The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 57,000 members. ALA's advocacy and public policy staff work to secure information technology policies that support and encourage the efforts of libraries to ensure access to electronic information resources as a means of upholding the public’s right to a free and open information society. - from Wikipedia and www.ala.org