2007-03-29

Organizing conference programming

A new conversation is going on around the library blogosphere about being paid to speak at library conferences, particularly state library associations. Since there don't seem to be many bloggers who are actively organizing programming for state library conferences, it looks like I have something to add. I'm not disagreeing with the sentiments expressed by "Jane Eyre," Dorothea Salo, Meredith Farkas, and David Lee King-- who specifically mentioned my home state organization, the Missouri Library Association. But I am going to reiterate David Lee King's point that the only path to change is to get involved.

There seems to be some assumption that speaking fees can be changed in some kind of top-down way, right now, just because it's the right thing to do. I can't speak to other library associations (in fact, a point I'll make further down is that I can't even speak authoritatively about my own), but in Missouri, we have one paid administrator. She has a lot of power in some senses, but she tries very hard to be an administrator and to let the librarians run the show.

The powers that be at any given time are the officers. Many offices are held only for one year. If you went into the office with the intention of rationalizing speaker fees, you might be able to get it done. If you are a current officer who is just now hearing about this issue, who became involved with some other intention, it's probably too late already. The officers are librarians. In the words of Walt Kelly, "we have met the enemy and he is us."

So, here's my experience thus far. Two years ago, I was a speaker at MLA. I asked for an honorarium for no other reason than that there was a slot to do so. I was told that I couldn't get one because I was a member of the association. That is now on the form so I wouldn't go in with that assumption today. My motivation for speaking at MLA that year was that I was still in library school and it would look great on my resume, so I said "no problem, just thought I'd ask"--frankly, at that point, I was just grateful that anyone was willing to listen to me.

Last year, I was a clueless Recorder for the Special Interest Group with the smallest number of active participants in the Missouri Library Association--the Computer and Information Technology SIG. Why is it the smallest? Why did it almost die when that's the area where lots of exciting things are happening? I don't know the history, but I could see that it was dying and I resolved to do what I could to bring it back to life. My main motivation is to see that there is great programming at the conference about technology.

So, this year, I am a slightly less clueless Vice-Chair for the smallest SIG in MLA. I'm also a busy librarian. I've missed meetings that I should have gone to that might have given me a few more clues but, of course, this activity doesn't take priority over teaching my Writing 1 classes or many other aspects of my job.

So, now it's conference planning season and I've begun to realize just how clueless I am. I want good programming, but I don't even know what the process is for paying speakers. Naturally, under the current system, I'm mostly encouraging MLA members to speak because I know that I can't promise them money and they know not to expect it. In the one instance where I actively recruited someone outside of that group, I had to say that I just don't know whether there is money available for them or not. I'll make sure we get that figured out in the next couple of months (and I know I can because I did go to the May conference planning meeting last year, so I know that all questions are answered there--had I not done that, I wouldn't even have that much of a clue). So, at least, I know I won't put someone in Jane Eyre's position. But I am asking people to prepare proposals without knowing what will be available to them in the way of renumeration.

Early next month, the SIG will submit the proposals for programs that we get to the conference planners who will have no way of knowing which proposals are a result of someone volunteering out of the blue and which are a result of my active recruiting efforts--so the concept of "invited speaker" is not all that clear in my association.

I am, by the way, submitting two proposals to speak at MLA with no expectation of being paid. As I said, I'm motivated by wanting good technology programs at the conference. My professional travel money from work will cover this conference (one of the things I really like about my state conference is that it's the one conference I can go to that will be fully covered by my professional development money)--and I may not have time to do more professional travel in the next fiscal year given how much effort I'm putting into MLA.

So, next year, I'll be an even less clueless Chair of what will hopefully, by then, be a SIG with a larger active membership. I might even figure out how to submit a budget so that I know that I have some money to promise to speakers. And, then, I'll be done. Just as I've figured out how to do things right. #

Comments:

Well, Joy, since I'm coming up along behind you, you can share some of that knowledge with me and maybe we'll be able to get something done! I've been following the discussions on the speaker's compensation topic with interest. I've spoken at several conferences now that have comped my registration, and one or two that have helped with travel expenses - but most library conferences seem to be on the low end of the scale. I had to turn down a speaking engagement earlier this year because the organizers could only offer 1/2 price registration on a conference that I wasn't planning to go to anyway. That wasn't going to work for me!!
I'm planning to go to MLA, and my library will cover the costs, but I have to say that it would be nice to *at least* get the cost of the conference comped for all speakers at any library conference! Even if the organization can't afford an honorarium, they should be able to do that.

# posted by Robin : 6:12 AM

Robin, I've been thinking about that. Short term goal: good conference. Long term goal: continued good conferences by making sure that the officers coming up next have more of a clue than I did. We'll talk!

# posted by Joy : 7:53 AM

I hope people keep talking about this and that associations start to think more critically about how they compensate speakers.

I'm in library school right now and have been getting into doing presentations. I just got accepted for a poster at ALA; I had no expectation of being compensated for this--at this stage, the boost this will give to my resume is enough to make it worth the registration and travel expenses. But compensation (or at least reimbursement of expenses) will be a big consideration for me moving forward. This degree does not come cheap, and for a Caucasian female there is basically zero funding.

# posted by Alison : 6:07 PM