21 September 2015: Catholic Library Association

The Catholic Library Association (CLA) (http://cathla.org/) is a professional library organization that was founded in 1921. Its publication, Catholic Library World, began in November, 1929, as a monthly publication though it eventually became a quarterly release. Its main audience seems to be those who are interested in both library science topics and the Roman Catholic faith. However, the extensive book reviews in each journal are given more pages than the articles, perhaps lending itself to a broader audience.

The articles themselves are of a sundry lot; most of them are based in the Church with focuses on histories, documenting, and archiving; biographies; private university interests; social critiques; the future of librarianship; ideas for librarians, etc. The articles generally seem to be accessible to a slightly informed readership. In addition to the aforementioned book reviews and articles, the publication also regularly includes a section that covers news from the CLA and broader library associations.

This magazine is well made. It is printed on thick, glossy paper and averages about 76 pages. The cover images are often related to an article contained within or are made by a contributing writer. The CLA President’s letter, editor’s message, and news briefs immediately follow the table of contents and are then succeeded by articles, categorized book reviews, and indices, respectively.

The CLA president has made mention of the tenuous state of the organization (as it seems to have had since its conception), but the publication is of good quality. It seems to contain a good amount of information especially relevant to library professionals who either work in a library of a Catholic institution or are themselves Catholic or interested in Church history.