The Pacific Northwest Library Association (PNLA) is a professional organization for the Pacific Northwest's

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 workers headquartered in

Bothell, Washington Bothell () is a city in King and Snohomish counties in the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, situated near the northeast end of Lake Washington in the Eastside region. It had a population of 48,161 reside ...

. It has over 200 members from Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

History

PNLA was formed in 1909 as the

Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition The Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition, acronym AYP or AYPE, was a world's fair held in Seattle in 1909 publicizing the development of the Pacific Northwest. It was originally planned for 1907 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Klondike Gold ...

was occurring. It was sponsored by the

Washington Library Association The Washington Library Association (WLA) is a professional organization for librarians and library workers in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is headquartered in Seattle and has 1,504 individual members and 49 institution me ...

and was formed by thirty-five librarians from Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia who met at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

to create an organization to overcome the "geographic isolation" which separated libraries in the Pacific Northwest from other libraries in the eastern and central parts of the United States. Some of the early initiatives of PNLA included advocating for library legislation in Alaska and the Yukon, as well as formation of the Subscription Book Committee which published ''Subscription Books Bulletin''.

Publications and awards

''Subscription Books Bulletin'' notified libraries of low-quality books available via subscription. The newsletter was eventually taken over by 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 ...

and merged into ALA Booklist. PNLA has been publishing ''PNLA Quarterly'' since 1936. In 1972 PNLA published ''Index of Pacific Northwest Portraits'', an index to the illustrations of 12,000 men and women with historical importance in the states of Alaska, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, which appear in over 350 publications. PNLA has been giving out the Young Reader's Choice Award since 1940. It is the oldest children's choice award in the US and Canada, and the only regional award chosen by children of both countries.

State and Provincial Library Associations within the Pacific Northwest

Alaska Library Association The Alaska Library Association (AkLA) is a professional organization for Alaska's librarians and library workers. It is headquartered in Fairbanks, Alaska. It was founded July 5, 1972, and became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1997. AkL ...

* British Columbia Library Association * Idaho Library Association * Library Association of Alberta *

Montana Library Association The Montana Library Association is the state library association of Montana. It is run by librarians from across the state. Their mission is, "to develop, promote, and improve library and information services and the profession of librarianship ...

* Oregon Library Association *

References

External links

Pacific Northwest Library Association website
Library associations in the United States {{Library-org-stub