2022 Membership Structure & Dues

At their October 2021 meeting the ARSL Board voted to adopt a new membership dues schedule and benefits structure that was developed by the ARSL Membership Committee, reviewed by the ARSL Finance Committee, and recommended to the Board for adoption by both committees. The new structure will take effect beginning January 1, 2022. Those changes are detailed below. If you have any questions please contact the ARSL Office at [email protected].

Jump to: Individual Memberships | New Individual Member Types | Library Memberships | Nonprofit Organization Memberships | Business Memberships

Individual Memberships

Individual Employees 

Individual employee member dues will continue to be assessed by self-reported annual income, with two additional tiers added.

Individual employees include any individual currently working in a library or in a library-adjacent field (including both for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations) who will not be receiving a complimentary staff membership as part of a library, business, or nonprofit organizational membership. More information about organizational memberships can be found below.

New Individual Member Types

The following individual member types have been added. Annual dues for these member types will not scale with income, and are outlined in the table below.

• Students: Any student enrolled in a formal credential-seeking educational program, including high school, GED courses, undergraduate and graduate school. Students may also be library workers.
• Retirees: Any retired library worker.
• Unemployed/Seeking Library Employment: any individual currently seeking library employment, but not currently employed by a library.
• Library Advocates: Any individual who is not working in a library nor a library-related field (including both for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations) who would like to support ARSL, such as volunteers, trustees, Friends, or Foundation members.

Individual Membership Benefits

All individual members will receive the following benefits as part of their membership:

• 1 vote per person in all member voting processes
• Quarterly ARSL newsletter subscription
• Free access to members-only ARSL round table discussions
• Discounted pricing for all ARSL paid events, such as workshops and conferences
• Use of ARSL Zoom rooms for library programming and work-related staff activities (Library Advocates will not receive this benefit)
• Access to the ARSL member listserv(s)
• Access to and inclusion in the ARSL Membership Directory (opt-out option included)
• Opportunities to serve on national and regional committees and task forces, and to run for elected positions on the ARSL Board of Directors

All individual memberships (Individual Employee, Student, Retiree, Library Advocate, and Unemployed/Seeking Library Employment) are non-transferrable and will travel with the individual named on the membership if they leave their current employer.

Organizational Memberships

Library Membership

A new tiered system will be implemented for library organizational memberships. Annual dues, number of complimentary individual memberships, and number of additional member-rate conference registrations (a new benefit, detailed below) will be determined by the library’s self-reported annual operating budget.

Library members would include any library, library system, library consortium, or State Library. If you are unsure whether your organization qualifies for a library membership, please reach out to the ARSL Office.

New Benefit!: Additional Member-Rate Conference Registrations

Before 2022 Library Members could only register their listed complimentary staff members for the annual ARSL Conference at the reduced member rate. This new benefit will allow Library Members to register a specific number of additional staff at the reduced member rate without having to add them as listed complimentary staff members, or purchase ARSL memberships for those individuals.

The number of additional member-rate conference registrations available to an organization is based on their annual dues, as detailed in the table above.

Library Membership Benefits

Library Members will receive the following benefits as part of their membership:

• Complimentary staff memberships, transferable among staff at any time, based on dues rate
• Complimentary staff memberships include all Individual Membership benefits listed above
• Use of ARSL Zoom rooms for library programming and work-related staff events (can be initiated by any staff from the member organization)
• Free posting to the ARSL Job Board
• Listing on the ARSL website as an ARSL Library Member
• Additional member-rate registrations for library staff for the annual ARSL Conference, based on dues rate
• Find CE opportunities for your staff, trustees, Friends, and advocates via ARSL’s conference, workshops, and other events.
• Find professional development and leadership skill-building opportunities for your staff, including serving on or chairing national committees, planning conferences, presenting programs, holding Board or other leadership positions, and more.

 Nonprofit Organization Membership

A new tiered system will be implemented for nonprofit organization memberships. Annual dues will be assessed based on the organization's size, as determined by their number of employees (not volunteers or contractors).

Nonprofit organization members would be any registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, including Friends of the Library groups and Library Foundations.

Nonprofit Organization Membership Benefits

• 1 complimentary staff membership, transferable among staff at any time
• Complimentary staff memberships include all Individual Membership benefits listed above, excluding use of ARSL Zoom rooms
• Option to pay for additional individual memberships at a fixed rate of $20 per individual
• Reduced-cost posting to the ARSL Job Board
• Listing on the ARSL Supporters page as a Nonprofit Organization Member, including the organization’s logo
• Reduced-cost exhibitor registration at the annual conference

Business Membership

A new tiered system will be implemented for business memberships. Annual dues will be assessed based on the organization's size, as determined by their number of employees (not volunteers or contractors).

Business members would be any for-profit business, including independent library consultants who join with the intention of promoting their services to ARSL members.

Business Organization Membership Benefits

• 1 complimentary individual membership, transferable among staff at any time
• Complimentary staff memberships include all Individual Membership benefits listed above, excluding use of ARSL Zoom rooms
• Option to pay for additional individual memberships at a fixed rate of $20 per individual
• Reduced-cost posting to the ARSL Job Board
• Listing on the ARSL Supporters page as a Business Member, including the organization’s logo
• Bragging rights for supporting rural and small libraries nationwide!
• Reduced-cost exhibitor registration at the annual conference