Or is it still just a Dinosaur (unable to compete with forums, blogs, and other methods of social interaction)

I have been an American Numismatic Association (ANA) member for many years. My original membership number was 92124 but I quit for a few years and now have a number in the 300000's.

The ANA is the kind of organization you join because you have a vested interest in the success of the hobby and because you thinks its desireable to have a powerful organization giving voice to the collector, lobbying congress, liaisoning with dealers, hosting conventions, providing education, and maintaing the Library and Museum.

I am very pleased with the recent success of the President and Board in righting the ANA ship and returning the ANA to financial solvency. But, I see a trend as the membership continues to drop and the average member age continues to increase.

In this day and age where most of us take to the internet for our fellowship and information, is the ANA truly needed anymore? Is there anything the ANA can do at this point to become relevent again? Or,is the ANA on the slow but ineviteable rode to dissolution.

I don't pretend to know the answers to the questions I've posed but I suspect there is a real possibility the ANA will become irrelevent in the decades ahead as the pool of young collectors continues to use the internet for their collecting fellowship and the current membership continues to age.

I confess my only real reason for membership anymore is the opportunity to read the very fine "The Numismatist" publication and do direct submissions to NGC. Without those two benefits, I would no longer maintain my membership. I guess the ANA has already become largely irrelevent to me. Kind of sad in a way.

Beaw