Professional Organizations and Your Support

[Abbey-jo Rehling - Farmington Branch <rehlinga@METRONET.LIB.MI.US>]

Dear LM_NETters,

Thanks for the wonderful Listserv! I have never been disappointed
since signing on this fall. I am the Department Head of Children's
Services in a public library in a suburb of the city of Detroit. My
"speciality" is the 5 and under crowd in programming and the 8th grade
and under crowd for homework help! I also serve a large group of
Childre+n's Literature students from the various colleges in our area. We
are busy!

I am on the Net today, Sunday, to reinforce Mike Eisenberg's words of
encouragement to support, and even become as active as you can, in your
local, State, and respective National professional organizations. I
firmly believe that if we as professionals in our various library settings
expect to be treated, respected, and rewarded financially as
professionals, then we must support the organizations that promote our
professions. I willingly pay my dues to the American Library Association,
to the Michigan Library Association, to Educators for Social
Responsibility, to the NAEYC, and to the Michigan and Metro-Detroit
Councils of the NAEYC because these organizations represent my
professional interests and growth. They also represent the children,
parents, and teachers I deal with on a daily basis.

DUES! DUES! DUES! Yes, but REWARDS! REWARDS! REWARDS! as opportunities
present themselves to you through your hard work in these organizations.
Please, support your local professional organizations to the best of your
ability. They can only do and be what you allow them, and yet, your
professional growth and development rests in how much you support them.
DUES taken in this light don't seem so hard to pay.

LM_NET, keep up the great work. I can't tell you the number of times you
all have secretly come to my rescue!

Thanks,

Abbey-jo Rehling
Department Head of Children's Services
Farmington Branch Library
Farmington, MI
810/474-7771