Member Survey Summary
In August 2022, the ASIS&T Membership Committee administered a member survey to all ASIS&T members between August 25 to September 16, 2022. A total of 315 members responded to scaled, forced choice, and open-ended questions and prompts.
The ASIS&T Board of Directors and staff have analyzed survey responses to learn more about ASIS&T members and their opinions and better meet member needs. The following outlines the preferences and opinions voiced by members and efforts taken by the Board and staff to address them.
Virtual Opportunities
Members expressed that face-to-face meetings are challenging to attend for various reasons. In response, ASIS&T is hosting the Mid-Year Conference as a means for you to present your research and learn from others in a fully virtual format. This meeting, which will take place April 11 through 13, 2023, is intended to be a virtual alternative to the face-to-face Annual Meeting which takes place in late October and early November. The conference will run over a three-day period and will cover all time zones. The format of participation is varied to support numerous ways of learning, engagement, and sharing.
Members have indicated this sentiment in previous surveys as well, and in the last year ASIS&T has offered other virtual opportunities for those who are unable to participate in person. There were several virtual components to the 2022 Annual meeting including a virtual poster session and virtual pre-conference workshops. There was also an opportunity for members to virtually attend the Information Science Summit, which took place in person as well on October 28.
Conference Locations
Members suggested that conferences should be held in locations outside of the United States. ASIS&T’s policy is to hold conferences outside of North America every third year with the location alternating between Europe and Asia. The 2023 Annual Meeting will take place in London, UK and the 2026 Annual Meeting will take place in Asia, with the specific country and venue yet to be determined.
Time Zones
Most ASIS&T webinars are scheduled on Eastern times due to the ASIS&T headquarters and staff being located within the United States. All webinars are recorded and are available for free on-demand viewing for all ASIS&T members. Anyone wishing to hold a webinar outside of the typical hours is welcome to do so if they are able to provide an individual to moderate the webinar and manage the technology.
Annual Meeting events are scheduled for the local time zone in which the meeting is held. Because ASIS&T is a global association, we are making efforts to schedule events keeping other time zones in mind. Most notably is the aforementioned ASIS&T Mid-Year Conference, and the 24-Hour Conference held in 2022, which ran over 24 consecutive hours so that programming could take place during the day for all time zones.
Mentorship Program
Members indicated that they would find great value in a mentorship program, aimed at connecting mentors with protégés, giving them an opportunity to grow their network and connect with leaders rather than only their peers. Planning and preparation to launch the ASIS&T Member Match program is already underway, designed to pair more senior, experienced ASIS&T members with newer, less experienced members for mentorship in the following areas:
- Research Advancement
- Research Collaboration
- Professional Networking
- Career Advancement
- Leadership Skills Development
- Greater Engagement with ASIS&T
- Networking at Annual Meeting
If you are interested in participating as a mentor or mentee, please complete the short questionnaire available at HERE. The questionnaire will help us to match mentees with a suitable mentor. Please note that we will try to match everyone we can but will be limited by the number of mentors and mentees who apply.
Conclusion and Acknowledgements
Responses from the survey overwhelmingly state that networking, sharing and gaining knowledge, professional visibility, opportunities for professional development, keeping up with emerging trends, and the sense community are the main reasons people become members of ASIS&T. These motivations are the driving force behind the ASIS&T Board of Directors and headquarters staff.
The survey also indicated member interest in:
- Certificate programs
- Programs to aid awareness of funding sources
- More online networking opportunities
- Opportunities for research collaboration
- More opportunities to receive sponsorship of meeting registration rates
The Board will be taking these suggestions into consideration when it meets this summer to update the strategic plan and consider future programming.
The ASIS&T Membership Committee expresses its thanks to the ASIS&T members who responded to the survey and provided valuable input for the 2022 members’ survey. We would also like to thank and acknowledge Dr. Angela Yvonne Ford’s significant contribution in analyzing and compiling an executive summary report for the Board of Directors.
If you would like a copy of the complete membership survey summary, please contact Pamela Yonker at pyonker@asist.org.