Changing with the times?

The 68 year old Canadian Library Association (CLA) is proposing change detailed in the document Toward a Federation of Library Associations in Canada: Strengthening the national voice for Canadian libraries. The current CLA legal entity would be dissolved and a new national not-for-profit entity created, tentatively named Canadian Federation of Library Associations / Fédération canadienne des associations de bibliothèques.

While some of the consideration behind this proposal are specific to the library field there are more general social trends identified by The Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE) impacting associations and various reasons why association membership has waned in past years, including:
● Members scrutinizing and evaluating every expenditure (value-consciousness);
● Rapid growth in technology, in particular, social media and the ability to access education workshops delivered via webinars;
● Time-poverty on the part of volunteers;
● The demand for instant service delivered at the members’ convenience, not the association’s;
● The demand for more choice in services and how they are delivered,
● Expectations for higher levels of quality.

How are these factors impacting your genealogical or family history society?

The CSAE website includes an article Your Conference is a Strategic Asset – Manage it Accordingly with food for thought for any society which holds conferences.