Members of the Polish American Librarians Association who will be attending the Midwinter Meeting of the American Library Association in Philadelphia are advised that PALA is expecting formal approval of its application to become an ALA Affiliate. ALA informed PALA December 17 that the ALA Executive Board has recommended that PALA’s proposal for affiliation be presented by ALA President-Elect Julius C. Jefferson Jr. during Council II , which is scheduled for January 27, 2020, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. PALA members are urged to contact PALA President Ewa Barczyk at ewa@uwalumni.com and indicate if you can be present for this historic moment.
PALA is planning to celebrate the affiliation, along with and the 10th anniversary of its founding, during the 2020 ALA Annual Conference in June in Chicago. PALA also needs a count of members who plan to attend ALA Annual as well so that PALA can be well represented.
Affiliate organizations of the American Library Association are independent groups having purpose or interests similar to those of the Association, according to Article X, Section 1, of the ALA Constitution. Benefits of affiliation include meeting room space at ALA conferences, co-sponsoring privileges, free registration for one representative, meetings with the ALA executive director, and participation in the affiliates booth at the ALA Annual Conference Exhibition.
“Perhaps the greatest affiliate benefit of all,” says PALA Immediate Past President Leonard Kniffel, “is just to be able to state in correspondence, programs, events, and publications that we are part of a much larger and more powerful national professional organization that supports our work and our mission.”
“Affiliation with ALA has been a goal almost from the formation of PALA in 2010,” says Barczyk. “Now it is up to us to make this connection work for us, and I hope we can partner with other affiliates to make that happen.”
Other organizations currently affiliated with ALA are listed below.
- American Association of Law Libraries
- American Indian Library Association
- Association for Information Science and Technology
- American Theological Library Association
- Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA)
- Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association
- Association for Library and Information Science Education
- Association for Rural and Small Libraries
- Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services
- Association of Jewish Libraries
- Association of Research Libraries
- Beta Phi Mu
- Black Caucus of ALA
- Catholic Library Association
- Chinese American Librarians Association
- The Joint Council of Librarians of Color
- Latino Literacy Now
- Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa
- Medical Library Association
- Music Library Association
- National Storytelling Network
- Online Audiovisual Catalogers
- Patent and Trademark Resource Center Association
- ProLiteracy Worldwide
- Reforma: National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking
- Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials
- Theatre Library Association