About

A Brief Introduction of CALA

CALA is an affiliate of American Library Association, IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations Institutions) and JCLC (Joint Council of Librarians of Color)

Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA) started March 31, 1973 by Dr. Tze-Chung Li and Dorothy Li, as Mid-West Chinese American Librarians Association, a regional organization in Illinois. A year later, Chinese Librarians Association was formed in California in 1974. In 1976, Mid-West Chinese American Librarians Association was expanded to a national organization as Chinese American Librarians Association. By 1979, CALA had five chapters in Northeast, Mid-West, Atlantic, Southwest and California respectively. Chinese American Librarians Association and Chinese Librarians Association were merged in 1983. The merged organization retains CALA's English name and Chinese Librarians Association's Chinese name 華人圖書館員協會. CALA is a registered nonprofit organization with 501(c)3 tax exempt status. Currently, CALA has eight chapters as follows: Greater Mid-Atlantic (GMA), Midwest Chapter (MW), Northeast Chapter (NE), Northern California Chapter (NCA), Southern California Chapter (SCA), Southeast Chapter (SE), Southwest Chapter (SW) and Canada Chapter.