The Canadian Library Association (CLA) was a national, predominantly English-language association which represented 57,000

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

workers across Canada. It also spoke for the interests of the 21 million Canadians who are members of libraries. CLA members worked in all four types of libraries: academic (college and university),

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

, special (corporate, non-profit and government) and school libraries. Others sat on boards of public libraries, work for companies that provide goods and services to libraries, or were students in graduate level or community college programs. CLA's Mission Statement was: "CLA is the national voice for Canada's library communities. As members, we: * champion library values and the value of libraries * influence public policy impacting libraries * inspire and support member learning * collaborate to strengthen the library community" The statement highlights the Association's advocacy role on behalf of the Canadian library and information community. As of January, 2016, the organization claimed it had 924 paid members, although it is unclear whether this means personal members, or total membership (including corporate, associate, institutional, and honorary members). The executive council claims it had spent several years dealing with the difficulties of declining membership, efficiency, and financial power. On January 27, 2016, the CLA membership formally voted to disband the organization. The last CLA Forum was held in June 2016 in Ottawa, Ontario.

History

The Canadian Library Association (CLA) was founded in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

in 1946, and was incorporated under the Companies Act on November 26, 1947. Freda Farrell Waldon was its first president, serving in the year 1947. CLA is a non-profit voluntary organization, governed by an elected Executive Council, which is advised by over forty interest groups and committees. In May 2002, the membership was at a grand total of 2,721, including 2216 personal, 505 institutional, and 187 associate members. As of December 2014, the last time at which information was available, total membership in the CLA (through its various membership types) was 1,283: * Personal – 957 * Institutions – 249 * Corporate – 50 * Associate – 27 In June 2016, the CLA was dissolved and its functions taken by several associations, including the Ontario Library Association and the Canadian Federation of Library Associations.

Committees

The CLA was supported by two types of committees: advisory committees and standing committees. As the need arose, new committees were formed by the Executive Council. Existing CLA members were primarily considered in the member selection process.

Advisory committees

The Executive Council created advisory committees to address topics of strategic professional interest to the CLA. These committees were either long-term or short-term. Some of the advisory committees that supported the CLA were: * Copyright Advisory Committee * Information Policy Advisory Committee * Intellectual Freedom Advisory Committee * School Libraries Advisory Committee * Royal Society of Canada: Brief Development Team for CLA Submission

Standing committees

The Executive Council created long-term standing committees to actively govern the CLA. These committees contributed to the continuing operation of the CLA, and included: * Conference Standing Committee * Elections Standing Committee * Finance Standing Committee * Member Communications Standing Committee * Monograph Publications Standing Committee * Nominations Standing Committee * Participation Standing Committee * Resolutions Standing Committee

Student chapters

Recognizing that there was a need for close association between the Canadian Library Association and students in library school, the Canadian Library Association always encouraged students to join CLA, network and become involved active members of the library community. In March 1999, CLA's first Student Chapter was officially launched at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames R ...

. Since that time, Student Chapters were launched at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thr ...

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Univer ...

and

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus in Saint John, New Brunswick. Dalhousie offer ...

and in 2006 at the

Nova Scotia Community College Nova Scotia Community College, commonly referred to as NSCC, is a community college serving the province of Nova Scotia through a network of 14 campuses and three community learning centres. The college delivers over 130 programs in five acade ...

Institute of Technology Campus."Canadian Library Association Student Chapters"
. Student chapters of the Canadian Library Association allowed for professional development and networking opportunities for students enrolled in library and information science programs.

Book awards

CLA presented three annual awards recognizing books for young people that were published in Canada during the preceding year (and nominated by the end of November). The writer, or the illustrator for the Howard-Gibbon Award, must be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada. The Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award was presented every year since it was inaugurated in 1971, when the winner was

Elizabeth Cleaver Elizabeth Ann Mrazik Cleaver (February 7, 1939 – July 27, 1985) was a Canadian illustrator and writer of children's books. For her contribution as a children's illustrator she was a highly commended runner-up for the biennial, international Hans ...

for ''The Wind Has Wings: Poems from Canada'', which she wrote and illustrated.Book Awards, "Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award". With linked list of winners. The Book of the Year for Children Award has been presented every year from 1963 when the winner was

Sheila Burnford Sheila Philip Cochrane Burnford née Every (11 May 1918 – 20 April 1984) was a Scottish writer. She is best known for her novel The Incredible Journey about two dogs and a cat traveling through the Canadian wilderness. Life and work Born in ...

for '' The Incredible Journey'' (also adapted as a Disney film that year). The Book of the Year was inaugurated in 1947, recognizing the 1943 novel ''Starbuck Valley Winter'' by Roderick Haig-Brown, and it was awarded ten times prior to 1963.Book Awards, "Book of the Year for Children". With linked list of winners. The Young Adult Book Award has been presented every year since it was inaugurated in 1981, when the winner was Kevin Major for ''Far from Shore'' (1980).Book Awards, "CLA Young Adult Book Award". With linked list of winners.

References

;Citations
Book Awards
(subsite). ''CLA at Work''. Canadian Library Association (cla.ca). Retrieved 2015-07-24.

External links

* {{Authority control 1946 establishments in Ontario 2016 disestablishments in Ontario Canadian library associations Professional associations based in Canada Organizations disestablished in 2016 Organizations established in 1946