Library Products, Services and Consultants
ALA Library Fact Sheet Number 9
The American Library Association (ALA) is often asked for the names, addresses, and phone numbers of companies that sell products and services to libraries. The ALA does
not endorse products or companies. Neither can the ALA refer anyone to a specific company, as this would necessarily preclude naming other companies whose products are as good (or better) than the one named. The resources
listed below will help you locate companies best suited to your needs and geographic limitations.
Library Products and Services
-
The Librarian's Yellow Pages (LYP) is a print catalog that is published every year,
which also appears online, at (both):
http://www.librariansyellowpages.com
http://www.lyponline.com
Mailing Address: Librarian's Yellow Pages, 7823 Stratford Rd., Bethesda, MD
20814
Telephone: 800-235-9723 or 301-951-0320
Fax: 301-351-0911
E-Mail: info@lyponline.com
- Listings of products and services usually appear as a special supplement to the December issue of the magazine, Library Journal. The most recent is the
"2006 Buyer's Guide and Web Site
Directory," which can be accessed online, at:
http://www.libraryjournal.com/buyersguide
- The Library Resource Guide is a listing of library products and services compiled by Information Today (as a supplement to
its American Library Directory publication). An online version appears at:
http://www.libraryresource.com
Mailing Address: Information Today, Inc., Attn: Customer Service, 143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford NJ 08055-8750
Telephone: 609-654-6266
Web Site: http://www.infotoday.com
E-Mail: custserv@infotoday.com
- Information Today also publishes the magazine, Computers in Libraries, which includes in
its July/August issue an annual "Buyer's Guide," a directory of computer hardware and software suppliers and
services--which is now available on its own web site, at:
http://bg.computersinlibraries.com
Library Consultants Lists
The "services" listings in the general guides listed above include entries for individual library consultants. The resources listed below will direct you to consultants best suited to your needs and geographic limitations.
Note that inclusion in these lists does not constitute or imply endorsement or certification by either the American Library Association (ALA)
or the organization sponsoring the list.
- AIIP Online Member Directory
http://www.aiip.org/AboutAIIP/directory_home.asp
This database of members is maintained and made available by the
Association of Independent Information Professionals, Inc. (AIIP). Searching the database
is free and available to members and nonmembers interested in locating a consultant who
may assist, on a normal commercial basis, with such areas as research, writing, document delivery,
information services management, private investigation, and database development.
Inclusion in the database does not constitute endorsement or support of any listing in the
database by AIIP, and AIIP assumes no responsibility for the listings in or as a result of
the use of this database. The AIIP Member Directory is a database of AIIP members who wish to
be listed in the publicly-available database. Current and continuing membership in the
Association of Independent Information Professionals is required for inclusion in this database.
- American Libraries ConsultantBase
Library consultants can advertise in the quarterly ConsultantBase section,
appearing online, at the web address above, and in print in the January, April, June/July,
and October issues of the ALA member magazine, American Libraries.
- CONSULT Online
http://www.sla.org/consultonline
An online directory of members of the Special Libraries Association, the SLA
(<http://www.sla.org>),
who are library consultants. A search on this database is free and is
available to those interested in locating a consultant who may assist, on a
normal commercial basis, with such areas as library management, technical
services, and subject specialty. The database of member consultants is maintained and
made available by the Special Libraries Association. It does not constitute endorsement or
support of any listing in the database by Special Libraries Association and SLA assumes no
responsibility for the listings in or as a result of the use of this database.
- Directory of Peer Consultants and Speakers
https://cs.ala.org/speakers
Members from the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library
Agencies (ASCLA <http://www.ala.org/ascla>),
and the Reference and User Services Association
(RUSA <http://www.ala.org/rusa>),
two divisions of the American Library Association (ALA), and
ALA members affiliated with the Office for Literacy and Outreach
Services (OLOS <http://www.ala.org/olos>),
have volunteered to share their expertise. They can
provide a brief consultation, via phone, correspondence, or e-mail.
ASCLA/OLOS members can offer assistance on questions about: serving
people with disabilities, outreach services, literacy programs, library
services to prisoners, state library services, multitype library
cooperative services, and independent librarianship. RUSA members can
offer assistance on questions about: any aspect of reference service,
collection development, reader's advisory services, genealogical and
historic research, business reference, interlibrary loan, digital
reference, and the management of reference and user services. It should
be noted that ALA is unable to provide financial support to bring a
speaker to your program. This Directory is provided as a service to the profession and does not
represent an endorsement or recommendation of specific individuals by
ASCLA, OLOS, or RUSA. Please refer any questions about this directory
to: Cathleen Bourdon, ASCLA/RUSA Executive Director, cbourdon at ala.org.
- LAMA Library Consultants Directory
This is an annual print-only listing, a hardpaper insert (and so does not appear in the table of contents),
that is usually included in the Fall issue of
Library Administration & Management (LA&M), the official journal of ALA's Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA, a
division of the ALA <http://www.ala.org/lama>). Listings are paid for and provided by
the consultants who are included. Contact LAMA at lama@ala.org for more details.
- Library Building Consultants List (LBCL)
https://cs.ala.org/lbcl/search
Long published as a print directory by ALA's Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA, a
division of the ALA <http://www.ala.org/lama>), the
Library Building Consultants List (LBCL) is now an online database only.
LBCL offers free limited access to obtain a list of consultant names based on state or specialty, or full searchable access for a fee.
- Library Consultants Directory Online
http://www.LibraryConsultants.org
An online directory for libraries and library consultants. Each consultant provides
his/her own directory information including education, professional training, experience,
and expertise. Three recent projects are included for each consultant. References are
available upon request. The list is searchable by name, expertise, and state.
Directories by Specialty - Serials Vendors
The Association of Subscription Agents and Intermediaries (ASA, <http://www.subscription-agents.org>) is an international organization open to all companies
(including those in the United States) whose main occupation or a substantial part of it is that of a subscription agent, or other organizations interested in the work of the ASA and the subscription industry.
See the ASA Members
Directory for further assistance.
February 2006
For more information on this or other fact
sheets, contact the ALA Library Reference Desk by telephone: 800-545-2433, extension 2153; fax: 312-280-3255; e-mail: library@ala.org; or regular mail: ALA Library, American Library Association, 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611-2795.
