Canadian Library Association
| Abbreviation | CLA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1946 |
| Extinction | 2016 |
| Type | Library Association |
| Purpose | advocate and public voice, educator and network |
| Headquarters | Ottawa, Ontario |
|
Region served
|
Canada |
|
Membership
|
60 organizations |
|
Official language
|
English French |
| Website | www |
The Canadian Library Association (CLA) was a national, predominantly English-language association which represented 57,000 library workers across Canada. It also spoke for the interests of the 21 million Canadians who are members of libraries. CLA members worked in all four types of libraries: academic (college and university), public, special (corporate, non-profit and government) and school libraries. Others sat on boards of public libraries, work for companies that provide goods and services to libraries, or awere students in graduate level or community college programs.
CLA's Mission Statement was: "CLA is the national voice for Canada’s library communities. As members, we:
The statement highlights the Association's advocacy role on behalf of the Canadian library and information community.
As of January, 2016, the organization claimed it had 924 paid members, although it is unclear whether this means personal members, or total membership (including corporate, associate, institutional, and honourary members). The executive council claims it had spent several years dealing with the difficulties of declining membership, efficiency, and financial power.
On January 27, 2016, the CLA membership formally voted to disband the organization.
The last CLA Forum was held in June 2016 in Ottawa, Ontario.
The Canadian Library Association (CLA) was founded in Hamilton, Ontario in 1946, and was incorporated under the Companies Act on November 26, 1947. Freda Farrell Waldon was its first president, serving in the year 1947. CLA is a non-profit voluntary organization, governed by an elected Executive Council, which is advised by over forty interest groups and committees.
In May 2002, the membership was at a grand total of 2,721, including 2216 personal, 505 institutional, and 187 associate members.
As of December 2014, the last time at which information was available, total membership in the CLA (through its various membership types) was 1,283:
On June 2016, the CLA was dissolved and its functions taken by several associations, including the Ontario Library Association and the Canadian Federation of Library Associations.
The CLA was supported by two types of committees: advisory committees and standing committees. As the need arised, new committees were formed by the Executive Council. Existing CLA members were primarily considered in the member selection process.
The Executive Council created advisory committees to address topics of strategic professional interest to the CLA. These committees were either long-term or short-term. Some of the advisory committees that supported the CLA were:
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