Hi ARLIS/NA Solo Librarians:

Whether or not you were able to attend the Ft. Worth ARLIS/NA conference last March, please consider answering the following questions regarding your ability to attend ARLIS conferences—and the possibility of reviving the “Solo Librarians Special Interest Group.”  Please reply to me off-list ASAP or BEFORE MAY 31.

For the purpose of this small survey, a “solo librarian” is a professional librarian who is the only professional on the library staff.  Within ARLIS/NA, solo librarians most often work in museums, but some work in art schools or other venues. .  I’d like to know who, among the ARLIS/NA solo librarian members, attended (or didn’t attend) the Ft. Worth conference and how you managed (or didn’t) to pay for it?  I’d also like to know if you would be interested in reinstating the Solo Librarians SIG?  If you respond to the following questions, please tell me where you work, or at least the type of institution in which you work.  Thanks!

1.       What type of institution do you work for:  □ museum; □ art school; □ architectural firm; □ gallery; □ other.  Optional: Would you mind telling us the name of your institution?

2.       If you didn’t come to the Ft. Worth conference, was it for financial reasons?

a.       Have you ever been to an ARLIS/NA annual conference?

b.      When was the last time you attended an annual ARLIS/NA conference?  What made it possible financially for you to attend the conference in the past?

3.       If you came to Ft. Worth, did you pay your own way, or was all or part of it paid for out of your library budget? 

a.       Did you have a travel award? 

b.      If you came to the conference even though it was a financial hardship, what were the strategies you used to cut back on your overall cost?

c.       The official conference was 5 days: Thursday, March 19 – Monday, March 23.  How many days did you attend the conference? 

d.      If you came in spite of the financial hardship, was it worth it?  Why or why not?

4.       Would it be helpful if the former “Solo Librarians Special Interest Group” was reinstated?  Would you be willing to help re-organize the group?  (It is not essential to attend the conference to benefit from belonging to a SIG.)

Please reply off-list.  Let me know if you want your responses to be kept anonymous.  At this point, this survey is informal and is not an official ARLIS/NA project, though the results will reported (anonymously) on ARLIS-L.  PLEASE REPLY ASAP OR BEFORE THE END OF THE DAY MAY 31.

Many thanks!!

Joan M. Benedetti