Read about the benefits of membership
How to Join and Renew your membership
Our membership administration is managed for us by the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) through on an online portal, mySociety. This handles membership applications, renewals and online payments, and through it you can update your own contact details. We hope soon to be able to opt in to Gift Aid and to offer more benefits to members through mySociety, such as online newsletters. The mySociety portal includes an online Membership Directory which allows members to look up other members. We would encourage all our members to opt in to this so that you can be contacted, but it is up to you how much information is displayed.
Membership of the Society is open to individuals only. You become a member by submitting an application and paying your membership fee. To join using our online system, use the link below to register with our mySociety portal. After providing some basic contact details you will be given a login and can then follow the tab "Join Us" to submit your membership application. Use the same link if you are already a member and want to renew your membership or Lichenologist subscription.
By applying for membership of the Society you show your support for our objectives and you accept the rules that govern the Society as laid out in our Constitution.
Organisations and institutions such as libraries can subscribe to our journals, The Lichenologist and The Bulletin, follow the links for more information.
Membership categories
There are two membership categories, with discounts for students and seniors:
Regular Membership (£30) - with full membership rights, voting rights, access to all facilities of the Society, receiving our Bulletin twice a year, and entitle to subscribe to The Lichenologist at a special member's rate.
Students (£15) - available to regular members under 18 years or in full-time education (Regular Member Discounted Student)
Seniors (£15) - available to regular members aged 65 or over (Regular Member Discounted Senior)
Family Membership (£5) - open to those living in the same household as a Regular Member, with access to all the facilities of the Society but not receiving publications and having no voting rights.
Membership has to be renewed annually, unless Regular Members aged 65 and over have taken out Life Membership.
Member's subscription to The Lichenologist
All Regular Members (full or discounted rate) are entitled to subscribe to our scientific journal The Lichenologist at a special member's rate. Members can choose between 'online access only' (£10) or 'online access plus print copy' (£15). Online access includes being able to browse the entire archive of the journal.
We hope soon to be able to claim Gift Aid on your membership subscription but we can't claim Gift Aid on subscriptions to The Lichenologist, so these have to be handled as separate transactions to membership. Although this means making two payments this can be done quickly and easily through the mySociety portal.
The member's subscription can be taken out or changed when paying your annual or life membership fee, when you join the Society or when you renew your membership.
Membership fees and subscriptions
Membership is per calendar year, with renewal due by 1st January each year. New members will receive all the publications they are entitled to for the entire year, including any issues already published when you join. If you wish to join the society late in the calendar year (in December) we will usually process your application for the following calendar year unless you tell us otherwise.
The combined membership and Lichenologist subscriptions are shown below. Fees are usually paid in Pound Sterling, but a US Dollar rate is shown for those who prefer to send a dollar check to our US Treasurer.
Combined rates for membership fee and journal subscription for 2016-2020
| Membership Type | Rate (£ Sterling) | Rate (US $) |
|---|---|---|
Regular (no Lichenologist) Regular (online Lichenologist) Regular (online and print Lichenologist) | £30 £40 £45 | $50 $70 $80 |
Senior or Student (no Lichenologist) Senior or Student (online Lichenologist) Senior or Student (online and print Lichenologist) | £15 £25 £30 | $25 $42 $50 |
| Family | £5 | $10 |
Life (no Lichenologist) Life (online Lichenologist) Life (online and print Lichenologist) | £300 £400 £450 | $500 $700 $800 |
Payment methods
Credit and debit card payments can be made online through WorldPay or by providing your card details over the phone. Direct debits can be set up by contacting the membership team, and are processed through GoCardless. In either case your card or bank details are held only by the payment gateway, and not by BLS or RSB.
Payments may also be made by cheque and other methods (contact the membership team for details), but we are no longer issuing standing order mandates. If you have an existing standing order this should be cancelled or the amount changed to the current membership and Lichenologist fee.
Renewals
We will send you an automatic reminder about four weeks before your next renewal is due. If we have an email address for you this will be sent by email, and will include a link to the mySociety portal where you can see the details of what you have to pay and can make the payment online if you wish. If you forget to renew we will send you another reminder when your subscription is a few weeks overdue, and then a notice if you membership lapses.
Renewal notices and the information displayed in your mySociety account will always relate to your current membership and subscription categories. If you wish to make changes for the following year, such as claiming Senior or Student discount for the first time, please contact the membership team before making a renewal payments so we can update your details.
Notes on the application process
- When submitting your application we will ask you for some more details which help us to understand our membership better, but only a few of these are mandatory. Please note that "current job title" is a free text field and if you are not employed in a profession related to lichens you might wish to use this to indicate your level of knowledge or a particular interest in lichens.
- Each section of the application must be marked as complete, even if no information has been entered, before the application can be submitted.
- Before your application can be fully processed you will have to pay your membership fees, and this can easily be done online by credit or debit card within your mySociety account. You will be sent automatic email alerts throughout the application process to keep you informed.
- Once your application has been fully processed you will receive a welcome letter, and you can then use the mySociety portal to subscribe to our scientific journal The Lichenologist if you wish to do so. Go to "Me and the BLS" to find "My Subscriptions" where you can subscribe and pay your Lichenologist subscription online. Our journals will only be shown on this page once your application has been fully processed.
- If you do not wish to pay online, the email you receive after your application has been submitted will provide more information, and an alternative method of payment for your membership fee and The Lichenologist subscription can be sorted out with our membership team.
If for any reason you do not wish to use the online portal, please get in touch with our membership team by phone or by post and they will be pleased to help you.
Contact details for membership matters
For anything related to joining the society or renewing your membership please contact our membership team:
British Lichen Society
1 Naoroji Street
London
WC1X 0GB