Surveying the Role of Ethnic-American Library Associations

INTHE LAST QUARTER CENTURY, ethnic professional associations have been organized by American librarians of various ethnicities. These associations fill a niche in the profession not met by other associations. This article explores several such organizations to understand their origins and roles among the professional associations in library and information science. The associations examined are the American Indian Library Association, the Chinese-American Librarians Association, the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association, REFORMA, ALA Black Caucus, the Association of Jewish Libraries, and the Jewish Information Committee. The ALA Ethnic Materials and Information Exchange Round Table and the ALA Office for Literacy and Outreach Services are considered in connection with the ethnic American library associations. The authors also posit areas for further research.