Why Membership Matters: Giving Back to the Profession and Each Other

What does it mean to be a member of the Texas Library Association, particularly in today’s library landscape? For TLA President Valerie Prilop, it’s about community, connection, and the chance to give back to the profession.

In the April episode of TLA’s Libraries Transform Texas podcast, Valerie joined TLA Executive Director Shirley Robinson and shared that what makes TLA special is that it represents librarians from across the state and from all different library types.

“I’m a special librarian in an even more special library,” she says. “But I am able to, through TLA, give back to the profession and help other libraries and librarians who are experiencing a lot more challenging environments… and that’s really important to me.” She goes on to discuss how hope is important, and members can uplift each other by sharing their stories.

“We can bring member stories to each other, and even in the darkest times, we can look to other people’s stories and other experiences and see that we can succeed and that we can find our way through,” she adds.

Listen to the full podcast, A New Chapter: Strengthening Community and Leadership to learn more what’s TLA and why membership matters. Be sure to follow the Libraries Transform Texas podcast on your favorite platform.