American Library Association

ALA

The oldest and largest library association in the world, advocating for libraries and advancing professional standards.

Professional Association Active

The American Library Association (ALA) is the oldest and largest library association in the world, promoting libraries and library education internationally. Founded in 1876 and headquartered in Chicago, ALA advocates for equitable access to information and supports professional development for librarians. Through its divisions, including the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (now Core), ALA has played a central role in shaping cataloging and metadata standards used across libraries worldwide.

Standards (2)

Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, Second Edition

(AACR2)

The cataloguing rulebook that defined how English-speaking libraries described their collections.

Element Set / Metadata Schema historical American Library Association / Canadian Library Association / CILIP Est. 1978

Resource Description and Access

(RDA)

Cataloguing instructions for describing library resources and their relationships in a linked data world.

Element Set / Metadata Schema active RDA Steering Committee / American Library Association Updated February 23, 2026