in General, Libraries/Info Sci

ALA and the Charging Speakers Fiasco

There’s been much said lately about the fact that ALA requires members to pay registration for a conference they are speaking at, yet does not charge non-members.

Here’s a sampling: Michael, Jenny, Steven. There’s also many more well-reasoned pieces that I’ve read.

I’m a bit late to the party, but I agree with what the majority are saying – this is ridiculous! Isn’t the whole point of holding a conference to attract attendees? How do you attract them without speakers? I always assumed that getting your speakers in for free was just standard practice and part of the overhead involved in setting up an event.

Do you think the President gets charged ticket price to throw out the first pitch? Or that the Live 8 bands had to pay admission? These are grand examples, sure. But the principle is the same.