Friday, January 23, 2009

Association responses to the recession

I belong to a number of professional associations to stay informed of developments in the field, network with others and foster my own sense of professional identity. One interesting development I've noticed lately has been the way in which these associations have reacted to the recession. Only one group - the Special Libraries Association - has taken concrete steps to directly help its members (creating a new low income membership option & providing new free professional development resources).

In contrast, the Canadian Library Association has only responded by asking its members to comment regarding possible federal stimulus spending. Even this appeal was oddly delivered though. Members were encouraged to suggest individual projects to the Department of Finance. I wonder if anything will come of this? In my mind, I found it difficult to suggest such projects as I think expanded light rail transit in my city and higher post-secondary education spending is arguably needed more.

As far as know, no archival association or group has put together any response to the recession. Are archivists in a position to help people in this situation?

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