From the committee
We ran a South Australian member survey in October and November last year where we asked:
– What do you want from your membership?
– What topics do you want to learn about or skills you want to develop?
– Would you be interested in more online SA member sessions just to get together as a community?
We had responses from 12 editors. Most respondents wanted professional development and networking opportunities from their membership, with some saying more explicitly that this was a path to well-paid and fulfilling work. Also mentioned was access to practical tools and resources.
Specific topics that people were interested in included accessibility, technical or Word skills, and learning more about copyediting and the business of editing. There was a common thread to responses about wanting to be kept up to date with contemporary trends in editing.
While some respondents appreciated online get-togethers, the feeling seemed to be that in-person socialising was preferred. We also asked for any extra comments, and many of these echoed the desire for in-person meet-ups.
We’ll see how the more recent member survey resonates with these responses, but the emphasis from South Australia on in-person meet-ups and using IPEd for keeping current with the profession and maintaining ties with colleagues is clear.