Essential questions

1. Issue: How can RUSA best meet member desire for online learning opportunities and balance value to members while creating a sustainable online learning program?

2. Essential questions • Question 1. What do we know about our stakeholders, needs, wants, and preferences, that is relevant to this decision? • Question 2. What do we know about the current realties and evolving dynamics of our environment that is relevant to this decision? • Question 3. What do we know about the capacity of RUSA that is relevant to this decision? • Question 4. What do we know about the strategic position of RUSA that is relevant to this decision?

3. Question 1: What are the stakeholder needs for online learning? Members • Members have a need for continuing updating of skills. • Members have limited funding to attend conference and seek ways to learn online. • Members have limited funds for professional development, including online webinars. • Non-members have a need for training as well. • Members seek high-quality, trusted online training for the best return on their money and time investment.

4. Question 1: What are the stakeholder needs for online learning? Sections • Sections want online learning that is branded to the section as a way to increase member engagement with the section • Sections want online learning to be a benefit of section membership • Sections want to offer online learning as a way to attract new members • Sections want the approval process for online learning (particularly webinars) to be simple and for sections webinars to be determined by Section leadership

5. Question 1: What are the stakeholder needs for online learning? RUSA Division • RUSA wants a robust online learning program as a benefit to members and to attract new members. • RUSA needs income generated by online learning in order to support growth in online learning as well as other initiatives. • Online learning also can serve non-members, who pay more to attend online learning sessions. • Online learning is a service to the profession and raises the visibility of RUSA within the librarian community. • RUSA wants to meet the needs of membership for online learning while operating within the capacity of our staff and membership. • RUSA wants to offer high-quality programming so that we have return attendees and positive recognition for our programming.

6. Question 2: What are the current realities and evolving dynamics? Online learning environment • Members (and non-members) seek online learning opportunities that are affordable and high quality. • Other divisions pay $150 for webinar speakers. Library Juice Press Academy pays its speakers. It seems that to stay competitive in attracting speakers we need to continue to provide payment for webinars. • There is increasing competition for attendees in the online learning market: other ALA divisions, Library Juice Press Academy, LIS schools, etc. • There is increasing competition for instructors for online learning from the above sources. • Demand for online learning seems likely to grow with decreases in conference funding and changes in members’ jobs.

7. Question 2: What are the current realities and evolving dynamics? RUSA environment • Online learning can be attended year-round (unlike semi-annual conferences), but there are seasons when it is easier for RUSA staff and for RUSA volunteers to offer and support online learning. • Sections’ desire for online learning as a (free) value to members has led to a diversity of online learning opportunities outside of the formal RUSA online learning offerings – such as guest speakers in (online) committee meetings, online discussion forums hosted by section committees, etc. • Online learning comes with different overhead than programming at conference: technology support, instructor training in the technology, registration, etc. (more detail in Capacity section). • There are ALA requirements with which RUSA must comply such as the fee per participant for use of the MACS registration system and the overhead paid to ALA.

8. Question 3: What is RUSA’s capacity for online learning? • RUSA is a mid-size division with a little over 4000 members. • We have a historically strong volunteer base, but in the last 2-3 years job pressures have eroded the available time that members have to commit to RUSA volunteer activity. • The addition of Leighann Woods to the RUSA staff has placed us in a better position this year than last, but the addition of other new initiatives such as the Carnegie Medal and the Ask Campaign are additions that also require staff time. • Webinars require about 10 weeks of lead-time from idea to presentation. • The RUSA office supports the online learning program through: publicity, shepherding speaker contracts, being present as support during the courses and webinars, and training new online instructors in the software. • The RUSA office consists of 3.25 FTE of staff. • RUSA is seeking the help of two volunteers (paid a small travel stipend) to help support use of the online learning software, but we do not yet know if anyone will respond to our call for volunteers.

9. Question 4: What is RUSA’s strategic position related to online learning? • Even with the competition from other online learning providers, RUSA will have offered 7 webinars from March-September 2013. This compares to 1 webinar offered during the previous year. • For the three webinars offered so far in 2013, we have had from 31-35 participants in each. • RUSA continues to grow its offerings in number, subject, and type. One recent addition is the CODES Conversations which take place asynchronously online (using Connect?) and are free, member-driven, and the only staff support is for publicity. RUSA has broad and deep member expertise to cover a wide range of topics in user services and reference. • RUSA has brand recognition among its membership and some with non-members as evidenced by non-member participation in our webinars and classes. • Other RUSA initiatives, such as the Carnegie Medal, the AIC Statement on Access, and the BRASS work in the area of Financial Literacy provide the basis for increased recognition of RUSA in these areas and the opportunity to co-promote this work with online learning offerings.