The Pennsylvania Library Association (PaLA) is the
professional association
A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) is a group that usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in ...
for
librarian
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 ...
s in the U.S. state of
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
.
[Soden, Martina. 2022. “Archives.” ''Pennsylvania Library Association Bulletin'' 77 (1): 18.] 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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
,
academic
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
,
special, and
school libraries throughout the state, and was founded in 1901.
Located in
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Mechanicsburg is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough is west of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area. As of the ...
, 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 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
Further reading
*Lear, Bernadette A. 2021. ''Made Free and Thrown Open to the Public : Community Libraries in Pennsylvania from the Colonial Era through World War II.'' Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.
External links
*
{{Authority control
Organizations established in 1901
Library associations in the United States
Organizations based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania