Last night, I attended the ALA-APA Reception: ALA-APA Angels Reception: Celebrating Five Years of Progress at the Hilton.

I received a letter from the ALA-APA about a month ago along with a ribbon thanking me for my support. I was shocked and dismayed to read in the letter that donations to ALA-APA have decreased by over 50%! Last year, 125 people gave and it has gone down to 68. I suppose I can claim to one of the few, the proud but I wish there were more people among the ranks. 

ALA-APA still needs financial support. As a Councilor-at-Large, I receive reports of ALA-APA’s progress. Everyone has access to these reports as well. I just pay special attention to them because well, that is what I was elected to do. While the organization is five years old, one would hope that they would be moving towards being more fiscally fluid. This is unfortunately not so. Last year was the first year that they were “in the black” albeit minor.

As a member of ALA, I am interested in seeing ALA-APA flourish. It has so much to offer ALA members. While ALA-APA does not maintain membership, as a member of ALA, you can receive benefits from the organization. 

The Certified Public Library Administrator program has 7 graduates and 99 candidates. Plus, they are planning a support staff certification program. 

If your library is an institutional member of ALA, you have access to the ALA-APA newsletter, Library Worklife. It is a valuable resource regarding library workers status 

ALA-APA publishes the ALA-APA Salary Survey. (It is also available online.) It covers 68 MLS and non-professional positions. It also allows used to print reports by library size, type, state and region. This is a very useful tool for those that are seeking to improve library workers’ salaries and status. It can not only be useful for library boards but knowing what you, as a library worker, are worth. And trust me, you are worth a lot more than you think. Too often do we dismiss our profession as one that should not have a living wage attached to it. I never thought I would go into the library profession and end up richer beyond my wildest dreams. (In many ways, I am though. Just not monetarily.) Nonetheless, our work does matter and library workers ought to be paid a reasonable wage. There are some organizations that pay their library workers well and should be commended for it. Many of these libraries were honored at the Library Stars Reception on Friday night.

If you happen to be in Anaheim for the ALA Annual Conference, feel free to attend any one of the NINE “Programs for the People” that they are hosting/co-hosting.

ALA-APA needs your support. As mentioned before, they have some great things in store for ALA members. One the aspects of the ALA-APA’s mission is to implement certification programs in specializations of librarianship. The Support Staff Certification program is a one that seeks to further develop those staff members that may not have a professional degree. Also, just think of the benefits for their libraries! Certified Support Staff! This program will provide additional education that enables professional growth and fosters advancement within the organization. However, this program will need support. If you are a member of ALA, please offer your financial support to ALA-APA.