ALA Library Fact Sheet which names various library directories (including the American Library Directory published by Information Today, Inc.), provides contact information on the companies that sell mailing lists and mailing labels of libraries, and suggests a method to compile e-mail addresses for libraries.

Lists of Libraries

ALA Library Fact Sheet Number 3

Companies and products listed in this fact sheet are named for informational purposes only. ALA does not endorse specific products or companies. Contact companies directly for further information.

LIBRARY MAILING LISTS/MAILING LABELS | LIBRARY E-MAIL LISTS

LIBRARY DIRECTORIES -- UNITED STATES

A directory of all libraries in the United States does not exist. The closest approximation of such a publication is the American Library DirectoryTM 2007-2008, the latest (60th) edition of an annual two-volume set published by Information Today, Inc. (Information Today, Inc., Attn: Customer Service, 143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford NJ 08055-8750; telephone: 1-609-654-6266; fax: 1-609-654-4309; e-mail: custserv@infotoday.com; web site: http://www.infotoday.com).

Volume 1 lists public, academic, and special libraries in the United States, sorted alphabetically by state (with each state's listing sorted alphabetically by city).

Volume 2 lists public, academic, and special libraries in Canada and Mexico, and also lists:

Volume 2 also includes organization and personnel indexes for all of the libraries within the publication.

Individual library entries in the American Library DirectoryTM provide names of staff and contact information, with the library's address, phone number, fax number, and web site address and e-mail address, if applicable, as well as information about the library's finances, population served, and holdings. Find out more, including pricing information, at the Information Today, Inc. web site, at:
http://books.infotoday.com/directories/amerlib60.shtml

The American Library DirectoryTM is available over the Internet as the American Library Directory Online--for which there is a 14-day free trial available--at:
http://www.americanlibrarydirectory.com

The American Library DirectoryTM does not include school libraries. A directory of all school libraries in the U.S. does not exist; however, directories of schools (the vast majority of which have libraries) include Patterson's American Education, Patterson's Elementary Education, and Patterson's Schools Classified, which are published by Educational Directories Inc. (P.O. Box 68097, Schaumburg, IL 60168-0097; telephone: 1-800-357-6183 or 1-847-891-1250; fax: 1-847-891-0945; e-mail: info@ediusa.com; web site: http://www.ediusa.com).

Many states have produced local directories of libraries. Contact your local state library for more information; a public library or an academic library in your area can give you the phone number of your local state library. Or see the State Library Web Sites web page compiled by the State of Wisconsin.


LIBRARY DIRECTORIES -- INTERNATIONAL

As you might expect, a directory of all libraries in the world does not exist. However, several reference sources provide lists of international libraries. You may be able to find one or more of these publications in your local school or public library.


LIBRARY MAILING LISTS/MAILING LABELS

Several companies and groups sell mailing lists and labels which may be arranged and sorted in a variety of ways.

Mailing lists of the American Library Association (ALA) membership are available for rental. The membership lists include nearly 40,000 personal and organizational members active in various special interest ALA divisions and ALA round tables. Full details are provided in the Market Your Publications and Services with ALA Mailing Lists brochure, which is available online as an Adobe Reader PDF document. Download the free Adobe Reader to properly access the file. For more information, contact ALA directly (Mailing Lists, American Library Association, 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611-2795; telephone: 1-800-545-2433, extensions 2460 or 1-312-280-2460; fax: 1-312-280-2438; e-mail: mchapman@ala.org).

Please be aware that not every library and librarian in the United States are members of the American Library Association. See the companies below for more comprehensive lists.

Library mailing lists and labels are also available from the following companies:


LIBRARY E-MAIL LISTS

ALA does not make available any lists of member e-mail addresses.

It is unknown if any of the companies mentioned above collect and sell e-mail addresses. You would need to contact these companies directly for availability of library e-mail lists.

To contact specific libraries via e-mail, find the library's web site, by using an Internet directory such as Yahoo! or the Google Directory, and search for an e-mail address on the site:

Yahoo! -- Libraries
http://dir.yahoo.com/reference/libraries

Go directly to the list of Yahoo! United States Public Libraries.


Google Directory -- Libraries
http://directory.google.com/Top/Reference/Libraries

Go directly to the list of Google Directory United States Public Libraries.


May 2007


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.