NOTE: this document is a work in progress and we're also working on putting the final version of this report into an institutional repository in PDF form.
In this report, LEPD analyzes the cost of membership and conference attendance for the major professional organizations in academic librarianship, in the United States, between the years 1999 and 2019. Travel and accommodation costs during this period are also analyzed. This report is part of a larger effort to identify and combat the "service ceiling" that exists in our field.
To understand the context of our Spring 2020 survey results, which are the subject of a forthcoming paper, we conducted extensive research into the cost of membership for the American Library Association (ALA), the major library professional association in the United States, and their main conferences now and twenty years ago (Table 1). There is both an ALA Annual conference and an ALA Midwinter conference; we analyzed both because many ALA committees require attendance at both. We also analyzed the cost of the Association of College & Research Libraries' (ACRL) main conference; this is a subdivision of ALA and focuses on academic librarianship. The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine was chiefly used to obtain these figures because the ALA’s official web archive only goes back to 2015. The selected time range (1999-2020) corresponds to our finding that the median salary for academic librarians over the same time period has been static when adjusted for inflation (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019).
All listed costs have been adjusted for inflation to the equivalent rate in 2019 or 2020 using the CPI inflation Calculator.
Table 1: ALA Early Bird Conference Costs
The Associated Colleges and Research Libraries (ACRL) conference, a division of the ALA for academic and research libraries, is held biannually. It was more difficult to obtain historical data for: the registration portal used by ACRL was not captured by the Wayback Machine archive, and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, inquiries into paper records were unsuccessful because staff members are unable to reach the physical archives due to work from home policies. However, pThe Associated Colleges and Research Libraries (ACRL) conference, a division of the ALA for academic and research libraries, is held biennially biannually. Personal staff records provided to us via email show ACRL early bird conference costs for members going back to 2001 (Table 2).
Table 2: ACRL Early Bird Conference Costs
Since all of the rates above are for members, membership fees during the same period were evaluated to provide a more complete picture of the financial involvement required to partake in these professional development and service activities (Table 3). These are the rates for “regular members” who aren’t in their first or second year of librarianship (“early career”). 2001 was the farthest back membership fee obtained using the Wayback Machine; ALA did not respond to emails inquiring about 1999 membership rates. Division membership rates are also included here since these are often required to participate in ALA or ACRL service work.
Table 3: ALA Membership Fees
Two other contributing costs in professional development and service impact affordability; travel and accommodation. According to research sponsored by the industry group Airlines for America, air travel in the United States has decreased in price since its wide introduction in the 1940s. Between 1990 and 2016, the price per mile to fly decreased by 36% (fees included) (Kasper & Lee, 2017). In contrast, during the twenty year period used to analyze salary, conference fee, and membership fee changes (1999-2020), gas prices rose 94.81%. In that same time period, lodging accommodations away from home also rose by 24.62%.
Tables one through three show that while membership fees and the ACRL conference cost have not risen over the past twenty years, the cost to attend ALA Annual and ALA Midwinter conference have risen significantly; 30% and 40%, respectively. These numbers should not considered on their own: it is pertinent to understand that for many academic librarians, attendance at one or more of these events is required or recommended if they are involved in ALA service work (ALA A.5.5.2 & ACRL 3.5.3). Profession-level service work is often considered in tenure and promotion decisions and since ALA is the United States' preeminent professional institution, participation in service within this group is competitive and highly-valued. Members of these committees complete a significant amount of free labor. An example of of potential yearly commitment for an academic librarian involved in ACRL service is detailed below:
Scenario: member of an ACRL committee in 2019
One year of ALA membership $148
One year of ACRL division membership $68
Attendance at one ACRL conference (early bird rate) $395
Attendance at one ALA Midwinter conference (early bird rate) $245
Attendance at one ALA Annual conference (early bird rate) $320
Total one year cost = $1176 (before travel, accommodation, food, and associated expenditures)
Total two year cost estimate (since committees have two year terms) = $1957
By what metric does a professional development or service commitment tip from affordable to expensive? Without profession-wide data about how much funding academic librarians receive from their institutions to participate in these activities, or guidance/recommendations from our professional institutions, it is difficult to know. Since professional development and service is often a required activity for tenure and promotion in academic librarianship, is paying over $1000 per year, perhaps out of pocket, a manageable cost for the academic librarian in exchange for maintenance of their career? This analysis of professional membership and conference fees begins to articulate a "service ceiling" which exists in librarianship to exclude some peers from participation in professional development and service through economic barriers.
ALA Policy Manual. (2010, August 17.) American Library Association. http://www.ala.org/aboutala/node/245/
Chapter 3: ACRL Committees. (2006, September 6). American Library Association. http://www.ala.org/acrl/resources/policies/chapter3
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2020a). Historical pricing for gas since 1999. U.S. Department of Labor.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2020b). Historical pricing for other lodging away from home including hotels and motels since 1999. U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.in2013dollars.com/Other-lodging-away-from-home-including-hotels-and-motels/price-inflation/1999-to-2020?amount=20
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2020c, November 11). Occupational outlook handbook, librarians and library media specialists. U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/librarians.htm
Department for Professional Employees. (2020) Library professionals: Facts & figures. AFL-CIO. https://www.dpeaflcio.org/factsheets/library-professionals-facts-and-figures#_edn16
Kasper, D.M. & Lee, D. (2017, June 26). An assessment of competition and consumer choice in today’s U.S. airline industry. http://darinlee.net/pdfs/airline_competition.pdf