Viewpoint from the Chair - December 2012

At our December 14 meeting, the Amigos Board of Directors discussed the way the organization will apply member fees for the coming fiscal year. I have a couple of good news items to report.

First, I am pleased to report that the Board of Directors is recommending no changes to the membership fee structure for the coming year.

The second bit of good news involves our tier-based fee structure. As you may recall, in 2009 Amigos Members approved a change in how member fees are determined. Members approved a structure that places each member library in a tier based on its budget. When the Amigos Member Structure and Fees Working Group defined the basis for tier placement, members of the Group agreed that the 2006 National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) and Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) library budget data, self-reported by academic and public libraries, was an appropriate starting point, with updates needed every few years.

Adjusting tier placement based on 2010 data – the most recent consistently available data from NCES and IMLS – would result in having some members in lower fee tiers while others would be in higher tiers.

The good news is that Amigos will place each member in the lower of the tiers dictated by their 2006 and 2010 budget data, whichever is less.

The bottom line? With no changes to the fee structure and the lowest possible tier placement, Amigos members will see no increase in fees for the coming year. Some members will actually see fee reductions.

Amigos will invoice members for FY2014 membership fees early next July. If you would like to confirm the amount of your membership fee as part of your FY2014 budget planning, contact Amigos Chief Financial Officer Charles Cason.

What a nice way to start 2013!