Philanthropic partnership at the University of Iowa: Providing complimentary ACRL membership to LIS students

The strength of ACRL comes from its membership. Nevertheless, ACRL and other membership-based professional organizations face many challenges in terms of recruiting and retaining members. Of course, membership and involvement in ACRL contributes to an individual’s career success. But academic and research libraries also benefit when their employees are engaged in their professional associations. Membership and participation in professional associations provides valuable mentoring and professional development opportunities. This is true at every stage of one’s career, but it is particularly critical to help new professionals understand the value of these activities. Many would agree that graduate school is the perfect time to introduce students to their future professional associations, yet membership often remains out of reach financially for many students.