I am the Budget Analysis and Review Committee (BARC) liaison to RMRT. At Midwinter when I visited the Board meeting I was asked a question about ALA Direct. The question and answer are found below.
QUESTION:
Was there any financial implications that drove the change to the web access/page/viewing of ALA Direct?
ANSWER:
The simple answer is "yes." The web page in its previous format was down in revenues for advertising and the click-throughs were also significantly down. As a result of the change advertising is currently the strongest ever. And the click-throughs are up. Another part of the answer that is important is that the changes were necessary to position ALA Direct to be accessible in the mobile environment.