Special Libraries Association

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Special Libraries Association (SLA) is a professional association for librarian and information professionals working in organizations, companies, governments, and academic institutions. Examples of special libraries include law libraries, news libraries, corporate libraries, museum libraries, and medical libraries. SLA was founded in 1909 in the United States. It is now an international organization with over 11,000 members in over 80 countries.

Members of the SLA typically possess a master's degree in library science, but not necessarily for the purpose of library management. Given the rapid adoption of technologies for selecting, analyzing, managing, storing, and delivering information and knowledge, the average SLA member might be performing a range of services and employing a diverse mix of skills related to, but not exclusive of, library science. Unlike academic librarians or municipal librarians most persons working in a special library (or documentation center) work alone, without colleagues. Their budget is often smaller, their target audience more restricted and their collection much more limited in scope.

The association is organized into subject-related divisions, geographic chapters, and special interest caucuses.

Association activities include conferences, professional education, networking and advocacy.