05.07.08
To pay or not to pay? That’s really not the question
Posted in news, professional issues tagged conferences, paying at 3:27 pm by J
I must say that I really disagree with a recent post by Meredith Frakas. (I know…how dare I disagree with one of those movers and shakers in Libraryland!)
Now there is a debate raging about the value of speakers/presenters at conferences/workshops/whatever. By nature I’m really not a cranky or annoyed person, but some of the whining going on in the comments just made me want to say “Get it over it!” I’ve spent probably close to $2000 in the past month to speak/present at conferences and while money isn’t growing on the trees around my house, from the reactions I received from attendees of my presentations, it was money well-spent.
I will admit that I’m not entirely altruistic and am not presenting for the pure joy of it. And any person who is getting paid to present can’t entirely claim altruism either. I just don’t believe it…and you people know who you are. I present because I do have requirements for tenure as an academic librarian who wants to keep my job.
The thing I really disagree with it that whole thing about by presenting for free we are devaluing ourselves and our profession. This might be true if we’re doing this at non-library conferences. But when we share information with other librarians about innovations, new ideas, interesting ways of looking at problems, etc. we are actually adding value to the profession and helping others. I’m glad that people are willing to do so and still pay their way into a conference. The whole thing about getting everyone together to say no to not having expenses covered is frankly rather immature and selfish. How does this help anyone in the end and how does it add value to what we do when we cripple our state and regional organizations with demands for hotel, travel, food, drinks, massages, and fancy chocolates? (Hyperbole to prove the point here people.)
Okay, I will concede that maybe the registration fees could be waived or even drastically reduced. Early bird fees honestly are not that low for most conferences. An early bird fee that still runs in the $300 is still pretty expensive and it would be nice if there was some flexibility. However, for many organizations the other stuff is really not possible. It’s up to people putting in proposals to consider if they can really manage the expense of going. I hope that they can, because I know that I’ve heard some great presentations recently and am glad that these people were willing to pony up.
And it was rather glossed over that the committees that plan these things don’t get paid anything. Some of them do far more work than the presenters…particularly those presenters who do the circuit with the exact same content. (I groan when I see those names on programs because I’m easily bored…and some of those people are getting honorariums for being there and they really aren’t saying anything new.) These committees must have some belief that sharing and contributing and networking keeps the profession alive. And I doubt that presenters and attendees are really being thankful to them. Want to put money on the thought that most of what they get are complaints? The rooms are too cold/hot/moist/tropical/arctic. There weren’t enough vegetarian options at the reception/lunch/dinner/luau. Why couldn’t we have bottled water? Why are we polluting the environment with bottled water? The bathrooms were too far away. I’m sure you get the idea.
So let’s just heap one more huge complaint on top of everything else that people trying to organize good, useful, informative, exciting conferences are already getting. And if you think things are really being badly done, get on the next conference planning committee.
Sure, it would be nice to get some sort of “thank you”. At MPLA/ULA, the presenters got nice bags full of goodies and a thank you letter. I only did a poster presentation and got nothing except the entertainment of watching hotel staff drop plates all over the floor in the hallway where our posters were. (And that’s not a complaint because I got enough compliments and questions to keep me quite content.) The previous week, as an actual presenter of a session, I got nothing.
Maybe someday, I’ll be important enough to actually get honorariums. (Probably not. At least, I’m not holding my breath.) And I hate presenting because I get butterflies the size of elephants. However, I’ll keep on doing it because I strongly believe that it is important to share new ideas, blah, blah with other librarians and even those few outside the profession who decide to attend our conferences.
And to those who having to pay their own way to present still find the whole thing sticking in their craws, you have other ways to share you information. There are wikis, blogs, online conferences that don’t require travel, etc. The physical conference is not your only option these days and I encourage you to find other avenues. In fact, please do. Chances are some of us interested in what you have to say aren’t going to be in California or Florida or Australia.
Meredith said,
May 7, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Oh, please do disagree!
You bring up a lot of good issues here and it’s great to debate this because there is no absolute right or wrong. It’s what’s right or wrong for us. But to characterize anyone who took part in that discussion as “whining” is insulting. When someone is asking for free registration when they speak at a conference, they’re whining, but when someone thinks registration fees should be reduced, they aren’t? Someone could just as easily call you “crazy” for spending $2,000 of your own money to speak at conferences and they’d be just as wrong as you are (it’s all about what it’s worth to *you*).
I also don’t think that anyone is saying that they present solely out of altruism. Everyone gets something out of speaking, be it money, tenure, a higher profile, the pleasure of teaching something to others, or whatever. Even when we do something to help others, we do it because of how it makes US feel.
I definitely don’t think that we are devaluing ourselves when we choose to present for free. I frequently present for free and have turned down honoraria when it’s for a local library/library organization, it’s for an online conference/series designed to make continuing education more accessible to librarians, or if it’s an organization I’m a member of. However, I think there’s the other side of the coin where people feel like librarians SHOULDN’T get paid to speak or that we’re greedy for feeling like we should get paid for our time. And that’s just as wrong as the opposite extreme.
I’m also not sure why we should get paid at non-library conferences but not at library conferences. Do they all have more funding than our conferences do? There’s a lot to be learned at non-library conferences that could very easily be applied in libraries. I paid to go to Wikimania 2 years ago and I spoke there and didn’t get paid a dime (though I also didn’t have to pay registration for the day I spoke). But I learned a great deal and met a lot of great people and got things out of that conference that I wouldn’t have gotten out of a library conference. It seems arbitrary to say you should get paid to speak at a non-library conference but not a library conference. But we all make arbitrary decisions like that. We all have to decide for ourselves what we are or are not willing to tolerate and what provides value for us. There’s no “right” or “wrong.”
And you’re right that there are a lot of ways to contribute that don’t involve travel or spending money. I really hope to see more virtual conferences, lecture series, etc. in the future and I’ve enthusiastically participated in quite a few because I really believe in online learning.
J said,
May 7, 2008 at 6:25 pm
I didn’t mean to say that people taking part in the discussion were whining. Sorry if it came out that way! I think these are good things for us to be thinking about. I just also think that we need to be practical. Most of our organizations are non-profit and really the registrations just cover the conference costs. At least I’m hoping nobody is pocketing any money or that if there is leftover, it goes towards the next years. Personally I don’t understand how ALA can charge the rates they do when 20,000 librarians show up to the conferences. There’s an organization that can certainly waive fees if they aren’t already (and I don’t know if they are or not. I’d have to check on that.)
I actually am curious as to how other professions handle these type of issues. Do they pay their presenters or is this pretty much par for the course?
This isn’t to say that I’m completely unsympathetic to those who want to present and are faced with financial challenges. The costs definitely can be prohibitive. But I’d hate to see 20 or so speakers get up in arms and decide to boycott because that really hurts everyone in far-reaching ways. Maybe instead people who have money can find a way to put together scholarships or such. Some conferences already offer such things, but I’d be willing to throw in a few dollars to help out other librarians.
There are some people who have contributed so much to the profession who really should have some sort of compensation. I don’t mean to say that people should not be paid and know that often the keynote speakers receive some sort of compensation in terms of things like travel being paid for, big gift baskets, free hotel rooms, etc. And hey, we can all aspire to be that person someday.
I’d rather see us as a profession put ALA out of business in terms of these big mega-conferences by offering more online options and smaller conferences with great value. In fact, some of that is already happening. I’m one of those who only goes to ALA when it’s nearby and I can throw in family visits along with the conference because honestly, it’s one of those that’s grown so large that it’s lost value. But I’m digressing into a completely different topic.
I’d recommend people talk to the organizers to see if some sort of accommodations can be made in regards to registration fees, etc. Let the rest of us in Libraryland know when organizers really seem to be inflexible and ridiculous. Waiving one or two presenters fees shouldn’t really make the rest of the world mad and shouldn’t be that big of a deal. (I know, I know. There are many who will disagree with that. Bend a little, will ya?!)
And like Josh, I was only at the Kansas Library Conference to present. And did think it was ridiculous to have to pay $90 for the “honor”. Of course, that’s an issue we need to address within our state’s organization and with some of us vocal folks around here, I’m sure it will be.
There’s not an easy answer to this. If you’re in a university, you might have other options. Where I am, there are some funds available from other offices for travel if you are presenting. Many take advantage of it. I’m still a relatively new librarian with a low salary, so I really do understand. And I’m glad that this discussion has started. Maybe together, we can come up with some solutions. Many heads…you know.
So, please don’t stop trying to get out there to present people. You may not see monetary rewards, but believe me. Your colleagues are loving you for sharing. You are inspiring us and encouraging many of us to try new things.
Meredith said,
May 7, 2008 at 7:07 pm
I totally agree that this is a tremendously complicated issue and that there are no easy answers. I’d really like to see more accommodations made for librarians who get no professional development funding (or very little). And not just a single scholarship or something, which some conferences offer. It would be nice to see graduated rates for conference registration based on salary or funding. Librarians shouldn’t have to spend thousands of dollars each year to get tenure, especially since those on the tenure track make less than those who have tenure.
J said,
May 7, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Amen sister! Many don’t even offer decent “student” rates for those librarian-wanna-bes. Doesn’t make us seem very friendly as a profession. I’d be all for less food if it meant my registration rates went down. And someone once pointed out to me that ALA might be so expensive because they bring in all these famous people (who you know you are paying big money for) who have nothing to do with libraries…even in a peripheral way other than that they might have been in a library. I really don’t care if I get to see Barack Obama or John Lovitz or whoever. And I think we can come up with other option for venues also if that’s part of the problem. It may take some creative solutions, but there must be ways to cut down on some of the overhead.
Colleen said,
May 7, 2008 at 9:10 pm
I have to respectfully disagree, but not completely. While I don’t think honoraria are appropriate since we use our presentations as our ‘cred,’ I do think it’s inappropriate to charge the registration fee for major presenters and speakers, particularly since registration fees have gotten so hefty. It costs nothing to have them come and present (especially when all the eatery things are usually pay-per-ticket at any conference I’ve been to), and they’ll already have the load of paying their travel and lodging. It really does suppress newcomers and up-and-comers who don’t have the funds to gallavant all over the place to present our dashing wisdom *grin* It would be an interesting development for conferences to *compete* for speakers…or, if speakers made their choices based on cost of attendance considerations and made that known to the conference organizers, an interesting way for speakers to command different treatment. (Ah econ and markets, how I miss thee…)
As for J’s comment above, amen! I was wondering if I was the only one who thought that ALA dues were getting a bit hefty (and while I love Jamie Lee Curtis….really?). I am committed to membership in my professional organizations, that’s fine. But between state, regional and ALA, scraping together the funds to travel to present is no small deal. Or maybe I’m just not doing it right
It’s an interesting debate sparked by Meredith (or, at least, reheated). I would still contend that waiving registration is appropriate. If that creates a hardship for the association (at whichever level) that depends on conferences for income, maybe that association should look into how it distributes its resources instead of gouging its members and speakers. If the issue is low attendance, this might be a good time to ask *why* attendance is low, instead of trying to remedy it by covering officers’ costs of attending by taking it out of everyone else’s hide.
And while you point out that there are other ways than presenting at conferences to share information and ideas, until those ‘other ways’ get incorporated into the tenure process and valued, conference presentations are still going to be the desired locale for (at least academic) librarians. Sad that we don’t do it out of the goodness of our hearts, I know, and I don’t mean to imply that we’re hoarders of info (check twitter, there’s very little fear of cherrypicking of ideas compared to many other fields/departments), but as a practicality, conference presentations are simply worth more (back to econ again).
Sorry about the ramble, this is what happens when I stay up late
David Bigwood said,
May 7, 2008 at 9:32 pm
I’ve know the Texas Music Educators Association and the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference both charge the conference fee for all but the keynote speakers. Folks who send in a proposal pay. I’ve presented at both, I do think we should let others know what we can do for them. Both of those conferences are run by non-profits. This is the way things are done in some other fields, all the ones I have personal knowledge of.
any shakers alive said,
May 29, 2008 at 2:38 pm
[...] Now there is a debate raging about the value of speakers/presenters at conferences/workshops/whhttp://newlibrarians.wordpress.com/2008/05/07/to-pay-or-not-to-pay-thats-really-not-the-question/Film Clips Creative Loafing CharlotteCapsule reviews of films currently playing in Charlotte… By [...]
Merriwyn said,
June 20, 2008 at 11:44 pm
I think waiving the registration fee for presenters across the board would be much more useful in terms of maximising information sharing than giving some presenters cash and gift baskets and flowers or whatever and giving other ‘lesser’ presenters nothing. I for one could never afford to pay my way to a conference that wasn’t in my city (Perth, Western Australia – the only way to get to another city is fly) to attend or present, but if I was able to scrounge up enough cash to pay for the airfare I certainly wouldn’t have any left to pay the registration fee as well. I know it isn’t always the same in the US, but it is worth considering that people who have something useful to contribute may be excluded on the basis that they simply can’t afford it.