The Music Library Association of the United States is the main professional organization for music libraries and librarians. It also serves corporations, institutions, students, composers, scholars and others whose work and interests lie in the music librarianship field. National meetings occur annually.
Purpose
"The purposes of the Association shall be to promote the establishment, growth, and use of music libraries; to encourage the collection of music and musical literature in libraries; to further studies in musical bibliography; to increase efficiency in music library service and administration; and to promote the profession of music librarianship. The Association is a non-stock, non-profit corporation organized and operated exclusively for said purposes. No part of the net earnings of the Association shall inure to the benefit of any individual. No officer, member, or delegate of a member shall, as such, receive compensation except that reasonable compensation may be paid for services of employees of the Association."
Administration: officers of the MLA, including the board of directors, special officers, editors, and business office.
Committees: groups formed to address specific issues in the categories of development, education, finance, membership, program and publications. Special committees are appointed by the president for administration, awards, bibliographic control, legislation, preservation, public libraries, reference and public service, and resource sharing and collection development. There are also joint committees involved with other institutions, such music organizations and academic institutions.
Roundtables and Interest Groups: composed of MLA members, assembling during annual meetings. Roundtables allow members to discuss specific issues not covered by committees.
Regional Chapters: As stated on the MLA website, these chapters have two functions: "To promote cooperation among music librarians and among libraries within a given region" and "To provide a forum for discussion of library matters, some of which may be more specific or more regional in nature than those on programs at national meetings." Like the MLA, regional chapters have listservs that they use to distribute information to members.
* Basic Manual Series- "designed to assist the librarian in dealing with various aspects of the organization, administration and use of a music library."
* Index and Bibliography Series- presenting resources for music and music literature, from discographies of popular music to bibliographies of subjects in ethnomusicology.
*Technical Reports- viewing the hands-on aspects of the field, such as cataloging issues, audio equipment, and current research topics.
Services
The MLA website offers a wide range of services and resources to members and non-members alike: employment and education information, awards and grants, copyright guidelines, and resources concerning the field. These include the MLA-L, resources generated by the MLA committees and groups, external resources via print and web, and the MLA Shop, which is the organization's official store.
