ALA

**American Library Association (ALA)**
__**Brief History and Purpose Statement**__ A conference was held in 1853 with the intent of creating a permanent organization but nothing materialized until many years later. On October 6, 1876, 103 librarians consisting of 90 men and 13 women, held a meeting in which a register was signed by interested members, thus creating ALA. Among those in attendance were Justin Winsor (Boston Public, Harvard), William Frederick Poole (Chicago Public, Newberry), Charles Ammi Cutter (Boston Athenaeum), Melvil Dewey, and Richard Rogers Bowker. The aim of the newly formed Association was "to enable librarians to do their present work more easily and at less expense." According to the ALA Constitution, “The object of the American Library Association shall be to promote library service and librarianship.” The stated mission is, “To provide leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.”

__**Basic Guidelines/Policies**__
The ALA Policy Manual is posted on their webpage at the following web address: [] The ALA Policy Manual is extremely thorough and very extensive.

__**Legislative Agenda**__
As anticipated, the resources availed to advocacy minded librarians is quite exhaustive. They even suggest literature for further reading: Creating Your Library Brand: Communicating Your Relevance and Value to Your Patrons, and Visible Librarian: Asserting Your Value with Marketing and Advocacy

There is also the **Communications Handbook for Libraries** (PDF file) It is designed to help you determine if a story is newsworthy or noteworthy- and to help you to try and get media visibility for you events and programs without breaking the bank. This really comes in handy for those of us who need help with the in’s and out’s of working with our district’s media relations committee, or whomever is involved in public marketing of school programs and events. There are advocacy events planned at their 2011 ALA Midwinter Meeting – In particular, “ Advocating in a Tough Economy: An Advocacy Institute Workshop Friday, January 7, 2011

They also make and effort to have the materials accessible from the past 2010 ALA Annual Conference, where Advocacy Events were held. There is a link to access the following guides:
Surviving in a Tough Economy: An Advocacy Institute Workshop and the Frontline Advocacy Train the Trainer Program

__**Membership Requirements and Contact Information**__
There are three ways to sign up for membership in ALA. You can either fill out their online form, download and mail a form, or call their 1-800 number. Membership dues range in price from $33 to $130. Teachers and/or Library Media Specialists would pay the regular member rate, which is $65 for the first year, $98 for the second year, $130 for every year after the second year.

There are several ways to contact the ALA. ALA can be contacted by email, text, or 1-800 number. They also have a staff list with contact information for each staff member.

__**Conference Schedule**__

 * 2011 Midwinter Meeting, San Diego, CA: January 7–11, 2011
 * 2011 Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA: June 23–28, 2011
 * 2012 Midwinter Meeting, Dallas, TX: January 20–24, 2012
 * 2012 Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA: June 21–26, 2012
 * 2013 Midwinter Meeting, Seattle, WA: January 25-29, 2013
 * 2013 Annual Conference, Chicago, IL: June 27- July 2, 2013

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Not surprisingly, the ALA site is fairly vast, and its services are availed to library workers and supporters from around the world. ALA members can be found in the ranks of trustees and friends, students, retired and working librarians, non-profits, support staff, international librarians, and corporate vendors and exhibitors. On the left side of the home page, there are all sorts of links to connect with ALA. Here are a few: 1) ALA Connect allows one to start an ALA community, at the grassroots level, or find one already in existence. 2) There is ALA JobList, where Library Jobs and career development resources are just a click away 3) The ALA Online Store 4) ALA Online learning, where online courses, e-forums, webinars, and webcasts can be found

There are over 45 ways one can fit in as an ALA member, through ALA’s Affiliates, chapters, and related organizations, committees, councils and divisions. There are 3 ways to join – online, via telephone, or via print-out of application form. One can become a member at the Life Membership level, the Honorary Membership level or at the continuing level.

Members can choose to have AL Direct delivered in the form of weekly e-news bulletins. That serves as a way for members to keep in touch with breaking ALA news. There is a sharing feature that allows you to link with seemingly every social networking forum imaginable (i.e., Twitter, Facebook, etc)