Comments on: Speaking, ALA, and all that

By: Eli

Eli — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 02:22:00 +0000

Just throwing in a hear-hear and amen on what ALA is still good for, at least from my perspective. Thank you.

By: K.G. Schneider

K.G. Schneider — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 17:46:53 +0000

Amen on that, Jessamyn. As someone whose fortunes go up and down with family moves, when I wrote for American Libraries, sometimes my monthly check was a nice perk to add to my IRA and sometimes it put food on the table. Even now, $165 is not trivial for most organizational travel budgets.

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 23:25:38 +0000

I make $600/month for part-time work. Public speaking, web design work and other pick-up jobs probably added 50% to that overall in 2005. I also got to travel a lot which at that income level I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to do. The pay at my job is lousy but I love it, just flat out love it. I’ve got savings left over from my last well-paying library job [well-paying, but very un-fun and unsatisfying] and my work life sort of cycles like that: well-paying jobs that are less fun followed by great jobs that pay lousy. I also live very cheaply and have made a lot of choices that I’m sure other people would not want to make, so I’m not a good ruler to measure against except in a proof-of-concept way. It just does get my dander up when people talk about a $165 day-rate for a conference as if it were a non-substantial amount of money, since whether it is or isn’t depends a lot on personal circumstances, ones that most people don’t advertise.

By: K.G. Schneider

K.G. Schneider — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 22:22:09 +0000

Well, I’m still hesitant, for two reasons. One is that I am a contractor so my pay looks pretty good until you factor in that I pay for all my own benefits, SS, taxes, retirement, etc. The other is that I live and work in one of the most expensive places in the U.S. Factoring all that, and comparing myself locally, and even factoring in a few perks, I’m making less than I am worth on the market. Part of that is from being in the odd position of recommending my own salary… remarkably difficult to do… another part is that I manage a project that if it paid me more could not afford me. Ipassed up a COL increase for myself this year so that we would stay within budget and still give the team their COL, and their rate isn’t that good either.

By: rochelle

rochelle — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 22:01:50 +0000

39K/year. Librarian I. 10 years at same library. There. I said it.

By: K.G. Schneider

K.G. Schneider — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 20:55:08 +0000

Fiona, this whole profession is antsy about talking about dollar amounts, and not just for a one-hour dog-n-pony show, either. It’s part of our feminized legacy that we’re programmed to be uncomfortable with this topic and to feel squeamish about sharing what we earn.

By: walt

walt — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 01:19:46 +0000

Fiona, That’s a good question. Maybe I’d rather not know whether I’m being “underpaid” or not (well, actually, I did change my speaking terms after a discussion with a colleague).

In the past, whenever someone’s asked what my fee was, I never had an answer. I still don’t, but I do have a range….but I’m not a professional speaker or a Really Big Name, and that last amount you mention strikes me as way beyond the realm of possibility. For me, that is. I can’t speak for anyone else’s expectations.

Maybe there’s no librarians’ speakers bureau (if there isn’t one) because we’re cheap? Because conference organizers really don’t want us comparing fees? I dunno. An interesting tangent. Or maybe not a tangent.

By: Fiona

Fiona — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 23:35:10 +0000

Why shouldn’t we talk about dollar amounts? There is an enormous difference as a conference organiser between someone who asks for reimbursements, someone who wants a $500 honorarium, and someone who wants $10000. If people say that they ‘get paid to speak’ that really doesn’t mean anything.

I’m kind of surprised that there isn’t a librarians’ speakers bureau.

By: walt

walt — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 22:40:35 +0000

Well, no, I meant “selfishness.” I could preserve myself just fine on Council, but I’m too selfish to spend that much time to that little effect.

I disagree about state associations. Most of the state conferences I’ve spoken at–and I’ve always attended the whole conference–have been vital, active, informative, great events. That specifically includes the states I mentioned, but also some others (Tennessee, North Carolina, Florida, Michigan, British Columbia–well, not a state, but–Georgia, Arizona…) I didn’t list in the post. I’ve enjoyed almost all my speaking engagements, but state conferences have been among the most enjoyable, because of the spirit, shared “on the ground” information, and just general excellence of those conferences. (I hate to single any of them out, but maybe it’s OK to note the largest and what I suspect is the smallest, that is, Texas and Alaska: Both truly wonderful conferences.)

By: K.G. Schneider

K.G. Schneider — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 22:05:55 +0000

Walt, you have a typo up there… you wrote “selfishness” and I think you meant “self-preservation.” You don’t say anything I don’t echo in terms of ALA’s worth and whatnot. I tend to think that state associations have outlived their usefulness but lumber on, while the national association needs to restructure itself a bit but justifies its existence for the reasons you state.