Special Libraries Association (SLA) is an international professional association for library and information professionals working in business, government, law, finance, non-profit, and academic organizations and institutions.

While Special libraries

Special library

A special library is a term for a library that is neither an academic, school, public or national library. Special libraries include law libraries, news libraries, corporate libraries, museum libraries, and medical libraries and are not usually open to the public for use...

 include law libraries, news libraries, corporate libraries, museum libraries, and medical libraries, many information professionals today do not actually work in a library setting. They actively apply their specialized skills to support the information needs of their organizations.

SLA was founded in 1909 in the United States. It is now an international organization with over 11,000 members in over 80 countries. SLA is organized by Chapters (geographic) and Divisions (topical) and special interest groups. The association has a CEO (employee of the association) and an elected President (mandate of one year).

Members of SLA typically possess a master's degree in library or information science. Given the rapid adoption of information technologies for selecting, analyzing, managing, storing, and delivering information and knowledge, the average SLA member might be performing a range of services and employing a diverse mix of skills related to, but not exclusive of, library science.

Association activities include conferences, professional education, networking and advocacy.

Publications

SLA publishes Information Outlook (formerly Special Libraries), a magazine that is sent free of charge to all members eight times a year.