SGA Newsletter

Volume 39, Issue 1, Spring 2007

A Publication of the Society of Georgia Archivists


2007 SGA Board

President
Jill Severn
president@soga.org

Vice-President/President-Elect
Morna Gerrard
vicepresident@soga.org

Secretary
Marie Force
secretary@soga.org

Treasurer
Elizabeth Barr
treasurer@soga.org

Archivist
Muriel McDowell Jackson
archivist@soga.org

Second-Year Director
Tamara Livingston
programcommittee@soga.org

First-Year Director
Elizabeth Russey
localarrangements@soga.org

Administrative Assistant
Frances Overcash
admin@soga.org

Past President and Nomination Committee Chair
Valerie Frey
pastpresident@soga.org

Web Editor
Abigail R. Adams
webmaster@soga.org

Interim Newsletter Editor
Renna Tuten
newsletter@soga.org

Provenance Editor
Reagan Grimsley
provenance@soga.org

Subscriptions Manager
Jody Thompson
subscriptions@soga.org

Education Committee Chair
Christine de Cataranzo
education@soga.org

Membership Committee Chair
Morna Gerrard
membership@soga.org

Scholarship Committee Chair
Luciana Spracher
scholarships@soga.org

Results from the 2006 Membership Committee Survey

by Jill Severn

Introduction

In early 2006 the SGA Membership Committee (comprised of Amanda Mros, Nancy Watkins, Abigail Adams and Jill Severn) decided to administer a comprehensive survey of SGA members to gain a better understanding of members' levels of satisfaction, current needs, and general interests. In preparation for developing its survey, the committee reviewed surveys conducted by archival organizations including the Society of North Carolina Archivists and the Society of American Archivists. The committee chose to administer the survey online using Survey Monkey based on strong anecdotal evidence that members would be more likely to complete a Web-based survey than one in paper form. The SGA executive board reviewed and approved the content for the survey. In early October, the committee distributed the survey to 183 SGA members (current membership at the time) and by the close of the survey on November 30 th , 2007 108 members had completed the survey—a 59% response!

 

Summary of Results

To view the qualitative and quantitative results for each question in the survey please visit: www.surveymonkey.com/DisplaySummary.asp?SID=2651083&U=265108319004

 

About SGA Members

How much SGA members earn

62% of respondents indicated that their annual salary for 2005 was between $30,000 and $59,000. Within this range respondents were almost equally distributed among the three salary ranges (30K-39K, 40-49K, and 50-59K). 12.1% of respondents reported their 2005 annual salary was $29,000 or less. At the other end of the spectrum 21.3 % of respondents reported annual salaries above $60,000 for 2005. 4.6 of respondents preferred not provide this information.

 

How long have SGA members worked in the archival profession

The majority of SGA members (41.6%) responding to the survey have been working as archivists from 6 to 10 years. 22.2% of respondents are new to the profession and have been working as archivists for 5 years or less. 23.14% of respondents are veteran archivists who report that they have been in the profession for 21 or more years. Finally, only 12.96% of respondents report working between 11 and 20 years as archivists.

 

About the organizations where SGA members work

61.3% of respondents work for organizations with more than 30 employees. 15.1% of respondents work in small organizations with 5 or fewer staff members. While many respondents report working for large organizations most (45.7%) report that their immediate department consists of 2-5 employees. Most SGA members work for an academic institution, many work for government agencies, some work for nonprofit organizations, and a few work in for-profit organizations. None of the respondents report being self employed. Almost all SGA members (85.8%) report that their employing organization differentiates between paraprofessional and professional staff. 88% of respondents hold professional status with their organization while 14.2% of respondents hold paraprofessional status.

 

About Professional Affiliations and Experiences with SGA

SGA members responding to the survey report that they hold membership in over 44 different organizations in addition to SGA. The 5 most popular among members are: (1) The Society of American Archivists, (2) Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries, (3) Midwest Archives Conference, (4) American Library Association, and (5) Georgia Library Association.

 

Most SGA members (73.96%) of respondents have been members of SGA for 10 years or less. Veteran members of 21+ years of membership comprise 17.71% of respondents. The most important reason respondents cited for joining SGA is networking followed by commitment to the profession, continuing education, conferences, and publications.

 

Over 80% of survey respondents consider SGA to be effective at providing or facilitating the benefits/experiences described above. They cite the annual meeting's opportunity for learning and networking, the wide range of topics and levels of expertise offered by workshops, quality of publications, and general happiness with benefits as factors influencing this positive assessment. Those expressing dissatisfaction with SGA cite lack of programming in all areas of the state, insufficient frequency of conferences and workshops, and a lack of relevant/appropriate topics at annual meetings. Some of the most popular recommendations to improve SGA include:

(You can read all comments by visiting the link to the survey at the beginning of this report).

 

About Specific Experiences with SGA programs, services, and publications

 

Website

According to the survey, most members only visit our Web site once or twice during a single month and many rarely visit it at all. The newsletter and member directory are the most popular areas of the website, although visitation to the website is well-distributed among many different areas, none distinctly more popular than another. When asked how the website could be improved upon, overall respondents agreed it was easy to navigate and they liked the new design better than the old design. Respondents also feel it is important that information is updated promptly. Several members suggested the site provide more images and fill-in PDF forms. (You can read all comments by visiting the link to the survey at the beginning of this report.)

 

Listserv

Most respondents report that they do subscribe to the listserv and read all postings. However, only a few members post messages frequently, and the majority never posts messages at all. Some members did recommend that people become more active with the listserv or use it to discuss archival issues.

 

Directory

According to the survey, most members only consult the directory one to two times per month while a large amount of members never consult it.

 

SGA Newsletter

Most respondents to the survey report (68.9.9%) that they are very satisfied or satisfied with the SGA Newsletter. 54% of respondents prefer reading the newsletter in a Web-based html format while 45.9% prefer to read the newsletter in a printable pdf format. Ideas to improve the newsletter (listed in rank of votes received) include:

(You can read all comments by visiting the link to the survey at the beginning of this report).

 

Provenance

Most survey respondents consider it important to have a refereed journal like Provenance, the Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists . Almost 85% of survey respondents say that they read all or part of Provenance. Just over 15% of respondents report that they seldom or never read Provenance. Some of the more popular suggestions for improving Provenance:

Annual Meeting

The annual meetings offered by SGA enjoy strong support from survey respondents. More than half of respondents attended the recent 2005-2006 meeting. 82% report that the annual meeting meets their needs. Similarly 81.1% prefer early November as the time of the year in which to hold the meeting.

 

35.1% of respondents report that they receive $500 or less to attend professional meetings annually and 18.9% report that they do not receive any funding for professional meetings. It is interesting to note that 77% of respondents consider the cost of the annual meeting to be reasonable. When asked if being able to pay with a credit card would make it possible to attend meetings more regularly 36.1% of respondents said “Yes” and 63.9% of respondents said ‘No”.

 

Some of the most popular recommendations from those respondents who expressed dissatisfaction with the meeting include:

Some of the most popular suggestions for topics at the annual meetings included:

Workshops

The majority of members agreed that educational workshops do meet their professional needs. Of those members who answered the survey, many have never attended a workshop. Nonetheless, most SGA members feel the cost of registration for workshops is reasonable. Members would like SGA to offer more workshops in several locations. The last workshop most attended was on DACS. Most respondents (61%) did not reply to the question asking if they would support the creation of a scholarship for SGA members to attend workshops. Of those who responded 86% supported creation of a scholarship for SGA workshops. (You can read all comments by visiting the link to the survey at the beginning of this report).

 

New Member Experiences

Most respondents to the survey report that they found it easy to become involved in SGA activities. The most frequently mentioned problem with getting involved in SGA cited by respondents was that SGA workshops and meetings were situated too far away for them to attend. Several respondents suggested that SGA host meetings and workshops in more places across the state of Georgia.

 

Mentoring Preferences

Over 50% of respondents chose not to indicate their preferences with regard to informal or formal mentoring programs. Of those that did respond to the question most indicated a strong preference for informal mentoring over a formal mentoring program.

 

Veteran Member Experiences

Many veteran respondents (member for more than 5 years) who reported being less active in SGA attributed their decreased participation in SGA to their expanding responsibilities and associations. Other reasons for decreased participation were quite varied. (You can read all comments by visiting the link to the survey at the beginning of this report) Two respondents focused on the breadth of SGA's appeal. One respondent commented that even though he or she remains active, that many of the leaders view SGA as an entry-level professional organization. This respondent recommended starting a fellows program as a mechanism for reengaging those veterans who think they have progressed "beyond" a state organization. Another respondent asserted that SGA has become a monolithic organization with a narrow participation base and states that SGA must do more to reach out to the entire archival community.

 

Survey Instrument and results

www.surveymonkey.com/DisplaySummary.asp?SID=2651083&U=265108319004

 

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