FOLUSA and ALTA to Become ALTAFF

New ALA Division Will Unite Voices for America's Libraries

Citizen support for libraries will be receiving a big boost on February 1, 2009. This marks the date when Friends of Libraries U.S.A. (FOLUSA) and the Association for Library Trustees and Advocates (ALTA) join forces to become an expanded division of ALA. The new organization will be called the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations, or ALTAFF for short.

The boards of both FOLUSA and ALTA believe that a strong division that reaches as many formalized lay support and governing groups of libraries as possible will be extremely important for America's libraries. "No one has a stronger voice for libraries in the community and on campus than those who use and love libraries. This is a wonderful opportunity to pull those voices together for advocacy," said FOLUSA board president, Peggy Barber.

This new division will help Trustees and Friends work together at the local, state, and national levels to effectively promote and advocate for libraries. Additionally both boards agree that libraries benefit when Trustees and Friends have strong working relationships at the local level and this will be modeled through ALTAFF. "While their roles are different, the fact that both groups are comprised of citizens who care about and support their libraries makes them natural allies," said ALTA president Peggy Danhof.

In an effort to bring in as many Trustees and Friends as possible, ALA has made special membership pricing available for individuals and associates. The ultimate goal will be to harness the power of hundreds of thousands of library advocates so that libraries will thrive even in times of economic distress.

Meeting challenges and taking advantage of opportunities in the 21st century won't be possible for libraries that don't have powerful advocates in their communities - in other words, Trustees and Friends.

For questions and concerns about your FOLUSA membership, please contact our office by phone at (800) 936-5872, by email at bnawalinski@ala.org, or by clicking here. Visit www.ala.org/altaff to learn more. Your patience is greatly appreciated while the new website is developed. FOLUSA members may continue to access members only benefits from this site while the new website is under construction.