Time to Take a Velvet Chainsaw to AALL's Less Than Comprehensive But Official Review of Annual Meeting Programming

I doubt I was the only AALL member to hear that our association had retained Velvet Chainsaw Consulting to conduct a "comprehensive review of the Annual Meeting educational programming" and that a Velvet Chainsaw representative "attended the 2011 Annual Meeting and also conducted interviews with meeting attendees during the conference. In addition, VCC will conduct phone interviews with other members, including first-time and long-time meeting attendees, special interest section leaders, former Annual Meeting Program Committee chairs, and others who have been involved in educational program planning." Quoting from the Septemeber AALL e-Newsletter issue. In fact, I know I wasn't the only AALL member; at least one member of AMPC responsible for Philly 2011 never heard of it; meaning, of course, wasn't interviewed by Velvet Chainsaw in Philly.

The larger question is one of scope. Can there really be a "comprehensive review" of annual meeting educational programming without Velvet Chainsaw finding out why many former attendee members have given up on attending annual meetings? I don't think so.

The reasons AALL members are not attending annual meetings for professional development and education are at least as valid as those who do attend. I think they may be much more enlightening if the intent of this review is to (1) improve educational programming which in turn (2) may increase participation in and attendance at our professional association's annual meeting. Considering how much of our association's time and efforts focus on annual meetings every year, I have a hunch that the membership dues expended to hire Velvet Chainsaw won't have a very high return on investment without the constructive feedback non-attending members could make.

I also have a hunch that a fair number of non-attending members once volunteered their time and efforts to association activities like the annual meeting but have now just given up. Here's an opportunity to find out why and to craft necessary correctives before more members question the value of the annual meetings, even question the value of belonging to AALL because so much of our association's focus has been and remains on annual meetings at the expensive of other activities that need concerted engagement assuming we really do belong to an association of law libraries, not an association of law librarians.

Don't know who to ask? Besides being plenty of discussion on AALL lists over the years, all it would take is a mass email to the membership asking those who do not attend annual meetings to (1) take a survey and (2) be willing to take a phone call from Velvet Chainsaw for an interview. Absent that won't the majority of AALL members are being excluded from helping improve annual meeting programming?

Supposedly Velvet Chainsaw Consulting will be submitting a report wiht recommendations to the Executive Board for its consideration at the Board's November 4-5 meeting. Will the report present what the Executive Board wants to hear or needs to hear?; Do the review over to find out why members do not attend annual meetings: too expensive? programs not relevant? other associations' programs more valuable? [JH]