Crawford, 'LITA Dues Increase Proposed', LITA Newsletter v15n02
URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/lita/lita-v15n02-crawford-lita

V15N2.DUES LITANEWS
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LITA Dues Increase Proposed
 
 
DURING THE 1994 MIDWINTER Meeting, the LITA Board of Directors
unanimously approved a proposed dues increase of $10 per year, which
will appear on the 1994 LITA ballot. LITA most recently passed a dues
increase in 1989, which took effect during 1989 and 1990.
   During the past four years, ALA charges for services to divisions
have increased substantially. Inflation has increased other direct
costs of operating the division. It has become more difficult to gain
substantial revenues from non-dues sources, to the point that it is
irresponsible to assume that such revenues can "carry" the
organization.
   There are no silver bullets. LITA has no magical or extraordinary
source of revenue available to cover its expenses. A dues increase is
both necessary and appropriate to keep LITA healthy and flexible for
the future.
 
Expense and Revenue Categories
 
Membership support accounts for more than half of LITA's expenses, and
membership costs consistently exceed dues revenue. While LITA depends
on volunteer activity, the division could not operate without
full-time staff. A healthy, growing division needs a strong staff.
   LITA's growing publications program represents roughly one-third of
the division's expenses and yields slightly more revenue than
expenses. LITA's non-serial publications have done very well this
year, and the program should continue to grow-- but these publications
require staff support to produce and maintain, and LITA needs risk
capital to keep building the publications list. Information Technology
and Libraries, the most expensive publication, is traditionally also
the largest revenue producer, but outside subscriptions have been
declining. The LITA Newsletter is produced economically but brings in
almost no revenue.
   LITA programs during ALA Annual Conferences serve to educate
members and nonmembers and are not revenue sources. LITA
preconferences and institutes are primarily designed to provide
continuing education at reasonable prices. While most preconferences
and institutes will yield modest net revenues, they do not represent
major revenue sources. LITA is building a strong program of institutes
and workshops held around the country. While such institutes and
workshops should be profitable, they do require staff to organize and
risk capital to present, and they will not be huge sources of revenue.
   LITA receives some donations, typically to support awards and
scholarships or for specific programs. Granting agencies rarely donate
money to carry forward the everyday business of an organization, and
LITA is no exception.
 
What About National Conferences?
 
Every LITA National Conference has returned net revenues, but these
conferences have never yielded massive profits--and the conferences
require substantial advance reserves. LITA's National Conferences
serve the division and the profession, and are hugely successful as
programmatic activities, but they cannot serve as a primary source for
divisional funding.
 
Flexibility and Responsibility
 
LITA needs to assure flexibility for new programming and other
initiatives. The division must also establish a fiscal reserve as a
measure of fiscal responsibility, as required by ALA. To some extent,
these two goals are linked: a strong fiscal reserve will improve
LITA's flexibility.
   Information technology is in a greater state of flux than ever
before, and LITA has a significant role to play in the systems that
are evolving. To contribute to developments and to fulfill our
educational role in the library field, we must be able to act promptly
and to have some financial flexibility. This all requires adequate
funding.
   LITA provides excellent value for you, its members. It is both
reasonable and prudent for more than half of LITA's funding to come
directly from membership dues. The LITA Board urges you to approve the
$10 dues increase.--Walt Crawford, Past President and Chair, LITA
Budget Review Committee