The Canadian Library Association (CLA) was a national, predominantly English-language association which represented 57,000

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

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 In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

, 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 were 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: * champion library values and the value of libraries * influence public policy impacting libraries * inspire and support member learning * collaborate to strengthen the library community" 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 honorary 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 CLA was replaced by the

Canadian Federation of Library Associations The Canadian Federation of Library Associations / Fédération canadienne des associations de bibliothèques (CFLA-FCAB) is a non-profit federation of Canada’s library associations. It was incorporated on 16 May 2016 and replaced the Canadian L ...

, which was incorporated on May 16, 2016.

History

The Canadian Library Association (CLA) was founded in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

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: * Personal – 957 * Institutions – 249 * Corporate – 50 * Associate – 27 In June 2016, the CLA was dissolved and its functions taken by several associations, including the Ontario Library Association and the

Committees

The CLA was supported by two types of committees: advisory committees and standing committees. As the need arose, new committees were formed by the Executive Council. Existing CLA members were primarily considered in the member selection process.

Advisory committees

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: * Copyright Advisory Committee * Information Policy Advisory Committee * Intellectual Freedom Advisory Committee * School Libraries Advisory Committee * Royal Society of Canada: Brief Development Team for CLA Submission

Standing committees

The Executive Council created long-term standing committees to actively govern the CLA. These committees contributed to the continuing operation of the CLA, and included: * Conference Standing Committee * Elections Standing Committee * Finance Standing Committee * Member Communications Standing Committee * Monograph Publications Standing Committee * Nominations Standing Committee * Participation Standing Committee * Resolutions Standing Committee

Student chapters

Recognizing that there was a need for close association between the Canadian Library Association and students in library school, the Canadian Library Association always encouraged students to join CLA, network and become involved active members of the library community. In March 1999, CLA's first Student Chapter was officially launched at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

. Since that time, Student Chapters were launched at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

and

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

and in 2006 at the Nova Scotia Community College Institute of Technology Campus."Canadian Library Association Student Chapters"
. Student chapters of the Canadian Library Association allowed for professional development and networking opportunities for students enrolled in library and information science programs.

Book awards

CLA presented three annual awards recognizing books for young people that were published in Canada during the preceding year (and nominated by the end of November). The writer, or the illustrator for the Howard-Gibbon Award, must be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada. The

Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award The Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award was presented annually by the Canadian Library Association/Association canadienne des bibliothèques (CLA) to an outstanding illustrator of a new Canadian children's book.

was presented every year since it was inaugurated in 1971, when the winner was Elizabeth Cleaver for ''The Wind Has Wings: Poems from Canada'', which she wrote and illustrated.Book Awards, "Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award". With linked list of winners. The Book of the Year for Children Award has been presented every year from 1963 when the winner was Sheila Burnford for '' The Incredible Journey'' (also adapted as a Disney film that year). The Book of the Year was inaugurated in 1947, recognizing the 1943 novel ''Starbuck Valley Winter'' by Roderick Haig-Brown, and it was awarded ten times prior to 1963.Book Awards, "Book of the Year for Children". With linked list of winners. The Young Adult Book Award has been presented every year since it was inaugurated in 1981, when the winner was Kevin Major for ''Far from Shore'' (1980).Book Awards, "CLA Young Adult Book Award". With linked list of winners.

References

;Citations
Book Awards
(subsite). ''CLA at Work''. Canadian Library Association (cla.ca). Retrieved 2015-07-24.

External links

* {{Authority control 1946 establishments in Ontario 2016 disestablishments in Ontario Canadian library associations Professional associations based in Canada Organizations disestablished in 2016 Organizations established in 1946 Former education in Ontario