiered structure of income levels.
• Instead have levels reflecting role within the workplace.
• Retain options for those in transition, such as students, unemployed or retired.
Utilize a flat fee for adding additional units
• Make this a flat fee that is easy to calculate when members choose to add additional divisions, districts, or round tables to their membership.
Enhance library membership
• Implement an institutional membership.
• Charge dues that are based on the institution’s revenue.
Increase dues for vendors and corporate partners
• Increase dues for commercial entities and consider organization-based dues.
Specific Recommendations
Based on our research and analysis, Ellipsis Partners has developed the following draft recommendations for a new TLA Member Dues Structure (see below table).
HOW WILL THESE CHANGES HELP TLA MEMBERS AND THE WHOLE ASSOCIATION?
In contrast to the current complex member dues structure, we believe the adoption of the new recommendations will simplify and streamline how TLA members understand and pay annual dues.
Instead of determining dues based on income, the new system will align with the professional level of each individual member
Students and unemployed members will have financial margin in a season where they find themselves low on cash but still eager to learn new skills, stay informed about industry trends
and connect with other library professionals.
Additional districts, divisions, and roundtables will have a flat fee that is easy to understand.
With this new level of simplicity, the administration of the system will be more efficient.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Between January-February 2024, Ellipsis Partners will host online discussion groups with TLA members. We anticipate three to four groups to be scheduled. These discussions will provide an opportunity for members to give live feedback on the proposed dues structure.
Meanwhile, TLA will offer dedicated opportunities to discuss the proposed dues changes in the TLA Engage online platform. TLA will also host virtual town halls open to all members to answer questions and gain additional feedback.
Last, we will present our final set of recommendations to the TLA Council during TLA’s Annual Conference in April. Once approved by Council, TLA’s membership will be asked to vote whether or not to approve and adopt the recommended changes.
It is an exciting time in the life of the Texas Library Association. Once again, it is an honor to work with TLA’s Board of Directors and dedicated staff on this initiative. We look forward to hearing from you in the months ahead as we finalize our recommendations and move forward for the growth of the organization and the benefit of its current and future members.
Moira Edwards and Marcie Peck are consultants with Ellipsis Partners, LLC, a firm that works exclusively with associations and nonprofits on strategy, operational, and technology decisions.
