Jenny, the Shifted Librarian , and Jessamyn of librarian.net are conversing about speakers having to pay to speak at conferences.

One thing I want to point out is that it’s not just well-funded (non-ALA) groups that are more likely to comp their speakers, it’s the small ones that REALLY have money troubles. I have been comped registration and/or housing and/or had grant money applied to my travel at the Allied Media Conference, the Grassroots Media Conference, the Madison Zine Fest, and the National Conference on Organized Resistance. This is because these organizations, while actually impoverished, unlike ALA, value their presenters and their contributions, whereas librarianship takes them for granted.

Maybe we’ll stop being undervalued and underpaid by the outside world when we learn to honor and respect ourselves and each other.

I’ve spoken at several ALA conferences, and as a lawyer & non-member, I’ve always had my expenses covered. It was a great honor, especially the time I was invited to be on the AASL President’s Panel with Katherine Paterson, among others. (I honestly have no recollection of whether or not there was an honorarium.) But, my employer would not have allowed me to go if my expenses hadn’t been covered.

I think part of the context of this discussion, which hasn’t been raised explicitly on the blogs I’ve read, is that this is occuring in an environment that generally devalues libraries and librarianship.

Local and state governments underfund libraries, making it more and more difficult for those entities to pay for dues, travel, expenses, conference fees, etc for their staff. School librarians and media specialists face similar pressures as schools increasingly teach towards the NCLB tests, not towards development of intellectual curiousity.

Furthermore, the mythology that the Internet has replaced the librarian continues in middle and upper class thinking, even while lower-income people become increasingly dependant on their local library for media education and access to Internet resources.

I suspect that context is a large part of why this issue is coming to a head now, rather than a generation ago. If someone makes it at least revenue neutral for a speaker to come and speak at a conference, worrying about who does that is a minor issue. But if it actively costs someone to be a speaker, the decision about whether or not to speak at a conference is much more difficult.

I don’t think there’s an obvious right answer to this dilemma.

The ALA is hardly a wealthy organization, staff salaries in the Washington Office are notoriously low, even in the DC non-profit sector, and much has been said about the state of their technology here and elsewhere. I’m sure that conference fees are the largest source of ALA’s operating budget. And whether Colin Powell’s speaking fee was a good use of that budget or not, it’s a fact that a major speaker like Powell will draw more attendees to a conference, and nearly all speakers at that level require a substantial fee.

Fortunately, librarians are a smart and practical bunch. I believe that you all will forge some kind of workable solution, if not by Midwinter, at least by the end of the next Annual meeting.

Second, speaking at local, regional, and national conferences have always been a privilege for me and I am still humble when I’m asked to do so. The same thing goes for my blog readership (I’ve had so many people come up to me that I don’t know telling me that they read Library Stuff).

Those who think that it’s an ego thing are way off the mark. While I can’t speak for others who travel around the country, it’s a privilege for me to be asked and share with others the knowledge that I’ve accrued and written about over the past 5 years and I’m honored to do so.

But I still think I should be paid for it…

Had this not been the case I don’t think I would have been able to attend. Moreover, after watching this debate evolve, I’d be inclined to refuse a future invitation that would cost me money on general principles.

To me it’s an indication of the invitating organization’s attitude toward me. Consider the example ALA is setting. Colin Powell is worth money. Highly accomplished people in our field are not.

What does that tell you about their priorities.