The Washington Library Association (WLA) is a professional organization for

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 in the U.S. state of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. It is headquartered in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

and has 1,504 individual members and 49 institution members . WLA was founded by the Washington State Library at a meeting in

Tacoma Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mount ...

on March 27, 1905. Meetings were held annually until 1909 when the first WLA was merged with the newly formed Pacific Northwest Library Association. It was briefly organized as the Puget Sound Library Association and then re-established in its current form with its first meeting on June 30, 1932. The WLA has published an academic journal called ''Alki'' since 1983. WLA has four divisions: Academic, Public, School, and Special. WLA also has eleven interest-based sections, Collection Development & Technical Services (CATS), Children's and Young Adult Services (CAYAS), College Libraries Across Washington State (CLAWS), Intellectual Freedom Section (IFS), Leadership is For Everyone (LIFE), Library & Information Student Section (LISS), Serving Adults in Libraries (SAIL), Social Responsibilities (SRRT), WA Library Employees (WALE), WA Library Trainers (WALT), and WA Library Friends, Foundations, Trustees, and Advocates (WLFFTA).

References

External links

Washington Library Association website

Pacific Northwest Library Association
Library associations in the United States Organizations based in Washington (state) {{Library-org-stub