Washington Library Association

Welcome to WLA

The Washington Library Association (WLA) is a resource for libraries and the people who make them great! WLA is a vibrant and effective advocate for libraries, library professionals and library allies. It’s also a community where its members learn, grow professionally, develop strong relationships & have fun.

The Association offers opportunities for learning, both in structured professional development offerings and through informal networking opportunities. WLA members have built strong, collegial relationships with other library professionals, library supporters and trustees, and allied organizations around the state and frequently consult with each other as individuals and through shared interest groups.

The organization also provides support and encouragement for persons entering the profession through scholarship and mentoring programs and WLA has strong relationships with library science schools.

The culture of the organization is fun, friendly, welcoming, and focused on improving libraries and the professionalism of people who work in them.

The Association is also guided by the following core values:

Community: WLA brings us together because of our shared interest in libraries. We encourage, build and support mutual respect, common goals, and strong professional relationships.

Integrity: We consistently hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards of honesty and truth.

Professionalism: WLA actively strives to use best practices in conducting our business as an organization and treat each other with respect as colleagues.

Responsiveness: We listen to input from members, anticipate changing trends that affect our profession, and meet the varied needs of our stakeholders in a timely manner.

Inclusivity: WLA encourages and is open to diverse viewpoints, values and cultures and welcomes the unsettling as well as the familiar.

Education: We create learning opportunities for members of the library community to expand their professional knowledge, develop their professional skills, and share knowledge with each other in both formal and informal ways.

Intellectual Freedom: WLA supports the role libraries play in providing access to information, as well as the principle of free, open and unrestricted access to information and ideas. WLA recognizes also privacy and confidentiality as essential components of intellectual freedom.

Leadership: WLA accepts responsibility for helping to coalesce groups representing library interests in the state, provides opportunities for members to practice their skills as leaders, and serves as the voice of the industry and profession.

Welcome to WLA

The organization also provides support and encouragement for persons entering the profession through scholarship and mentoring programs and WLA has strong relationships with library science schools.

The culture of the organization is fun, friendly, welcoming, and focused on improving libraries and the professionalism of people who work in them.

The Association is also guided by the following core values:

Community: WLA brings us together because of our shared interest in libraries. We encourage, build and support mutual respect, common goals, and strong professional relationships.

Integrity: We consistently hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards of honesty and truth.

Professionalism: WLA actively strives to use best practices in conducting our business as an organization and treat each other with respect as colleagues.

Responsiveness: We listen to input from members, anticipate changing trends that affect our profession, and meet the varied needs of our stakeholders in a timely manner.

Inclusivity: WLA encourages and is open to diverse viewpoints, values and cultures and welcomes the unsettling as well as the familiar.

Education: We create learning opportunities for members of the library community to expand their professional knowledge, develop their professional skills, and share knowledge with each other in both formal and informal ways.

Intellectual Freedom: WLA supports the role libraries play in providing access to information, as well as the principle of free, open and unrestricted access to information and ideas. WLA recognizes also privacy and confidentiality as essential components of intellectual freedom.

Leadership: WLA accepts responsibility for helping to coalesce groups representing library interests in the state, provides opportunities for members to practice their skills as leaders, and serves as the voice of the industry and profession.

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