Find Your Opportunity to Volunteer
The American Library Association carries out its work through a member-driven structure of committees and subcommittees, Divisions, Round Tables, and several other types of groups. Each committee has a specific purpose, defined at the time it is established. Each Division and Round Table also may create committees and other working groups to carry out its work. Explore the variety of available committee and other volunteer opporutnities using the Overview Guide, the left navigation pane or the links below.
Volunteer Opportunities Overview Guide 2022-2023
Links to Resources and Opportunities:
ALA and Council Committee Chair Resources
ALA and Council Committee Associate Program
ALA Accreditation Volunteer Information and Opportunities
Committees created by the Executive Board, Council, and the president are designated as committees of the Association and committees of the Council. The Bylaws provide for several types of committees: standing, special (limited to 2 years unless renewed by Executive Board or Council action), inter-divisional, and joint. (See Bylaws, Article VIII.) By Council action, July 1969, the Executive Board and Council may also designate as ad hoc committees those committees appointed to pursue a designated project within a specific period, the life of the committee ending at the conclusion of the project.
Policies 6.6.1 and 6.6.2 further define committees. Council Committees: Appointments to committees of Council are made by the Council Committee on Committees, in cooperation with the ALA president-elect, who is chair of the Committee on Committees. ALA Committees—Appointments to committees of the Association are made by the ALA president-elect, who chairs and acts on the advice of the Committee on Appointments.