ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 442 / C&RL News ■ June 1998 C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s Members assess ACRL prior to the new millennium Results of the 1997 m em ber survey by A lth e a H. Jenkins and Michael G odow E very four years, ACRL surveys a sam­ pling of its personal members in order to assess the m em b ersh ip profile, t needs, effectiveness of programs, and new trends. The most recent survey, conducted by Research USA, Inc. in the fall of 1997 is unique in two very important ways: it is the last survey to be taken in the 20th century, and it assesses the condition, attitudes, and needs of librarians, w hose rapidly evolving profession has been transformed by infor­ mation technology and the digital environ­ ment. The profession of academic librarianship is no easier today than it was four years ago. Providing access to materials, adjust­ ing to technology, dealing with tighter bud­ gets, and preserving library materials are still major concerns within the profession. How­ ever, the advent of digital data has deluged librarians with new concerns about access to this information, organization of the ma­ terial, its preservation, and the ramifications of copyright. While technology is simplify­ ing library services in some areas, it is com ­ plicating them in many others. Thus, the results of this survey are in­ strumental not only in assessing the needs and wants of academic librarians, but also hei for planning future programs and services in response to those needs. r M e t h o d o lo g y The sam ple size for the survey was 900 members. These names were selected from the ACRL personal membership list on an nth name basis. On Septem ber 23, 1997, every name selected was mailed an advance- notice postcard from ACRL President W. Lee Hisle asking for m em ber participation. A four-page questionnaire was mailed by Re­ search USA to each name on September 30, 1997, with an ACRL cover letter, a one-dol- lar bill incentive, and a stam ped return en ­ velope. A second copy of the questionnaire, with a cover letter and stam ped return en ­ velope, was mailed to nonrespondents on O ctober 21, 1997. The cover letter from Research USA thanked those who may have just responded and asked all others to please do so for the success of the survey. On De­ cem ber 5, Research USA began to tabulate the 546 com pleted questionnaires that were returned. Of the 900 questionnaires that were mailed, 22 were returned incomplete, 2 were undeliverable, and 6 were too late for tabulation. This resulted in a net effec­ tive mailing of 870, from which 546 ques- A bout the authors Althea H. Jenkins is executive director o f ACRL, e-mail: ajenkins@ala. org; Michael Godow is program officer/special assistant to ACRL’s executive director; e-mail:mgodow@ala.org mailto:mgodow@ala.org C&RL News ■ June 1 9 9 8 / 443 tionnaires w ere returned, for a net percent­ age return of 62.8%. Results of the survey for the total m em ­ bership are projectable within a range of plus or minus 4.3% with a confidence level of 95%. The questionnaire consisted of 42 ques­ tions under six headings which included: about you and your organization; about you and ACRL; ACRL publications; ACRL and professional developm ent; rating the asso­ ciation; and statistical inform ation. Most questions were close-ended and several re­ quired respondents to rate items by level of importance. K e y f in d in g s The typical ACRL m em b er is C aucasian (91.9%), female (68%), 48 years old, and has been a m em ber of ACRL for 11 years. She most likely works in a university (52%) and is a departm ent head or supervisor w ho works in administration. This year, in order to verify the accuracy of the survey sample, we checked the sur­ vey responses against the ALA database in the areas of position code, work code, and type of library and found the survey results to be within their projected tolerances. Spe­ cifically, 33% of our m embers are depart­ m ent heads or supervisors, 29% are non- supervisory, and 17% are directors. More than half of our m em bership works in ad­ ministration or reference services. Most ACRL members w ork in a university library (52%), followed by com prehensive, 4-year, and 2- year institutions. These profiles have not changed dramatically from the 1993 survey, but there are some subtle differences and trends worthy of note. M e m b e rsh ip is a g in g The median age of our m em bership has in­ creased from 43.9 years in 1989 to 48.2 years in 1997. Members 55 and older make up 25.1% of the m em bership base com pared to 19.6% in 1993. However, m em bership in the age group 34 and under is also grow ­ ing. This group m ade up 10.2% of our base com pared to 8% in 1993. The average length of membership in ACRL has also grown from 8.5 years in 1989 to 11.0 years in 1997. An encouraging sign for our association is that the category “new mem­ bers with less than two years in ACRL” has grown from 11.8% in 1993 to 15.5% in 1997. P a rtic ip a tio n in s e c tio n s is d o w n In 1997, 74.4% of m em bership belonged to one or more sections. This is dow n from 80.7% in 1993. The three sections that have the most members are: University Libraries Section (ULS), Instruction Section (IS), and College Libraries Section (CLS). The English and American Literature (EALS) and Ex­ ten d ed Campus Library Services (ECLSS) sections show ed the largest percentage of growth since 1993. A d ju s t in g to t e c h n o lo g y is th e m o st c ritic a l issu e f a c in g m e m b e rs Close to 39% of respondents highlighted “technological change” as the most critical issue they face as librarians. Some of the m ost com m on an sw ers w ere: “K eeping abreast of changing technologies”; “Keep- 444 / C&RL News ■ June 1998 ing up with the electronic revolution”; and “Keeping up with electronic resources and evaluating them for selection purposes.” This response was given nearly two-to-one over the next critical issue, which was “tight bud­ gets” (18.1%), followed by “ability to pro­ vide information in multiple formats” and “staff development/training.” Librarians also responded that providing information in multiple formats and adjust­ ing to technology were the two main criti­ cal issues facing their profession. It is thus no surprise that academic librarians are seek­ ing additional professional developm ent opportunities to cope with the ever-chang­ ing digital environment. The next three most critical issues are: “tight budgets”; “staying relevant”; and “maintaining traditional print services.” M em bers plan to p a rticip a te in A C R L e d u ca tio n a l a c tiv itie s More than 81% of the membership plans to participate in some ACRL educational activ­ ity. This is up from 78.4% in 1993. Respon­ dents also told us that professional devel­ opment (71.8%) is the most important of ACRL’s goals. Members overw helm ingly desire programs in developing and updat­ ing their technical and leadership skills. New d ire ctio n s fo r A C R L Members were asked to identify programs, activities, and services not currently being provided by ACRL that would be most ben­ eficial to them. Out of the more than 100 responses, seven areas and topics surfaced repeatedly. These were: diversity/ethnic pro­ grams, teleconference or videoconference programs, state and intrastate conferences, leadership training, more research on rel­ evant library issues, better use of technol­ ogy to support members’ work, and advo­ cacy for librarians. A g r o w in g d e sire fo r re g io n a l p ro g ra m s an d te le c o n fe re n c in g ALA Annual Conference, ACRL National Conference, and ACRL Chapter programs are still the most preferred delivery methods for ACRL’s product. However, members clearly indicated that they consider regional insti­ tutes/workshops and teleconferencing/dis- tance learning to lie up-and-coming contenders. The survey indicated that 76.8% of re­ spondents have teleconferencing or distance learning courses on their campus and that 71.4% would like to have ACRL programs teleconferenced to them. No doubt the reason for this was indi­ cated by the answer to another question, which told us that limited institutional funds and cost of travel or lodging are the major reasons given for not attending an ACRL Na­ tional Conference. N atio n al C o n fe re n ce Total attendance at National Conference continues to grow, and survey respondents told us that “topics covered” is the main rea­ son for this. ACRL m em bers still desire conference frequency to be two years, about the same percentage as in the 1989 survey. C&RL N e w s ■ June 1 9 9 8 / 4 4 5 M e m b e rs are b e c o m in g m o re a c tiv e in A C R L o ffic e s an d a c tiv itie s Participation by members in one or more ACRL office or activities grew by 12%, com­ pared to 1993. The most participated in are: Section Committee, Discussion Group, and Committee/Task Force. Participation in Dis­ cussion Groups grew by 9-3% over 1993- A C R L p u b lic a tio n s are s till p re fe rre d in p rin t fo r m a t When offered the choice of paper or elec­ tronic versions of C&RL News, C&RL, and RBML, members preferred paper. The next most popular response for these publica­ tions was for both paper and electronic ver­ sions. The only publications preferred in electronic format are the section newslet­ ters. A c a d e m ic fo c u s m o st im p o rta n t re a so n f o r A C R L m e m b e rsh ip Academic focus is the “most important” rea­ son for keeping an ACRL membership. Ex­ cluding C&RL News and C&RL journal, the activities and programs judged to be of the “greatest value” are standards and guidelines, programs at ALA Conference, library statis­ tics, National Conference, and job opportu­ nity information. F o u r-fifth s o f A C R L m e m b e rsh ip b e lo n g s to o th e r o r g a n iz a t io n s State library association, ACRL chapter, and special library association (SLA) were the top three “other” associations mentioned in this survey. It is interesting to note that ap­ proximately 9.4% of the surveyed members belong to SLA. SLA did a member survey in 1996 that indicated some striking similari­ ties with our membership. A n e n c o u ra g in g s ig n fo r o u r a sso cia tio n is th a t th e c a te g o ry “ n e w m em b e rs w ith less th an tw o y e a rs in A C R L ” has g ro w n fro m 11.8% in 1993 to 15.5% in 1997. Both ACRL and SLA members have a high level of technological accessibility, prefer print format for their publications, desire professional grow th, and have an aging membership. But SLA and ACRL members differ in their reasons for attending Annual Conference. SLA members indicated “exhib­ its” to be the most important factor in influ­ encing their decision to attend SLA Annual Conference. ACRL members indicated “Top­ ics covered” as the most important factor influencing their attendance at National Con­ ference. S u m m a ry an d co n c lu sio n The success of an association is m easured by the extent to w hich it m eets the d e ­ m ands of its m em bership and strengthens their ability to provide superior services and resources. Thus, the m em ber survey becom es one of our most im portant tools to gauge the extent to w hich these wants and needs are being fulfilled. The 1997 M embership Survey clearly indicated that ACRL’s m em b ers c o n s id e r in fo rm a tio n technology and its im plications in aca­ demic libraries to be the force to be reck­ oned with now and into the next m illen­ nium. In order to contend with an evolving digital environm ent, m em bers w ant ACRL to continue to provide professional devel­ opm ent activities that im prove their abil- 4 4 6 / C&RL News ■ June 1998 ACRL's m em bers co n sid e r in fo rm a ­ tio n te c h n o lo g y and its im p lica ­ tio n s in acad e m ic lib ra rie s to be th e fo rce to be reckoned w ith n o w and into th e n e xt m ille n n iu m . ity to use and apply technology, as well as enhance their leadership and advocacy skills. Members w hose institutions are undergo­ ing budget constraints want ACRL to experi­ ment with alternative delivery methods, such as regional institutes and distance learning. ACRL is listening and responding to its m em bership by continuing to provide ex­ cellent program s, services, and products. The 1999 ACRL National C onference in Detroit, “Racing Toward T om orrow ,” will p ro v id e over 250 program sessio n s on them es such as the changing environm ent, the expanding know ledge base, and life­ long learning. ACRL also offered its first regional institute, April 30-May 1, 1998, on leadership. A nother institute is under developm ent and includes several other organizations in its planning. In the legislative arena, ACRL is advo­ cating library issues to our congressional representatives that explain the academ ic librarian’s point of view to ensure that our ability to provide inform ation is not e n ­ cum bered. Members are ACRL’s most valuable as­ set, and we are pleased that respondents felt that the association is m eeting many of their needs and that program s and ser­ vices are valued. ACRL will continue to track trends, assess the needs of the ACRL m em bership, and evaluate its p ro g ram ­ ming so that we can continue to be re­ sponsive to m em bership with high-qual­ ity program s and services. ACRL w ould also like to express its a p ­ preciation to the survey respondents w ho took time out of their busy schedules to com plete this im portant assessm ent tool. This information will be used by the Board of Directors, its com m ittees, sections, and chapters to review, update, and develop programs and products that meet the needs of our mem bers. The Board will continue to use the sur­ vey results in setting priorities and u p d a t­ ing the Strategic Plan. C&RL News ■ June 1 9 9 8 / 4 4 7 4 4 8 / C&RL News ■ June 1998