VLA Treasurer's Corner: Cori Biddle

At January’s meeting the Council approved 2018’s budget.


The budget remains fairly consistent with last year’s. Below are some highlights:

  • Increase expenses in Administration line are due in part to increases to subscription to GoToWebinar, SurveyMonkey, and the addition of Basecamp to help with Project Management. Memberclicks costs also increase due to growing membership in the organization.
  • Executive Committee also voted to increase the salary for the Executive Director to bring her salary closer to the national average for her position and to recognize the hard work she does for the association.
  • There was also an increase in compensation for our Legislative Liaison to a level more appropriate for the work he does on our behalf.
  • The budget includes two scholarships for the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color, one donated by the Tidewater Area Library Directors and the other approved by the Executive Committee, covered by 2017 earnings on the professional development endowment.
  • We expect revenue from JobLine to remain consistent, though it may also decrease this year with institutional and organizational members taking advantage of their free job posting.
  • We also hope to implement a new advertising revenue stream through ad space on our website, so a line for that was included.
  • Though there is no funding yet, the budget does include a line for the Association to explore the option of a Disaster Relief Fund to assist libraries in need of recovery after a natural disaster or other qualifying event.

At April’s meeting, the Council also added the following lines to the budget.

  • Continuing our support from last year, VLA donated $1,000 to the Library of Virginia for their participation in this year’s State Fair.
  • The Council also voted to form an ad hoc Logo Committee to explore options for creating a new logo for VLA, the Virginia Libraries journal, and potential adaptation the association’s other committees and forums. Funding of $1,000 was allocated to the committee as they explore vendor options.

If you have any questions about the budget, please contact Cori Biddle, VLA Treasurer.