Professional Associations and Library Education

The American Library Association (ALA), the oldest and largest professional library association in the world, has played a central role in the development of all aspects of the profession. This paper emphasizes the development of education and training for the specializations of rare books and manuscripts but will comment upon the influence of ALA on the general education for the field. The ALA model has influenced the development of a standardized curriculum, has recognized specializations that emerge in the field, and has required an educated, research-oriented faculty to provide instruction while also recognizing that expert professionals in the field have . . .