During the last NCNMLG Business Meeting held on February 19, there was a discussion regarding increasing the annual NCNMLG Membership Dues from $25.00 to $35.00. It was decided during this discussion to put this increase forward to the general membership for a vote at the next Business Meeting (which has yet to be scheduled).

At this time, we welcome any comments or questions on this topic. Before there is a vote, the NCNMLG general membership must have an opportunity to discuss the topic. An email about this was sent to the NCNMLG listserv and feedback has been rolling in. Please feel free to either email Raquel Abad at rjabad@ucdavis.edu, or comment on this blog post with your feedback.

The following are reasons why the membership dues increase has been proposed:

• NCNMLG relies on membership dues as its primary source of income.
• Dues have not been increased since July 2001; when they were raised from $15 to $25.
• Compared to other MLA chapter dues, our current dues fall about right in the middle of the spectrum. 5 chapters have dues in the $15.00-$20.00 range, 4 (including us) have dues at $25.00, and 4 chapters have dues in the $30.00-$35.00 range. We thought that if we increase our dues to $35.00, we shouldn’t need to have another increase for several years.
• NCNMLG offers a number of scholarships, grants, and continuing education opportunities (often at a discounted rate). A dues increase will enable the organization to continue offering these benefits.

I will be posting the feedback that I have received in a new blog post.