Introducing Membership Bundling
As announced in the Atla 2022 Association Update, membership dues will remain the same in FY24, but we will introduce a new option: membership bundling. Starting in FY24, each Institutional member may assign an Individual membership to a staff member at their library, free of charge. When an Institutional member joins or renews, the member representative may also purchase any number of Individual memberships for staff at their library at $75 per membership.
The history. At the Atla Board of Directors meeting in February 2020, the Atla Board of Directors reviewed a report about membership dues and trends. Based on that report, the Board identified three primary short-term goals for membership, one of which was to increase the number of Individual members. The Board instructed Atla staff to develop a plan to bundle Institutional and Individual memberships and to implement it in FY21. Due to the pandemic, implementing membership bundling was deferred to FY24.
The reason. Due to Atla’s hybrid model of membership, with both Institutional and Individual members, many people who work at a member institution do not join Atla as Individual members. This reduces the number of individuals eligible to serve as members of committees, editorial boards, and the Board. Also, this does not give Atla a clear line of communication to library staff who are not the member representative for an Institutional member. By introducing membership bundling for the 2023-2024 membership year, we hope to increase the number of individuals receiving regular communications from Atla and engaging with Atla through participation in member activities as well as taking advantage of grant and professional development programs for Individual members.
The plan. Starting in FY24, each Institutional member may assign an Individual membership to a staff member at their library, free of charge. When an Institutional member joins or renews, the member representative may also purchase any number of Individual memberships for staff at their library at $75 per membership.
Why is this good for me as a staff person at a member institution? Atla has increased its educational and professional development offerings, and several of those opportunities are only available to Individual members. For example, Individual members are eligible to take up to two Library Juice Academy courses, a $400 value, at no charge. Atla will be adding new grant and leadership development opportunities for Individual members in the coming year. You will also receive communications about professional development and other offerings directly from Atla and have the chance to take advantage of networking, community engagement, and service opportunities.
Why is this good for my Institutional member library? In addition to providing a wide range of Institutional member benefits, Atla can help you develop and support your staff in their careers. As Individual members, your staff will have access to educational and professional development offerings that can help them develop skills and grow in knowledge. They can also engage in conversations and activities with others in a role like theirs across the Atla community. And because as Individual members they will receive information about opportunities and offerings directly from Atla, sharing Atla communications will not rely solely on you as the member representative.
The numbers. While the number of Institutional members has grown from 232 to more than 300 over the past ten years, the number of Individual members has remained about the same with 377 Individual members in FY23 YTD. The Individual membership dues structure includes 19 salary bands and approximately half of the current membership pay dues of $82.50 or less (salary bands below $50,000).
Bundled Individual membership at $75 per member is below the $86 average cost of Individual membership dues. For staff whose dues would be below the bundled cost based on their salary, membership may still be purchased outside the bundle to lower the cost.
What’s next? Much more information will be available on how member representatives can assign and purchase Individual memberships for library staff at their institution. What you as a member representative can do to get ready is make sure your institution’s roster is up to date with current library staff.
- Login to the My Atla web portal, select My Affiliations on the left side menu, click on the three-dot button next to your institution’s name and select Manage Roster from the drop-down that appears. You can search, add and remove, and create accounts for individuals.
If you are a staff person at an Institutional member, whether you are a current Individual member or not, please have a conversation with your member representative to discuss how you’d like to renew your membership this coming year.
We thank you for your patience as we introduce membership bundling, and we appreciate your continued support of Atla. If you have any questions, about these new developments or membership in Atla, please feel free to Contact Us.
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