Does Membership have a Privilege?

My annual ALA and SLA dues are coming up.  Ironic that SLA recently published a post about the value of professional memberships. 

Being outside what I feel is the normal library world, I’m questioning whether or not to renew either membership.  For nearly the last decade, my company has been generous enough to fund memberships in both organizations.  I’m not sure my new masters will see the value since I’m outside of the traditional setting.  So I’m asking myself if I value each membership enough to shell roughly $500 out of my own pocket.   (The price point of a new iPad for comparison.)

I think the real benefit of SLA (or maybe any professional organization) is access to a network of other librarians who I can tap in moments of desperation to help me get to get the information I need to my clients.  The publications are “alright” and the annual conference is “ok.”  I don’t use too many of the online courses because I feel like they’re overpriced for what I get.  So at this point in my career, the real value I get for my membership fees is the connections. 

That probably sounds a bit shallower than I’m meaning to because I’ve made friends across the organization.  And in turn I try to help those friends in their moments of information desperation.  That said the fact that I can ping a peer at another company for assistance when I need it is damn near invaluable. 

So will I renew my memberships?  If I’m forced to choose between the two organizations, I’d probably renew SLA for the reasons above.  ALA is a great source of general information about the profession, but doesn’t help me out on a daily basis.  SLA isn’t as good about what’s going on in the general world of libraries, but the people and relationships I’ve made are priceless. 

And what if I have to pay for it out of my own pocket… Eh… I might get more use out of the iPad. 

End Note: This post is certainly not meant to be a shot at the folks at SLA and ALA.  These guys & gals put in an amazing amount of time and effort at their own expense and do a great job at it.  I know from experience that the staff, officers, and volunteers at SLA are trying to cater to an incredibly diverse populace.  Anyone who has ever volunteered to help organize a conference or edit a publication knows how much a pain this can be.