My studies this week for LIS 5100, “Foundations of Librarianship,” included an exploration of professional library associations. I shared the benefits I’ve derived from two association memberships, the American Library Association and the Association for Library Service to Children.
American Library Association:
I have been a member of the American Library Association since 2011, when I was pursuing an Associate degree in Library and Information Science. As the Rubins (2020, p. 588) indicate, the ALA is the “oldest and largest library association in the world.” Among personal members (such as I am), the annual dues are based upon the person’s role in library work (ALA, n.d.) I joined, and later renewed, first at the student level, and then later in the “Library Support Staff” category. Doing so each year has been a professional investment. I regularly read American Libraries, which is the ALA’s official magazine, its “voice of the profession” (American Libraries, 2022). I have also enrolled in webinars for continuing education, and have engaged in online discussions around topics related to librarianship through ALA Connect, which is a centralized listserv / discussion board for various divisions and roundtables of the ALA.
Association for Library Service to Children:
Like our reading in Rubin and Rubin indicated (2020, p. 588), ALSC is a division of the ALA. In 2021, when I renewed my ALA membership, I added a membership in ALSC. I chose this division because I am interested in library service to young people — whether that service takes place in a school library or in another setting. Benefits of membership include a subscription to ALSC’s quarterly journal, Children and Libraries (ALSC, n.d.). Other benefits include networking opportunities and professional development (ibid). One thing that interests me is the announcement each year of the ALA’s Youth Media Awards; ALSC administers several of these awards including the Newbery and the Caldecott medals, and it offers an award database where you can browse among winners (ALSC, 2022-a). ALSC also releases a list each year of children’s notable books. “According to ALSC policy, the current year’s Newbery, Caldecott, Belpré, Sibert, Geisel, and Batchelder Award and Honor books automatically are added to the Notable Children’s Books list” (ALSC, 2022-b). Tracking award winners, as well as notable books, provides tremendous benefit when building a quality collection in the library.
References:
American Library Association. (n.d.) ALA personal membership: Benefits & types. Membership. https://www.ala.org/membership/ala-personal-membership-benefits-types
American Libraries. (2022). About. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/about/
Association for Library Service to Children. (n.d.) The value of ALSC membership. ALSC. https://www.ala.org/alsc/valueofmembership
Association for Library Service to Children. (2022-a.) ALSC Book & media awards shelf.
https://alsc-awards-shelf.org/
Association for Library Service to Children. (2022-b). Notable children’s books - 2022. Children’s notable lists. https://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncb
Rubin, and Rubin. (2020). Foundations of library and information science (5th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.
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