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WLA Mission

The Washington Library Association leads, advocates, educates, and connects.

Join the Bookend Collective!

The WLA Bookend Collective offers corporate and nonprofit partners a meaningful way to champion our Association’s mission—to lead, advocate, educate, and connect. By becoming a member of the Bookend Collective, we can ensure Washington communities remain strong and thriving for future generations.

Your annual contribution to the WLA Bookend Collective will help support today, sustain tomorrow. Initiatives include:

  • Accessible training and learning opportunities, often free or low-cost, equip every library worker with the knowledge and confidence to deliver exceptional service to their communities.
  • Tailored advocacy resources address the specific challenges faced by libraries, helping them build stronger, more effective partnerships with local leaders and decision-makers.
  • Building a library network that connects library staff across the state, fostering collaboration, shared learning, and growth. This network empowers the dedicated professionals to face challenges together and continue delivering vital services to their communities.

Please visit our homepage for more information and to sponsor!

2025 ALD/ACRL-WA & ACRL-OR Conference 

Present with us on Friday, October 17 at Lower Columbia College at the 2025 ALD/ACRL-WA and ACRL-OR Conference!

The theme of the conference, Leading from Our Values will dive into what it means to lead from intention, authenticity, and purpose. Our committee selected the theme to challenge us to consider how values—both organizational and personal—inform how we teach, research, collaborate, advocate, and lead, from every role in an academic library and every stage of a career. We will explore the ways we shape these values and how values shape our work in turn, even while facing pressure to compromise. By identifying and centering our values in these conversations, we'll be able to re-calibrate our compass and find our path forward.

This committee welcomes proposals on any topic relevant to academic libraries that incorporate this theme through case studies and other forms, particularly proposals that are rooted in practical, daily workplace experiences.

The conference is accepting both in person sessions and pre-recorded, asynchronous sessions. 

You may view more information and submit a proposal here. Proposals are due at noon on July 21.

Nominations Open for the 2026 WLA Elections!

  • Wednesday, June 18 — Nominations open (may nominate self or others)
  • Online Elections Open Houses — August
  • Friday, August 22 — Nominations due date
  • Wednesday, August 27 — Online voting opens
  • Friday, September 12 — Online voting closes
  • Monday, September 15 — Election winners notified
  • Wednesday, September 17 — Election winners announced

Elected Officers: Vice President/President-Elect, Board Director- Public Libraries Representative, and Board Director- School Libraries Representative will be expected to attend a WLA Board Retreat in October. 

If you have questions about any position, you may contact the WLA Office, or go the the current Board, Division, or Section roster to find contact information for the person that currently fills the position, or to whom the position reports. Please note that WLA Committee Chairs are appointed by the Board President and do not need to go through this election process.

Please visit https://www.wla.org/elections for more information and to find the nomination form!

Trauma-Informed Libraries Summit - Save the Date!

Friday, November 14, 2025 | Online

Library workers in all types of libraries and job roles can experience complex trauma and stress while carrying out their work, which can lead to dissatisfaction, compassion fatigue, and a host of other negative impacts on health and wellbeing. Some even decide to leave the field altogether. However, libraries can significantly prevent and mitigate these impacts through the cultivation of compassionate leadership and trauma-informed support for their staff.
 
Join us for a day of virtual sessions for the essential knowledge library leaders need to establish, encourage, and maintain trauma-informed library workplaces. What does the latest data tell us about what staff experience on the front lines of library work? How are leaders innovating with trauma-informed care in academic, public, school, and special libraries? How can staff be empowered to advocate for themselves and lead from every level, regardless of their job role within the library? We’ll explore these questions and more with mental health experts, leading researchers, compassionate leaders, and frontlines practitioners.

 

Keep an eye on our webpage for more information to come!