ACRL-NJ’s Membership Assessment Project

Nicole Potdevin, Fairleigh Dickinson University potdevin@fdu.edu

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Maria Deptula, Rutgers University mdeptula@libraries.rutgers.edu

Agenda

• Background and Mission of Membership Assessment Task Force
• Process & Timeline
• Data Gathering
• Survey
• Survey Findings
• Focus Groups
• Focus Group Findings
• The Final Report
• Recommendations for ACRL-NJ
• Takeaways for Other Professional Library Organizations
• Questions

Background

The NJLA College & University Section / ACRL-NJ Chapter created a

Membership Assessment Task Force in Spring of 2023 in response to a decline in committee membership and meeting attendance.

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Mission / Charge of Membership Assessment Task Force

• Determine current levels of membership and participation in NJLA CUS/ ACRL-NJ
• Assess attitudes toward NJLA CUS/ACRL-NJ among academic librarians in NJ
• Create a list of recommendations to engage/re-engage NJ academic librarians to increase active membership in NJLA CUS/ACRL-NJ

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Task Force Members

Chair: Nicole Potdevin, Fairleigh Dickinson University

Theresa Agostinelli, Brookdale Community College

Maria Deptula, Rutgers University

Kate Hossain, Bergen Community College

Daniel Kipnis, Rowan University

R. Christina Ware, Essex Community College

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Process & Timeline

• Spring/Summer 2023
• Gather data on current membership and involvement in NJLA CUS and ACRL-NJ Chapter
• Compile list of all academic librarians working in NJ
• Fall 2023
• Create and distribute survey to all NJ academic librarians to gather qualitative and quantitative data
• Winter/Spring 2024
• Hold focus groups to gather more detailed qualitative data
• Compile final report with data and recommendations for how to strengthen membership in NJLA CUS/ACRL-NJ

Data Gathering

• Data on current membership in NJLA CUS/ACRL-NJ Chapter
• Information sources
• NJLA CUS roster
• ACRL roster of members who live in NJ
• NJLA CUS/ACRL-NJ committee rosters
• Local academic library listservs (NJLA CUS, ACRL-NJ, VALE)
• Registrants for 2023 NJ Academic Libraries Conference
• All data was placed into a single spreadsheet for cross comparison
• Most academic librarians were not active/signed up in all areas
• List of all academic librarians working in NJ (over 500 librarians)
• Information sources
• NJ academic library websites
• Local academic library listservs (NJLA CUS, ACRL-NJ, VALE)
• Names and email addresses from this spreadsheet used to distribute survey

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Survey

• Created with LibWizard
• Some skip logic questions
• Emailed directly to 506 NJ academic librarians and posted to the NJLA CUS, ACRL-NJ, and VALE listservs to solicit as many responses as possible
• Received 156 responses (30%)

Survey - Questions

• Years within the profession (definition of a librarian)
• Career status
• Prof. organization memberships
• Membership dues
• Areas of interest for professional development
• Reasons to be a member/stop membership/never become a member

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• Ranking prof. membership benefits
• Changes in prof. membership activities in the past 5 years
• Inducement to become an active member
• Benefits of being a member in prof. organization
• Willingness to participate in focus group interviews

Survey Findings - Years in Profession

Survey Findings - Membership Dues

Common Concern and Misconception

Survey Findings - Professional Development Areas of Interest

Survey Findings - Aspects of Professional Memberships

Survey Findings - Reasons for Being a Member

Survey Findings - Most Important Aspect of Being a Member

• Working on the Marketing & Outreach Committee
• Getting to know colleagues at other institutions and having a sense of what's happening at other schools
• Networking
• Annual Conference
• Being new to the area, I like learning who the other professionals are in my field here.
• Being part of the professional group & opportunity to share ideas in solving problems
• Collaborating with other academic librarians across the state. While the national organizations are important, the ability to share ideas and concerns with state colleagues has been key - especially when advocating initiatives at my institution. There is more of an impact with administration when examples and parallels can be drawn locally.
• A group that is not all public librarians:)

Survey Findings - Reasons for Ending Membership

Survey Findings - Reasons for Never Becoming Member

Survey Findings - What Would Encourage You to Become a Member

• I would have to be convinced that it would have enough impact on my job to be worth the time and money investment.
• Opportunities for engagement with other academic librarians as well as with the sharing of information about innovations and advances in the field.
• Free membership, opportunity to attend professional development activities at a reduced cost
• More relevant networking events and professional development opportunities
• Nothing

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Focus Groups

• Held over Zoom between February 9^th-23^rd, 2024
• 6 focus groups, with 19 librarians in groups of 3 or 4
• Grouped by current members, past members, and never-members
• Semi-structured with set of prepared questions, customized for type of group
• Recruitment - NJAL Conference & Survey Question
• 1 Task Force member acted as moderator and 1-2 acted as note-takers
• All notes were taken anonymously (no identifying information included)

Focus Groups Findings

• Confusion about the organization — what it is, how to join, how to get involved, etc.
• Need for guidance/mentorship for new members/academic librarians
• Desire to connect with colleagues in low stakes environments, such as coffee meet-ups and discussion groups
• Eagerness for passive professional development
• Professional library organizations need to advocate for their constituents and professional values
• Expectations for professional library organizations are extremely high (and at times unrealistic)

The Final Report

• Compiled data and recommendations into 9-page report
• Shared with the Executive Board of NJLA CUS/ACRL-NJ a list of recommendations to improve membership levels and engagement in the organization

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• https://tinyurl.com/mpw74v8r

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Recommendations

• Identity & Purpose
• Membership
• Professional Development & Offerings

Recommendations - Identity & Purpose

• Name
• Simplify name of organization
• Mission
• Create a mission statement. Create a central goal/aim and it should be to prove our worth as an organization
• Create an annual strategic plan as part of normal executive board responsibilities
• Update organizational bylaws and review them on an annual basis - membership, voting procedures, name change, structure, officer responsibilities, etc.
• Role
• Continue to advocate for academic librarianship
• Partner with school, public, and special library organizations to advocate for our profession
• Structure
• Create continuity/transition plan for leadership positions
• Create Communication/Marketing & Outreach Team to streamline, unify, plan, and carry out all marketing and outreach for the organization
• Create more interest/discussion groups (such as Access Services, OER, Grant Writing, etc.)
• Differentiate between committees and interest/discussion groups

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Recommendations - Identity & Purpose

• Marketing
• Provide a brief intro to the organization on the organization’s homepage - video/infographic/executive summary on website homepage explaining organization mission, purpose, structure, cost, how to join
• Create an ongoing information campaign - promotional material about committees/interest groups, cost, how to join, “what’s in it for me,” various promotional materials
• Inclusiveness - librarians from different backgrounds and identities in leadership positions; marketing efforts to encourage DEI
• Advertise committee meetings with focused topics to entice attendance
• Establish a workflow to share information in newsletters, listservs, calendars, websites, etc.
• Improve website to make more user friendly

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Recommendations - Membership

• Cost
• Investigate creating membership tiers/levels
• Advertising the ability to be on a committee at the “free” level

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• Recruitment
• Active/targeted recruitment campaign to increase membership levels and develop future leaders
• Intentional guidance to new members from the leadership
• Long-term goal: as membership grows, develop a leadership apprenticeship program

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Recommendations - Professional Development & Offerings

• Outreach
• Increase Secretary responsibilities to updating calendars and sending monthly email about committee meetings with topics as well as professional development opportunities
• Create monthly social media posts that link to that month’s meeting and professional development calendar
• Create one large academic librarian listserv (NJAL) - for regular communications and updates, including committee meeting dates, topics of interest, announcements, how to join, etc.
• Networking
• In-person, networking mixers
• Directory of all NJ academic librarians
• Professional Development
• Create additional regular and informal professional development opportunities (workshops, half-day conferences, training series, etc.)

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Presentations

2024 Academic Libraries Conference - poster and roundtable

2024 New Jersey Library Association Conference - poster

Takeaways for Other Professional Library Organizations

Identity and Purpose

● Have a strong identity and clear purpose.

● Marketing is crucial.

● Librarians want a high-value professional library organization where they get a lot for the cost of membership fees.

● There is a strong desire for interconnectedness with all types of librarianship as well as advocacy for the overall profession.

● A user-friendly website will lead to more engagement.

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Membership

● The cost of membership in professional organizations is often prohibitively expensive and many librarians cannot afford it with their current salaries, so consider ways that librarians can be involved with your organization for free.

● There is a desire for a sense of belonging and community but with low stakes/engagement for participants.

● Librarians are interested in mentoring programs to welcome new members and develop future leaders in their organizations.

Takeaways for Other Professional Library Organizations

Professional Development and Offerings

• Provide a mix of different types of professional development opportunities
• High involvement (great for those seeking tenure or who are service-minded)
• Committees
• Conferences
• Low involvement (great for those with less time/energy who want to stay up with trends in the field)
• Interest/discussion/skill-sharing groups
• Online workshops
• Consider creating a directory of academic librarians within your state to foster connections and collaborations.

Questions?

Nicole Potdevin, potdevin@fdu.edu

Maria Deptula, mdeptula@libraries.rutgers.edu

Final Report

https://tinyurl.com/mpw74v8r