The Pennsylvania Library Association (PaLA) is the

professional association A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that profession, and th ...

for

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...

s in the U.S. state of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It represents about 2,000 members affiliated with

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 sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

special Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Speci ...

, and school libraries throughout the state, and was founded in 1901. Located in

Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Mechanicsburg is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. The borough is eight miles (13 km) west of Harrisburg. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 8,98 ...

, PaLA represents the interests of the profession to the Legislature and others in state government. It has programs providing opportunities for professional growth, leadership development, and continuing education for librarians. It makes annual awards to honor noteworthy librarians and library supporters. Small grants and scholarships are available for worthy recipients. The association is governed by a 16-member board, and has a four-member staff. The membership consists of qualified persons in the personal, institutional, and commercial categories. PaLA is organized into eight regional chapters, the better to promote librarianship and library service on a focused geographical basis. Each member is assigned membership in a chapter based on the county in which his or her library is located, if the member is retired, or the county in which they live. Committees and special interest groups include (but not limited to) College & Research Division; Buildings & Equipment; Digital Resources; Technical Services; Archives; Awards; Intellectual Freedom; Legislative Information; Membership; Nominations & Elections; Organization & Bylaws; Public Relations; and Scholarship.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Organizations established in 1901 Library associations in the United States Organizations based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania