The Massachusetts Library Association (MLA) is the

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

professional

library association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP, pronounced ) is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2002 as a merger of th ...

that "advocates for

libraries A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

librarians A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

, and library staff, defends

intellectual freedom Intellectual freedom encompasses the freedom to hold, receive and disseminate ideas without restriction. Viewed as an integral component of a democratic society, intellectual freedom protects an individual's right to access, explore, consider, and ...

, and provides a forum for leadership, communication, professional development, and networking to keep libraries vital." MLA publishes standards for library services to Massachusetts children and young adults. MLA sponsors an annual conference, as well as continuing education programs and organizational reports of interest. The current President of MLA is Esme Green, Director of the Goodnow Library in Sudbury.

History

MLA was founded in 1890 as the "Massachusetts Library Club". The gavel that has been passed down from president to president is said to be made from the wood of the USS ''Constitution''. The MLA had a committee called The Art Club that created sets of photographs for travelling art exhibits that would rotate through Massachusetts member and associate libraries as early as 1900. In 1962 MLA's Intellectual Freedom Committee gave testimony before the Massachusetts Obscene Literature Control Commission opposing the suppression of Henry Miller's book ''Tropic of Cancer'' supporting Massachusetts residents' freedom to read.

Publications

MLA has acted as both a publisher of authors such as

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American Colloquialism, colloquial speech, Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New E ...

as well as an author on many state standards for library services to different populations. * ''Books We Like: Sixty-two Answers to the Question...'' * ''Standards for Public Library Services to Children in Massachusetts'' * ''Standards for Public Library Services to Young Adults in Massachusetts'' *
Bay State Libraries
', the MLA

newsletter A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of ...

published quarterly (January, April, July, and October), focuses on items of interest to the association and to Massachusetts librarians in general. * The MLA has developed a Library Use Value Calculator

spreadsheet A spreadsheet is a computer application for computation, organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets were developed as computerized analogs of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data entered in c ...

, which is used by many libraries throughout the United States.

Committees

Conference Committee

Intellectual Freedom and Social Responsibilities Committee

Jordan Miller Committee
(annual storytelling program)
Leadership and Management Section

Legislative Committee

Library Information Technologies Section

Membership Committee

Personnel & Education Committee

Public Relations Committee

Sections

Affiliated organizations

* Massachusetts Friends of Libraries (MFOL)Robert Hayes
"Massachusetts Friends of Libraries"
(December 18, 2017).

The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC)

Massachusetts School Library Association (MSLA)

American Library Association (ALA)
(''See also'': Wikipedia article on the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

)
New England Library Association (NELA)

Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)

References

External links

Massachusetts Library Association (MLA)

New England Library Association website
{{Authority control Library consortia in Massachusetts Organizations based in Massachusetts 1890 establishments in Massachusetts