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If my employer didn't provide access to the ACM online library, I would pay for the dues myself.

It would be nicer if access were free, but even at 'prox $200 / year it's a great deal.

I daresay that keeping up with the ACM papers has extended my career by at least a decade.

Your last statement is very interesting. Frequently, one hears about the divide between academia and the real world, and how much research---even in CS---is unlikely to ever have practical benefits. Could you give an example or two of the ACM subscription being the key element for a step forward in your career?

Another very important point to keep in mind: ACM helps students cover travel expenses to conferences if they cannot be covered by the students themselves.

This is a tremenduous help for students that are not employed by their universities or are not covered by a professor's grant. In addition to the access to ACM's digital library, I think that a membership is money well spent (and it should be tax deductible in most countries anyways...)

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