Making the most of Electronic Committee Members

Christine Lind Hage, PLA President 1998-1999

A couple of years ago PLA started putting electronic members on all committees. The idea was that there were PLA members, or potential members, out there that would like to work for the association, but were not able to attend conferences. In some cases, people could only attend a conference if they were already on a committee.

Most PLA Committees have 10 members (not the individual awards committees though). We decided to expand the committees by two electronic members. As more and more of our committee work is handled electronically, the electronic members can really be part of the team even if they don't attend conference. By the way, they are welcome to attend actual meetings, but the job is really aimed at getting non-conference attendees active in PLA. Electronic members are full members of the committee though. It is up to the committee chair to see that all committee members are included in the information loop electronically, via fax or U.S. Mail.

The responses I heard after the first year were generally favorable, but the success was almost entirely dependent on the committee chair's response to and encouragement of electronic membership. Electronic members need to receive all mailings, postings, handouts, agendas, minutes, etc. that attending members receive. The electronic members have volunteered to work for the association and need to be offered the opportunity to do so. Here are some of the ways we can use them:

Ask them to prepare articles, tip sheets, and program announcements for publication in traditional print resources/journals or for electronic discussion lists,
Ask them to suggest speakers and topics for programs, topics for possible PLA publications and for suggestions on ways for PLA to better articulate its mission statement,
Ask them to gather program handout materials if you are doing a program,
Ask them to do surveys, create mailing lists, and write letters on behalf of the committee,
Ask them to prepare web agendas for the committee (see sample at: www.cmpl.org/pla),
Ask them to design or tabulate program evaluations,
Ask them to gather research for committee projects.

Granted these are all things that your regular committee members might do as well, but attendance at the meetings is not essential for these tasks to be done well.

In order for PLA to continue to flourish we need to involve more and more of our membership. Not every member is fortunate enough to have travel money available for conference attendance, but every member can contribute his or her time and talent toward making PLA better.

The PLA mission states that the Public Library Association enhances the development and effectiveness of public librarians and public library services.

This mission positions PLA to:

Focus its efforts on serving the needs of its members
Address issues which affect public libraries
Commit to quality public library services which benefit the general public

I see no reason that electronic members shouldn't be a part of this process. As a PLA leader you will be the key to our successful use of electronic members!