Legal Research

Canadian Library Association Set to Restructure

By Connie Crosby

On May 25th CLA Executive Council put forward two resolutions, to postpone elections (considered an unconstitutional but necessary move) and to operate on a zero-based balanced budget going forward. I have heard that, to balance the budget, it will mean closing down some or all divisions and special interest groups. These resolutions were voted on at the AGM on Saturday, June 5th.

Like most law librarians in this country, I am unfortunately not a member of the Canadian Library Association (CLA). Some of my colleagues, however, have been members of its CASLIS division for specialized libraries (as opposed to public, academic or school libraries). There have been so many associations to join that I have not made the time or commitment to our national association. At the same time, I have watched their advocacy campaigns and been supportive of their work.

Many library-related associations are currently challenged to keep up membership numbers what with the current economy and the number of associations in existence, and CLA has been no exception. Apparently expenditures have been exceeding their income, to the point where they must now either reorganize or close down completely.

What, then, will CLA do with such a scaled-down structure? I have heard that their new focus will be on advocacy. To follow the tweets coming out of the CLA2010 conference, including the AGM, I have set up the tool Twapper Keeper (I agree, what a horrible name!) to capture the tweets marked with the tag #cla2010: http://twapperkeeper.com/hashtag/cla2010. Still, most of what I see are reactions rather than the actual thrust of the discussion.

I will keep my eye out for official communication from CLA as to what happened at the AGM, and will be watching with interest as to what comes of the restructuring. Since my own interest is mostly with the advocacy side, ironically this renewed focus may be just enough to bring me in as a member.

Full post as published by Slaw.ca on June 07, 2010 (boomark / email).