Introduction
Of late, this space has become my outlet for writing about professional development via service to the profession and experiences at conferences. This year has been a banner one for both. I have attended four conferences (2 Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conferences, the annual New Jersey Library Association meeting, and the annual Society of American Archivists meeting) and have taken a leadership role in a national organization directly after cycling out of my state-level responsibilities (see my previous post).Next year will be a big year for conferences (3) and service, but for readers who may not experience conferences and membership in professional societies, here is a summary of what I've gained from my memberships and service.
The Benefits
As a member of SAA, MARAC, and NJLA, I receive discounts on products, conferences, and other services. I also receive trade journals and newsletters that cover areas of archives and special collections work that are of interest to me. I especially enjoy articles written from a very practical standpoint, where the authors talk about the tools, skills, and knowledge they used to take on a challenge, implement a program or project, or raise funds. (I'll return to fundraising in a bit when I cover my work with the SAA Lone Arrangers Section.)Not many people decide that they want to serve others in these professional societies. I believe that everyone has something to give, and perhaps they give back in other ways that take up too much time to even consider serving in a professional society. In my case, I've enjoyed the experience over the years. I have made many great friends and learned more than I ever thought I would about the work, how to mentor others, and how to truly be of service (mainly try to remove obstacles so that people can get things done).
Each of the societies to which I belong are different from each other in fairly large ways. For instance, NJLA is focused primarily on the public and higher educational libraries in the state. It models itself after the American Library Association and segments members by the type of librarianship they practice. I served and am a member of the History & Preservation Section. Some of my colleagues in the section also are members of the Reference Section. There are many different groups, and sometimes we meet together to talk about overlapping interests. During those times, the diversity of ideas and perspectives often leads to new projects and partnership opportunities. I really enjoy those types of meetings and learn a great deal in those situations.
MARAC is one of my favorite organizations for many reasons. First, it is truly the best bang for the buck, as far as professional development opportunities go. The conferences always have very practical, affordable workshops on the Thursday of the meeting. We meet in smaller cities, usually, so hotel rates are pretty reasonable. It's also where I met some of my closest friends who also happen to be archivists. MARAC members on the whole are approachable, friendly, and helpful people who embrace new members and travel scholarship members like no one else. We also meet twice a year, so if someone can't go to the spring conference, they can try for the fall one.
SAA is big (although not as big as ALA). Some might find it intimidating, but I didn't because there were some familiar MARAC faces there, and I made new friends right away. SAA also self-segments its population by areas of interest. I am not limited by the number of Sections I can join, and I am a member of quite a few. I confess that I don't read all of posts on each list servs I receive, but of all of them, the Lone Arrangers Section one is the one I read every day. I also try to populate it when I can with useful information since I'm the new Vice Chair/Chair Elect. I've been a member of the Steering Committee of the Lone Arrangers for a number of years now, and participate in that one actively.
In particular, I've been discussing the aspect of becoming a fundraising entity. We'd like to put on low/no-cost workshops for community members who can't afford SAA workshops. I've also been talking about teaming with other groups such as the NJ Caucus of MARAC and NJLA, as well as religious archives and other organizations to achieve this goal. I think it can be done, and some folks are interested in piloting projects with me, which is very encouraging.
To make this happen, I've been asking Lone Arrangers to become Local Representatives so that they can run local workshops the way that works best for them. I'd support their efforts and try to make funding and other resources available to them. So far, we have Reps for New York; N.J.; Santa Clara County, Calif.; Hawai'i; Nashville (Middle Tenn.); and Greater Boston. We have a long way to go, but it's a good start, and the enthusiasm is key.
