There have been some interesting responses to last night's post.
Most of them seem to revolve around the idea that membership of a professional association is about providing benefits to the individual member, and it is a case of deciding whether these benefits are worth the several hundred dollars a year for membership.
Essentially, the question is, "What's in it for me if I join?"
Similarly, as part of a strategy to retain membership and actively respond to the needs of members, ALIA regularly conducts a member's survey. They also address areas of concern to members through hosting a national advisory congress, where members can tell the professional association what they want.
Put simply, the professional association is asking it's professionals, "What do you want us to do for you?"
But here's the thing. A professional association isn't a service provider. It's not a matter of give and take. And it's certainly not a question of "getting your money's worth". I think that anybody who sees professional membership in that way has severely missed the point.
No, the question that's first and foremost in my mind when it comes to joining an association - be it a professional association, or a community group, or a special interest club, is "Who else is active in this association?"
Other questions that arise from there are:
What opportunities will there be for me to actively participate in my association?
How will this professional activity help promote the professional industry?
Will I get to feel like I'm a part of something that's important to the profession, and play an active role in defining its presence in the industry?
What opportunities will I get to work together with other professionals, in achieving our collective goals - as a profession? Not self-serving goals, but rather the principles on which the profession is based - on providing access to information, facilitating its free-flow, building socially-inclusive communities, and promoting lifelong learning.
The answer? The professional association can't do these things for you. But you can do these things through active membership in the professional association.
Of course, I know that not everybody got into librarianship for these reasons. For some people, they thought it would be an easy job in a quiet workplace. But I'm pretty sure that nobody got into this industry for the high-paying salaries. Like other professions, such as teaching or nursing, you gotta do it because you're passionate about it, or you're just going to end up hating your job and wasting your life.
And a professional association, above all, creates the opportunity to form a closeknit professional community across the industry. Maybe the reason I've felt jaded is that it's only been six months since I've moved back to Melbourne, and haven't found the opportunities to fall into a similarly active professional community as I did when I was in Darwin. Maybe I expect too much. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place. Maybe my timing is just wrong. But these things can all change.
But hey, I'm here. And I've renewed my membership for my professional association.
