ISSN: 2474-3542 Journal homepage: http://journal.calaijol.org
Scoping the Chinese American Librarians Association
Services with a National Survey
Jian Anna Xiong, Xiaocan Wang, Yan He, Lijun Xue and Jie Huang
Abstract:
The Assessment and Evaluation Committee of the Chinese American Librarians
Association (CALA) designed an online survey for its members in order to elicit various
types of information. The primary goals of this survey were to facilitate a stronger
organization by serving its members more efficiently and effectively. This survey was
distributed to all members through CALA’s discussion list and website. The thirty three
survey questions in six categories corresponded to the six areas of the CALA 2020 Strategic
Plan. This article is a comprehensive report and analysis of the survey results. The survey
data and conclusions may assist the board in gauging the level of CALA members’
awareness, perception, and usage of the association’s policies and services. It will also
provide an understanding of its members’ level of satisfaction with the services provided
by CALA. The findings of the survey can be used as an important reference for the
association to better develop its future strategic plan and long-term goals, such as launching
innovative and quality programs and services; using cutting-edge technologies to recruit
and engage CALA members; creating professional development networking platforms; and
promoting leadership training and services. The article will share the findings and
interpretation of this survey in order to increase the awareness of issues, difficulties, and
challenges with respect to organizational development.
To cite this article:
Xiong, J.A., & et al. (2019). Scoping the Chinese American Librarians Association
Services with a National Survey. International Journal of Librarianship, 4(1), 38-58.
To submit your article to this journal:
Go to http://ojs.calaijol.org/index.php/ijol/about/submissions
http://ojs.calaijol.org/index.php/ijol/about/submissions
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LIBRARIANSHIP, 4(1), 38-58
ISSN: 2474-3542
Scoping the Chinese American Librarians Association Services with
a National Survey
Jian Anna Xiong, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, United States
Wenli Gao, University of Houston, United States
Xiaocan Wang, Missouri Southern State University, United States
Yan He, Indiana University Kokomo, United States
Lijun Xue, Madonna University, United States
Jie Huang, Penn State University, United States
ABSTRACT
The Assessment and Evaluation Committee of the Chinese American Librarians Association
(CALA) designed an online survey for its members in order to elicit various types of information.
The primary goals of this survey were to facilitate a stronger organization by serving its members
more efficiently and effectively. This survey was distributed to all members through CALA’s
discussion list and website. The thirty three survey questions in six categories corresponded to the
six areas of the CALA 2020 Strategic Plan. This article is a comprehensive report and analysis of
the survey results. The survey data and conclusions may assist the board in gauging the level of
CALA members’ awareness, perception, and usage of the association’s policies and services. It
will also provide an understanding of its members’ level of satisfaction with the services provided
by CALA. The findings of the survey can be used as an important reference for the association to
better develop its future strategic plan and long-term goals, such as launching innovative and
quality programs and services; using cutting-edge technologies to recruit and engage CALA
members; creating professional development networking platforms; and promoting leadership
training and services. The article will share the findings and interpretation of this survey in order
to increase the awareness of issues, difficulties, and challenges with respect to organizational
development.
Keywords: assessment, evaluation, library organization, librarian, Chinese American
INTRODUCTION
The Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA) is an active affiliate of the American
Library Association (ALA) and a member of the Council of National Library and Information
Associations (CNLIA). CALA has about 500 active members in the United States, as well as in
Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. In order to make CALA a stronger
organization by serving its members more efficiently and effectively, an Assessment and
Evaluation Committee was established. This committee is responsible for assessing and evaluating
Xiong et al. / International Journal of Librarianship 4(1) 39
the Association’s operations and strategic directions at the organizational level, as well as
providing feedback and suggestions for improvement. The committee conducted its first member
survey in 2007, followed by the second survey in 2014 in conjunction with its 40th anniversary.
As CALA started to implement its 2020 strategic plan, it was time to reevaluate members’
perceptions about the strategic plan and other key areas that are critical for the CALA leadership’s
strategic decision-making process. The 2014 CALA self-assessment survey results showed that
the majority of CALA members believed CALA needs to conduct an assessment every three years.
Meanwhile in 2014, a group of members worked together to propose the merging of CALA’s Self-
Assessment Task Force and CALA’s Assessment Task Force into a standing committee – CALA’s
Assessment and Evaluation Committee. These committees had the vision to reorganize, ensuring
better continuity along with regular organizational assessment, as well as a higher quality of
evaluation. In addition, this committee made it possible to have long term plans and a larger scope
of tasks, which would be beyond the ability of a temporary task force. After careful consideration,
in 2016 the Task Force was changed to the CALA Assessment and Evaluation Committee, which
was added into CALA’s By-Laws and Handbook. In 2017, the Assessment and Evaluation
Committee launched its third membership survey. This survey contained 33 questions to determine
members’ understanding about the 2020 CALA strategic plan, as well as members’ involvement
and familiarity with CALA’s services and professional networking activities. The survey also
included demographic questions to categorize the responses by the respondents' primary work
setting, years of professional experience, geographic area, and gender.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Brief Review of Other Library Association Surveys
It is very important for library associations to determine and meet the needs and expectations of
members. It is also crucial for members to be engaged in discussions of significance pertaining to
the development of these associations. Library associations have used a variety of assessment tools
to identify member needs, including surveys, website feedback forms, focus groups, and
interviews. Most associations have used membership surveys to gauge different aspects of
members’ experiences and opinions on services and benefits. Some associations use third-party
providers to design, distribute, collect, and analyze the surveys, while others develop their own
instruments. Wu, Lu, and Ho (2009) stated, in the first CALA self-assessment publication, that
“Every member-based professional association values its membership as the heart and soul
of its organization. When the time comes for organizational evaluation, membership
surveys are often employed as a formal mechanism of self-assessment for an association
to measure its performance and the effectiveness of services to its members” (p. 100).
The American Library Association (ALA, 2010) has administered different types of
member surveys. ALA has invited members to take demographic surveys to update its member
profiles. The ALA’s Membership Office has conducted monthly surveys of members to provide
an ongoing feedback mechanism for ALA leadership to follow the implementation of their
strategic plans. Members receive the surveys by email in the 6th month of their membership year.
Furthermore, ALA also administers the Membership Value Survey every year to identify
organizational strengths and potential areas for improvement. The purposes of this membership
survey are to evaluate the perceived value of ALA membership, members’ overall satisfaction,
Xiong et al. / International Journal of Librarianship 4(1) 40
their motivations to join or renew the membership, and the likeliness of recommending
membership to a colleague. The Association of Specialized Government and Cooperative Library
Agencies (ASGCLA), a division of the American Library Association, incorporates the Drop
Member Survey on their website to help them understand why members have not renewed their
membership.
The Special Libraries Association (SLA) has undertaken surveys to determine the opinions,
attitudes, and needs of SLA’s members, as well as to collect opinions for their new products,
services, and benefits (Thompson, 1992). For example, the SLA 2014 Membership Survey asked
members to rate SLA benefits and describe their overall level of satisfaction with the association.
The survey also measured the member interest in the potential new benefits such as webinar topics
and certification programs.
As the leading international body representing the interests of library and information
services and their users, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
(IFLA) contracted with TBI Communications in 2017 to carry out its first member and viewpoints
survey to give members a chance to share their thoughts and expectations of the IFLA.
Some membership surveys are intended to obtain members’ opinions on special topics to
either contribute to the design of research projects or to provide organizations with valuable
guidance on making important decisions. The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) conducted
a member survey in 2005 on journal bundling practices (Hahn, 2006). This survey provided
“updates on perceptions of the landscape of large publishers' journal bundles in the rapidly
changing journal publication marketplace.” In collaboration with divisions from the Special
Libraries Association and the American Society for Engineering Education, the Continuing
Education Committee of the Association of College & Research Libraries’ (ACRL) Science and
Technology Section (STS) distributed surveys in 2004, 2005, and 2007 to identify the continuing
education interests of its constituents (Spackman, 2006; Crook & Calzonetti, 2009). In 2008, the
American Society for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) teamed up with Wiley-
Blackwell, the publisher of its journal, to survey its members on the notion of open access and to
investigate the feasibility of making its journal open access. In another instance, the Medical
Library Association’s (MLA) Ethical Awareness Task Force implemented a survey in 2013 to
determine MLA members' awareness of and opinions about the Code of Ethics for Health Sciences
Librarianship (Byrd, Devine & Corcoran, 2014).
Some library associations collect data from the member libraries via surveys. The Institute
of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) administrates its annual Public Libraries Survey across
the country to examine key indicators of public library use, financial health, staffing, and
resources.
Summary of the First Two CALA Surveys
As stated earlier, CALA is an affiliate of the American Library Association (ALA) and it is one of
its five active ethnic caucuses. Since its establishment in 1973, two surveys, one in 2009 and one
in 2014, have been conducted under the leadership of the CALA Board of Directors and the Self-
Assessment Task Force. The aims of both surveys were to help the organization’s leadership
understand members' perceptions and involvement, as well as solicit suggestions and
Xiong et al. / International Journal of Librarianship 4(1) 41
recommendations for future improvement in the key areas of membership services, recruitment,
and retention.
The first CALA survey was conducted in 2007 (Wu, Lu, & Ho, 2009). After experiencing
a 35-year steady growth in numbers of membership and expansion of regional chapters, the CALA
leadership felt an increasing need to understand members' perceptions and involvement in order
to carry out its long term objectives and short term strategic goals. A Task Force appointed by the
Board of Directors designed and conducted a survey with 18 questions, mainly focusing on
members’ awareness of CALA’s organizational structure and policies, its services to members, the
extent of participation in events sponsored by CALA, and the level of satisfaction with CALA
leadership. Out of 382 online and print surveys sent to the CALA members, 171 had responded
for a return rate of 50%. As a result of reviewing the survey responses, several initiatives took
place to enhance communication and membership recruitment during 2008-2009.
The second CALA survey was launched in 2014 in conjunction with its 40th anniversary
(Xiong, Kuo, & Liu, 2016). The survey was conducted twice, once during the month of May and
once in September, due to an initial low response rate. The objective of the survey was to provide
insight into the perspectives of CALA members on the important issues facing the organization.
These issues included the satisfaction level with CALA’s leadership in accomplishing CALA’s
mission and vision; identifying concerns that needed to be addressed; and collecting suggestions
and comments from members for achieving organizational excellence. The scope of the 2014
survey was expanded to 6 categories with 35 questions in total. The survey extensively explored
key aspects of organizational structures, its policies, its service, the extent of member participation,
as well as member satisfaction in regards to the organization’s leadership. The survey revealed not
only a strong support for CALA as a representative organization of Chinese American librarians
in North America and but also a new demographic trend of its growing overseas membership.
METHODS
The CALA Assessment and Evaluation Committee designed the membership survey in 2017. The
survey contained a total of 33 questions divided into six sections. The survey was designed to
investigate members’ understanding of the CALA 2020 strategic plan, involvement with CALA,
its membership services from 2014-2017, members’ choices of technologies for professional
networking, demographics and other general information (see details of the survey in Appendix
A). After receiving IRB approval from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in December 2017,
the committee distributed the survey to 491 active CALA members through the Survey Monkey
online survey platform. The survey was open for a month and 70 responses were collected. The
committee extended the survey response period for two weeks and promoted the survey through
CALA’s discussion list, Facebook page, and online chat group. Another 42 responses were
collected. A total of 112 out of 491 active CALA members responded to the survey, representing
a 22.8% response rate. The raw data was downloaded from SurveyMonkey. It was then analyzed
in Excel and graphics were created using Tableau visualization software.
Xiong et al. / International Journal of Librarianship 4(1) 42
SURVEY RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
Demographics of the Survey Respondents
An analysis of respondents revealed that most were female (69.7%), with the rest identified as
male (29.29%) and other (1.01%). Due to the nature of this organization, most members are Asian
and Pacific Islanders (84.85%). Members from other ethnic groups also responded to the survey,
with 10.1% indicating that they were White and 2.02% stating they were Hispanic or Latino. An
additional 3.03% identified themselves as other ethnicities. Because academic libraries are more
inclined to encourage librarians to be involved in professional organizations, it was not surprising
to see 65.66% respondents coming from academic libraries. Most of the respondents have been a
CALA member for over a year but less than 10 years (47.47%), while 44.44% of the respondents
have been a CALA member for over 10 years. Only 8.08% of the respondents have been in CALA
for less than or equal to a year, suggesting that special efforts should be made to encourage new
members to respond to the survey. Most of the respondents are from the Midwest Chapter, the
Northern and Southern California Chapters combined, and the Northeast Chapter (see Figure 1
below). Members from non-US areas also responded to the survey, with a total of 10.1% coming
from China, Canada, Australia, and Taiwan.
Note. Q=Survey Question.
Figure 1. Number of responses from CALA chapters (Q30)
Members’ Awareness and Knowledge of CALA’s 2015-2020 Strategic Plan
CALA proposed its 2015-2020 strategic plan in 2014. In this survey, a section was designed to
investigate members’ understanding of the strategic plan (see Figure 2 below) and to learn more
effective ways to communicate future strategic plans. A total of 32.14% identified themselves as
either “very familiar” or “somewhat familiar” with the strategic plan, and 16.07% believed they
were “slightly familiar.” On the contrary, 51.79% respondents were “not aware of the plan at all”
Xiong et al. / International Journal of Librarianship 4(1) 43
or “only heard of the plan but never read it” before taking the survey. This suggests that the CALA
leadership team may need to create a more effective communication plan for its future strategic
directions. The members who are aware of the strategic plan learned about it from CALA’s
conference brochure, board meeting, email discussion list, website, and other CALA members. As
a limited number of people are able to attend the CALA conference or board meetings in person,
it is suggested that the CALA email discussion list and website should be used as CALA’s primary
communication channels.
Figure 2. Members’ understanding of CALA 2015-2020 strategic plan (Q1)
Involvement with CALA 2014-2017
The survey was also designed to understand members’ involvement with CALA and to
discover barriers as well as solutions to encourage more involvement. The results showed 60.58%
of the members began their involvement in CALA service as a result of peer recommendations
and invitations. It is recommended that current CALA members actively invite peers to join
committees and task forces. Table 1 showed that lack of time remains the major obstacle for not
taking the opportunity to serve, with 25.96% of the members stating they were too busy. Other
major reasons for lack of involvement include being unable to attend conferences due to financial
constraints or lack of institutional support (18.27%), being already committed to other committees,
such as ALA (22.12%), and a lack of knowledge about how to volunteer to serve in CALA
(11.54%). The results of the survey suggested that a broader conversation needs to happen on how
to promote volunteer service, as well as the issues of workload and financial support for attending
the CALA conference for committee-related work. It is also proposed that members be informed
that attending conferences in person is not required for committee work.
31.25%
22.32%
20.54%
16.07%
9.82%
Not aware of the plan at all
Somewhat familiar
Only heard of the plan but have never read
it before I did this survey
Slightly familiar
Very familiar
Xiong et al. / International Journal of Librarianship 4(1) 44
N/A 39.42%
Too busy 25.96%
Unable to attend conference due to financial constraints or lack of institutional
support
18.27%
Already committed to other committees, such as ALA, preferred to promote
more junior members to serve
22.12%
Other (please specify): 14.42%
Don’t know how to volunteer to serve in CALA 11.54%
Not enough experience 8.65%
Do not feel like serving 2.88%
Being a board director for 3-year term is a long commitment 1.92%
Table 1. Reasons for Not Serving (Q6)
Membership Services 2014-2017
CALA provides various support for its members, such as a leadership academy, chapter level,
national and international level training opportunities, a mentoring program, scholarships and
grants, online job announcements, and research and publishing opportunities. Among the 102
respondents who answered the question about the CALA leadership academy, 24.5% were aware
of and had participated in the academy. Another 36.27% were aware of the academy, but had not
participated in it, while 39.22% were not aware of it. The CALA leadership academy was a one-
time event, and a lot of effort was made to ensure its success. These reasons may have contributed
to member awareness of it. Chapter-level training programs had the best participation rate. The
majority of the respondents were aware but were not able to participate in national or international-
level training programs. This indicated that future national or international-level training programs
should be made more accessible, for example, through online platforms or by providing recordings
of these programs. Table 2 shows the comparison of awareness and participation for different
levels of training programs.
Xiong et al. / International Journal of Librarianship 4(1) 45
CALA Leadership
Academy
National
level
International
level
Chapter
level
Not aware 39.22% (40) 21.57% (22) 32.35% (33) 26.47% (27)
Aware but have
not participated
36.27% (37) 49.02% (50) 43.14% (44) 32.35% (33)
Aware and
participated
24.51% (25) 29.41% (30) 24.51% (25) 41.18 (42)
Table 2. Awareness of CALA Training Programs (Q8-10)
In regard to the mentoring program, 65.69% of the respondents were either not aware of
the program, or were aware but have never participated. Among the 34.3% who have used the
program, 91.18% rated it as either “good,” “very good” or “excellent,” and the remaining 8.82%
rated it as “poor” or “fair.” The results revealed a need for better promotion of this program to
encourage more members to get involved. It is a great benefit for new members who are still in
library school or early in their career. It also provides a rich experience for senior librarians to
further develop their leadership skills by mentoring new professionals. CALA could emphasize
these mutual benefits in order to grow a pool of librarians to serve as mentors.
In terms of the various scholarships and grants that CALA provides, the results indicate
that members were aware of them and rated them highly; 50.99% of the respondents rated them as
either “good,” “very good,” or “excellent.” However, 36.27% were “not aware or were aware but
had not used them.” It would be worthwhile to investigate why people were not applying for
CALA’s grants and scholarships even if they were aware of their existence. This information
would be valuable for committees to evaluate their criteria and standards to ensure more
inclusiveness.
Approximately 63% of the respondents were very pleased about the presence of job
announcements on the CALA discussion list. It was suggested that members keep posting job
opportunities on the list.
In terms of research and publishing opportunities provided by CALA, people have heard
of those opportunities or have used them. Figure 3 shows the number of responses for
corresponding research and publication opportunities.
Figure 3. Research and publication opportunities (Q16)
Xiong et al. / International Journal of Librarianship 4(1) 46
The survey also asked members about their need for professional development. Figure 4
below shows that special topics such as data management, data visualization, copyright, etc.
received the most votes (65.69%). Respondents were also interested in specific programs related
to libraries, such as instruction, cataloging, etc. (54.9%) and leadership skills (48.04%). Based on
the frequency of the choices, Figure 4 was created to represent respondents’ interest in professional
development topics.
Figure 4. Professional training topics (Q18)
As an organization, one of CALA’s purposes was to create networking opportunities for
people with similar backgrounds. As Figure 5 shows, establishing a personal connection was
respondents’ top choice for networking, with attending on-site conferences (83%), personal
relationships (69%), and working on committees (64%) being top preferences for ways to network
within CALA with other library professionals. In addition, 53% of the respondents also reported
that they used social networking tools such as Facebook and LinkedIn, with the majority of the
respondents using them daily or weekly (59%). Facebook and LinkedIn were among the top social
networking tools currently being used (64% each). However, 40% of the respondents selected
other tools, and specified WeChat 37 times as the tool they used, thus confirming that WeChat has
become an effective communication channel through the CALA community.
Xiong et al. / International Journal of Librarianship 4(1) 47
Figure 5. Preferred ways of networking within CALA (Q20)
The open comments section provided additional valuable information. By and large,
respondents acknowledged the efforts and great work of the survey committee as well as CALA
as an organization in general. Other comments included shortening the survey to encourage survey
participation; adding more services for public library members, non-Asian members, new
members and members from developing countries; developing more collaboration and promotion
at the national level with ACRL, APALA, and ALA, as well as with related professional
organizations outside of library networks; more financial support for committee work; more
transparency about the operations and decision-making at the national level; the need for long term
CALA recruitment efforts; and the desire for no dues for the first year of membership for students.
CONCLUSION AND FUTURE PLANS
The CALA Assessment and Evaluation Committee developed this survey in order to meet its
charge to assess and evaluate the Association’s operations and strategic directions at the
organizational level. The committee members reviewed two previous survey questionnaires and
results, then designed this survey to align with the CALA 2020 Strategic Plan (2015-2020). Before
the survey was distributed to all CALA members, the committee sent it to a group of selected
members for testing and feedback. The committee distributed the survey using multiple
communication channels to receive a higher response rate.
A total of 112 active members participated in and completed the survey. Their responses
were very useful to gauge the level of active CALA members’ awareness, perception, and usage
of the association’s policies, activities and strategic plan. It also provided a general sense of the
83.00%
69.00%
64.00%
54.00%
53.00%
8.00%
Attend on-site conferences
Through personal relationship
Work on the same committee
Attend virtual conferences
Use social networking (e.g., facebook and
LinkedIn)
Other (please specify)
Xiong et al. / International Journal of Librarianship 4(1) 48
level of members’ satisfaction with the services provided by CALA. After carefully analyzing all
the collected responses, the committee identified the following findings.
Although CALA members can learn about the 2020 Strategic Plan (2015-2020) from its
email discussion list, website, meetings, and conference programs, etc., over 27% respondents
were not aware of this strategic plan at all. In regards to how much members knew about the plan,
more than 50% respondents were either unaware of it or had only heard of it but never read it
before answering the particular questions related to the strategic plan. This result suggests that
CALA needs more communication with its members about the strategic plan. Communication
should continue through the most effective venues, such as the CALA website and discussion list,
along with various social media platforms (e.g., WeChat) to market the strategic plan.
Based on the responses to questions about members’ involvement in CALA’s services,
being busy is the number one reason that respondents did not serve on CALA committees or task
forces. The finding that more than half of respondents might not consider volunteering or
nominating themselves to serve in the future is disconcerting. As peer recommendations and
invitations are the most effective strategies to recruit new members to serve in CALA, the
organization definitely needs to encourage its members to regularly reach out to new members to
get them involved in CALA services through their personal invitation.
Responses from the questions about membership services in 2014-2017 led to three
findings: (1) Except for the fact that some members are aware of the opportunities at the chapter-
level and participated in the chapter-level training, more than 70% respondents were not aware or
aware but have not taken advantage of the training opportunities at the national or international
level or the CALA Leadership Academy 2015-2017. These results suggest that CALA should
develop marketing strategies to promote the awareness of these training opportunities, such as
tying these opportunities to professional development, tenure, and promotion. (2) In regard to the
awareness of various service opportunities (e.g., CALA mentoring program, program registration
discount, scholarship and grants, and online job announcements 2014-2017), the responses vary
slightly depending upon the specific questions. However, these responses still show the need for
marketing these services and for encouraging members to take advantage of them, especially
considering the low awareness of CALA’s mentoring program. (3) In terms of research and
publication opportunities provided by CALA, it is encouraging that more people are aware of
CALA newsletter, presentations/posters at CALA conferences and workshops, and the journals,
International Journal of Librarianship and Journal of Library and Information Science.
The responses to the questions about “Professional Networking through Cutting-Edge
Technologies” produced these interesting findings: attending on-site conferences and building
personal relationships are still the preferred ways for networking. Approximately 40% of
respondents use social networking tools on a daily basis, while 64% of respondents report using
Facebook and LinkedIn. Many respondents suggested using WeChat for social communication by
CALA as it is one of the most popular social networking tools in China.
In conclusion, the assessment project collected valuable and helpful information from
many CALA members. The survey results and findings as documented in a comprehensive report
will definitely help the CALA Board better understand members’ needs and perceptions of various
services and activities. This will facilitate data-driven decisions on further improvements within
the association. The Board can use the findings of the survey as an important reference to better
develop its future strategic plan and long-term goals, such as launching innovative and quality
programs and services; using cutting-edge technologies to recruit and engage CALA members;
Xiong et al. / International Journal of Librarianship 4(1) 49
creating professional development networking platforms; and promoting leadership training and
services.
With the survey results archived in CALA’s repository and publicly shared with all CALA
members and other library organizations, the committee hopes to increase the awareness of issues,
difficulties, and challenges with respect to the organization’s strategic development.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors would like to thank all respondents for their participation in the CALA Self-
Assessment Survey 2014-2017. We would like to thank Le Yang, Qi Chen, and Lian Ruan for
their strong support of and guidance on our committee’s work during their terms of serving as
CALA President. Our sincere thanks also go to CALA Web Committee and Membership
Committee that offer generous help for the CALA Assessment and Evaluation Committee to
smoothly move forward with the assessment survey. Last but not least, we would like to give
thanks to the editors and reviewers of International Journal of Librarianship, as well as Professor
Mary Taylor from Morris Library of Southern Illinois University Carbondale for proof reading
and editing our article, also for their suggestions on improving the article.
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Appendix A
CALA Self-Assessment Survey 2014-2017
I. CALA 2020 Strategic Plan
1. How well do you know CALA 2020 Strategic Plan (2015-2020) proposed in 2014?
o Not aware of the Plan at all
o Only heard of the Plan but have never read it before I do this survey
o Slightly familiar
o Somewhat familiar
o Very familiar
2. I learned about CALA 2020 Strategic Plan (2015-2020) from: (please check all that apply)
o CALA Conference brochure
o CALA Board meeting
o CALA Email listserv
o CALA website
o Other CALA members
o Not aware of the Plan at all
o Other (please specify)
II. Members’ Involvement in CALA’s Services
3. How did you start your first service in CALA? (please check all that apply)
o Peer recommendation/invitation
o Self-nomination
o CALA online volunteer form
o Other (please specify)
4. Have you ever considered either volunteering or nominating yourself to serve?
o Yes, and participated
o Yes, but have not participated
o Not considered
5. Would you consider to volunteer or nominate yourself to serve in future?
o Would not consider
o Might or might not consider
o Definitely consider
6. If you have not taken the opportunities to serve, please choose all the reasons that apply:
Xiong et al. / International Journal of Librarianship 4(1) 52
o N/A
o Don’t know how to volunteer to serve in CALA
o Already committed in other committees, such as ALA
o Already served on ALA committees, preferred to promote more junior members to serve
o Being a board director for 3-year term is a long commitment
o Do not feel like serving
o Not enough experience
o Too busy
o Unable to attend conference due to financial constraints or lack of institutional support
o Other (please specify):
III. Membership Services 2014-2017
7. CALA Leadership Academy 2015-2017
o Not aware
o Aware but have not participated
o Aware and participated
8. Any CALA’s international level training opportunities (not including CALA Leadership
Academy), conferences, poster sessions, and workshops 2014-2017
o Not aware
o Aware but have not participated
o Aware and participated
9. Any CALA’s national level training opportunities (not including CALA Leadership Academy),
conferences, poster sessions, and workshops 2014-2017
o Not aware
o Aware but have not participated
o Aware and participated
10. Any CALA’s chapter level training opportunities (not including CALA Leadership Academy),
conferences, poster sessions, and workshops 2014-2017
o Not aware
o Aware but have not participated
o Aware and participated
11. CALA mentoring program 2014-2017
o Not aware or aware but have not used it
o Poor
Xiong et al. / International Journal of Librarianship 4(1) 53
o Fair
o Good
o Very good
o Excellent
12. Print Membership Directory 2014-2017
o Not aware or aware but have not used it
o Poor
o Fair
o Good
o Very good
o Excellent
13. Program registration discounts and banquet discounts 2014-2017 (amount of discounts amount,
length of time that are valid, etc.)
o Not aware or aware but have not used it
o Poor
o Fair
o Good
o Very good
o Excellent
14. Scholarships and grants 2014-2017 (amount, types, etc.)
o Not aware or aware but have not used it
o Poor
o Fair
o Good
o Very good
o Excellent
15. Online job announcements 2014-2017
o Not aware or aware but have not used it
o Poor
o Fair
o Good
o Very good
o Excellent
Xiong et al. / International Journal of Librarianship 4(1) 54
16. Which research and publishing opportunities provided by CALA have you heard of or have
you used (please check all that apply):
o CALA Newsletter
o CALA Occasional Paper Series
o International Journal of Librarianship
o Journal of Library and Information Science
o Presentations/posters at CALA conferences and workshops
o None of above
o Other (please specify):
17. Have you been supported by CALA for you to run for ALA or State level election during 2014-
2017?
o Yes
o No
o Other, please specify (e.g. have not run the election, requested support but received no
response or was rejected, don’t know how to request the support, etc.):
18. What training topics would you want CALA provide at local chapter, national and international
levels? (please check all that apply)
o Leadership skills
o Specific areas in libraries, such as instruction, cataloging, etc.
o Special topics such as data management, data visualization, copyright, etc.
o Other (please specify)
IV. Professional Networking through Cutting-Edge Technologies
19. How do you normally network with other library professionals? (please check all that apply)
o Attend on-site conferences
o Attend virtual conferences
o Work on the same committee
o Use social networking (e.g., Facebook and LinkedIn)
o Through personal relationship
o Other (please specify)
20. Which way you would prefer to network within CALA with other library professionals? (please
check all that apply)
o Attend on-site conferences
o Attend virtual conferences
Xiong et al. / International Journal of Librarianship 4(1) 55
o Work on the same committee
o Use social networking (e.g., Facebook and LinkedIn)
o Through personal relationship
o Other (please specify)
21. How often do you use social networking tools (e.g., Facebook and LinkedIn)?
o Never
o Yearly
o Quarterly
o Monthly
o Weekly
o Daily
22. Which social networking tools you are currently use? (please check all that apply)
o Blog
o Facebook
o Google+
o LinkedIn
o Pinterest
o Twitter
o Other (please specify)
23. Which cutting-edge technologies (including those are not listed above in this survey) you
would like CALA to use for the purpose of creating more professional networking platforms S
V. General
24. Why did you choose to join CALA? (please check all that apply)
o Professional development opportunities
o Opportunities to network with members
o Being part of a professional association
o Other (please specify)
25. CALA continued to be an inclusive librarians association that welcomes and values diversity,
and opens its membership to all library professionals who are interested in the mission and vision
of CALA.
o strongly disagree
o Disagree
Xiong et al. / International Journal of Librarianship 4(1) 56
o Neutral
o Agree
o Strongly agree
26. CALA connected members to develop a sense of belonging in CALA, regardless of age,
experience, and background; engaged members and provide services to develop a community in
which members can obtain guidance and camaraderie for various professional needs.
o strongly disagree
o Disagree
o Neutral
o Agree
o Strongly agree
27. Please provide here any additional suggestions and comments on this survey which you had
no opportunity to provide above:
VI. Demographics
28. Please choose your type of membership:
o Affiliated membership
o Honorary membership
o Institutional membership
o Life membership
o Non-salaried membership
o Overseas membership
o Regular membership
o Student membership
o Other (please specify)
29. How long have you been a CALA member?
o 10 years
o >6 and <=10 years
o >1 and <=6 years
o <= 1 year
30. Please choose the CALA chapter/group that you currently belong to:
o Greater Mid-Atlantic
o Midwest
o Northeast
Xiong et al. / International Journal of Librarianship 4(1) 57
o Northern California
o Southern California
o Southeast
o Southwest
o All Other U.S. States
o Non-U.S. Areas, please specify:
31. Please choose the type of library you are working for:
o Academic
o Public
o School
o Special
o Other (please specify)
32. Please specify your ethnicity:
o White
o Hispanic or Latino
o Black or African American
o Native American or American Indian
o Asian / Pacific Islander
o Other
33. Please choose your gender:
o Female
o Male
o Other (please specify)
About the authors
Jian Anna Xiong is the Government Information Librarian/Associate Professor at Southern
Illinois University Carbondale.
Wenli Gao is the Data Services Librarian at University of Houston.
Xiaocan Wang is the Emerging Technologies Librarian/Systems Librarian at Missouri
Southern State University.
Xiong et al. / International Journal of Librarianship 4(1) 58
Yan He is the Information Literacy Librarian at Indiana University Kokomo.
Lijun Xue is the Catalog/Reference Librarian at Madonna University.
Jie Huang is the Special Projects Cataloging Librarian at Penn State University.
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