Dues Increase Passes

For Immediate Release
October 2, 2002

AALL members have voted to approve the Executive Board proposal to raise membership dues by $45.

Of the 1,848 votes cast, 1,362 members favored the dues increase while 486 opposed it. The dues increase will be phased in over three years. Dues will rise from the current annual amount of $145 to $160 in June 2003; to $175 in June 2004; and finally to $190 in June 2005.

The Executive Board approved the dues increase proposal in November 2001 to combat declining revenues and provide a more stable financial foundation for AALL. AALL membership dues are the steadiest and most predictable source of income, yet it currently generates only 22 percent of the Association's yearly revenue; in 1982, dues comprised 33 percent of AALL's income. About one-third of AALL's annual revenue -- almost $1 million a year -- is derived from vendors and other outside entities, but that income is not guaranteed each year. And in the current economic climate, it is not feasible to rely on the stock market to fund new initiatives, according to the Executive Board.

The results of the referendum were tabulated Oct. 2 by the following members of the Chicago Association of Law Libraries: Mary Lu Linnane, John Klasey, John Klaus and Susan Retzer.