TLA District III Member Survey
September 3, 2000
i. Repondents by type
ii. Program preferences
iii. Day preferences
iv. Time of day preferences
v. Plans to attend Fall Meeting
vi. Willingness to drive
vii. Last meeting attended
viii. Why or why not attend
ix. Willingness to stay overnight
x. Texas 100 Nominations
xi. Communication preferences
xii. Website replace Fall meeting
xiii. Website suggestions
| School | 18 | |
| Academic | 12 | |
| Public | 38 | Added in 3 that were combined multitype libraries |
| Special | 5 | 1 claimed special & academic and was counted as special |
| Other | 12 | Primarily retired |
| Mini workshop |
Tour |
Speaker |
Other Suggestions |
|
| School | 13 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Academic | 4 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| Public | 27 | 3 | 8 | 5 |
| Special | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Other | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
Written comments:
- Not sure I want a fall meeting at all.
- Enjoy publications, but no longer participate actively
- Will Bush Library tour be repeated?
- Have a speaker for lunch like a local author, local politician, local historian
- Have how-to sessions=how to conduct successful survey or focus group; gathering and interpreting meaningful statistics; how to mend/repari books and other materials; how to negotiate site licenses for materials
- Have discussions (panels or 1 speaker)=effect of e-books on traditional library; distance learning on traditional library services; electronic reserves; impact of events/legislation/programs; interaction of public schools on higher education and vice versa
- Authors, Authors, Authors, Authors….writers on any topic or in any form
- Reading programs, successful or otherwise
- Combine the miniworkshop with a speaker
- Cover current hot topics
- Demos of new equipment, or new ways to use old equipment
- Demos/quick tutorials on web sites, or CD-rom materials
- Bibliographic instruction = tips on methods that work
First Choice is Friday and Second Choice is Saturday. School librarians prefer Saturday meetings.
| M | T | W | Th | F | Sat | any day | no response | |
| Public | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| School | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 2 |
| Academic | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Special | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Total | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 34 | 17 | 4 | 11 |
All day or half day with Lunch
| |
All Day with Lunch | All Day Lunch on Own | Half Day Morning & Lunch | Half Day Afternoon & Lunch | Morning No Lunch | Afternoon No Lunch |
Other Suggestion |
| Public | 21 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 1 | |
| School | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | |
| Academic | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Special | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Other | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Written comments:
- Start at 10:00 and end at 3:00
- Out of towners don't know where to go to go for a good meal, & if on your own, attendees may not find their way back to meeting - especially if dull programs
- Hold the CTLS meeting on Friday and the District III meeting Saturday
- All day if there is enough good stuff to make it worthwhile
- Get irritated paying for lunch I don't eat
- Don't wish to eat lunch with a group & then tour libraries I could see on my own (this year's program), Already have plans, No reason to attend, Boring agenda
- Mid-morning to early afternoon; no later than 2:30 because must allow for travel time.
V. Plans to Attend Fall meeting 2000
| Yes | No | No Response | Don't Know | |
| Public | 27 | 10 | 1 | 2 |
| School | 3 | 14 | 0 | 1 |
| Academic | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Special | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Other | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Written comments:
- Can't get off work to attend.
- Too far
- Personal problems prevent attendance
- Topics and location are boring
- I am not a public librarian so CTLS of no interest (& there's no information
on your accompanying flyer about the CTLS program, so don't know if I'd
be interested enough to "crash" (is CTLS a closed member only
meeting?). And to travel to have lunch (have heard Julie Todaro before),
vote on next year's officers, & tour a library--FORGET IT.
| 150-200 miles | 100-125 miles/up to 2 hrs | 70-90 miles | 60/65miles / 1hrs | 30-50 miles | Doesn't matter | Not far-None | No Response | |
| Public | 7 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| School | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Academic | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Special | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
Written comments:
- 2 hours is about right
- It's not necessarily the distance that is the deterrent to attending
- I don't drive; need a ride
- Depends on day & program topic
- Have gone to each end of District (e.g. San Marcos to Hillsboro; Bryan
College Station to San Marcos; & the reverse; Bryan-College Station
to Austin or Leander; etc., etc., etc. Up to Waco several times.
| 1999 Waco | 1999 College Station | 1997 | 1996 | 5+ yrs ago | Never | With CTLS | New to Area | |
| Public | 17 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| School | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Academic | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Special | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Written comments
8 Don't know, 1 Salado, 1 Georgetown, 1 Dallas, 3 Leander
VIII. Reasons Why or Why Not Attend
| No response | 16 |
| Meeting not interesting | 5 |
| Work & too busy to attend | 11 with school type showing 6 of the 11 |
| Distance & location is inconvenient | 5 |
| Attend for the networking | 2 |
| Attend to support TLA/District | 3 |
| Attend for personal interest and the excitement | 5 |
| Attend for CE benefit and knowledge gained | 2 |
| Attend to tour other libraries | 5 |
| Attend because new on board | 1 |
| Attend because everyone else does | 2 |
| Attend as an officer or committee obligation | 5 |
| Attend because location is convenient | 4 |
| Attend because this co-joins the CTLS meeting | 12 -- all from public type; 1 other type |
| Something came up that prevented me from attending | 1 |
| Not a member of the library organization | 1 |
| Part of my job | 1 |
Gave up attending district meetings because nothing of professional interest in my areas, nor anything of general interest to any librarian. Attended my last District meeting out of vague "support the cause" attitude, and to visit with colleagues.
IX. Willingness to Stay Overnight
21 Yes
60 Overwhelmingly No
2 No response
Written comments
- You'd have to have a program on the stay-over night, or a really good party! Seriously, for some librarians to get enough time off to attend some of these affairs, there has to be enough professional "meat" that supervisors would allow professional development leave, and/or offer CE credits (used to be almost required for school and public librarians, and non-professional staff to get leave).
- Depends on where and cost
- Mini-workshops need to have several topics to select from
- I am very interested in getting together with other libraries
- Annual meeting and Summer annual assembly seem like enough time to devote to TLA business
- You may want to do joint workshops or share a day with other groups; LIRT for example
- School Librarians find it nearly impossible to get released on a workday
- I am a working Mom
- I won't stay overnight unless I can do something for myself while I'm there -- a good museum or exhibit
- Is there any consideration to having a CTLS meeting Friday; dinner Friday night for those staying over and TLA District III on Saturday?
- Wish we could meet in several locations so no one has to travel more than 1 hour
- If the district level meetings are floundering, you may want to consider some sort of regional award program. Currently the only TLA awards are pretty remote to most working librarians. Why not have district level award winners that will get forwarded to the state level thus becoming eligible for a state award.
- What does District III do?
- Like the one day events best.
- Getting information out electronically may be here--I like the idea of email or as a newsletter
X. Suggestions for the Texas 100 Nominations from District
III
- Audray Bateman Randle
- Mary Lankford
- Sam Whitten
- Principal Matt Mathys of Great Oaks Elementary in Round Rock ISD
| WWW | Fall Meeting | Annual Conference | TLA Journal | Flyer | Newsletter | All of these | No response | ||
| Public | 21*** | 10 | 7* | 1 | 3 | 10* | 12** | 5 | 3 |
| School | 11****** | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6* | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Academic | 8*** | 1* | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Special | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2* | 3* | 1 | 0 |
| Other | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
* indicates a strong preference is stated
Written comments
- We have no computers at the library yet
- Snail mail is best
- Email so no travel, no paper, no meetings
- Need multiple access [points]
- Printed form (flyer, newsletter) still very useful - can attach to calendar, etc. or read away from computer. Not everyone has email or Internet access - or not easily - so don't rely solely upon electronic communication. Also some places may have restrictions on what usage can be made of them.
- Welcome letter to all new District III librarians
- Website is great and most libraries have Internet connection
- No computer--not everyone has a computer
- Need to know well in advance; didn't know about this meeting
XII. Could the Website Replace the Fall Meeting?
11 Yes
40 Overwhelmingly No
6 possibly
1 I doubt it
16 No response
Written comments
- No-socialization & Face to Face conversations are still important
- No, not replace. You still need to meet real people, not virtual ones! Getting away from local workplace, seeing new faces & old ones, has a positive impact upon us. Also still some difficulty in reaching electronic or video conferencing presentations--possibly fear copyright infringement.
- No my experience with Internet training--I think fall meeting is necessary
- No, no substitute for face-to-face
- Meeting in person is important
- I would miss the personal contact
- Website is very important to have, but here is no interaction without the meeting
- I enjoy seeing people at meetings
- Information received in person is better absorbed
- Need to have networking, particularly between different library types
- Yes, but plan to meet every other year.
- Yes, you can replace the business meeting portion
- No, face to face interaction is too important,….enjoyable…
- We need to divide District III into smaller segments to cut travel time
- Most topics at the meeting do not interest me
- I thought fall meetings were for continuing education
- I'm too busy to sit at the computer; I need snail mail
- I have no access to the WWW.
- We need meetings for leadership and growth opportunity.
- Current slate of officers & current Bylaws; ;current minutes & Treasurer's reports. Current for reports and minutes may mean coverage of past 2 years; any other reports like results of this survey; Information on upcoming district meeting, including online registration form; how to sign up for District 3 listserv or similar email/chat service; Ballot with bio of candidates and map of how to get to meeting site!
- Copy of the newsletter
- Information on upcoming meetings, upcoming legislative events, calendar of events
- Activities at specific libraries that are open to all District III members to attend
- Information on TLA conference
- Anything materially affecting out library lives in TLA District III
- Legislative initiatives affecting libraries
- Links to ALA, Forums for Issues like understaffing, fundraising
- Updates concerning educational requirements that are the responsibility of the library
- Business items and meeting information
- Current news and future plans
- Past accomplishments
- History doesn't interest me; now and the future does
- Grant deadlines and opportunities
- New technology information
- Current officers, duties, and contact information
- Links to TLA, TLA News
- Would never look at it--2 comments
- List of places to meet for teleconferences
- Notes on special collections
- Cooperative multitype library projects on the district level
- Surveys like this one
- Contact information
- Workshop, continuing education, and training opportunities
- Local news prior to the newsletter arriving
- Short features; local stories, photos on different subjects and places
- How about a retired librarian to keep it up to date?
- Information on District activities
- Directory of libraries
- Info & pictures on all public, academic, etc. libraries--spotlight on names with bios of leaders past & present
- Officer names and contacts
- Vision
- Library News
- Announcements of upcoming events, important dates, workshops, meeting dates, useful information
- Current issues, current info, tech, teaching in libraries
- Conference news, officers, update of current & pending issues, legislative issues