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 ALA American Libraries Buyers Guide is a new online
resource, released through ALA's member magazine, American
Libraries, which is designed to help in locating library products
and services, at:
http://www.americanlibrariesbuyersguide.com
The guide can be searched by category or by keyword. The search can be limited by state or narrowed down by proximity to a specific zip code.
Download a free application that makes the directory accessible from your computer desktop.
Use the Request For Information (RFI) page to contact library vendors and suppliers with your questions directly.
Feel free to contact the American Libraries Buyers Guide directly with any questions.
- The Librarian's Yellow Pages (LYP) is a print catalog that is published every year,
which appears online as part of LibraryWorks, at:
http://LibrariansYellowPages.com - 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 - Information Today also publishes the magazine, Computers in Libraries, which includes with 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.
- AIIM Solution Provider Locator
Database of trade members of the Enterprise Content Management Association--which was formerly known as the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM), and so still carries the AIIM acronym in description and domain name <http://www.aiim.org>--which is searchable by primary business activities, specific applications/technologies, and the kind of industry served, but also by company name. - AIIP Member Directory
This membership directory has the over 500 members around the world of the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) that are available for any kind of information or research task, such as competitive intelligence, database generation, public records searching, news retrieval and analysis, and more. Information provided to visitors of the AIIP directory is for the sole purpose of contacting individual members. - CONSULT Online - Special Libraries Association (SLA)
An online directory of members of SLA, the Special Libraries Association (<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. CONSULT Online is a database of SLA members who wish to be listed in the consultants database. Current and continuing membership in Special Libraries Association is the requirement for inclusion in this database. - Library Consultants Directory Online
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. - Consultants in the American Libraries Buyers Guide
- Consultants in the Librarian's Yellow Pages
Also see these listings from the resources named above:
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.
Book and Audio-Visual Media Distributors/Wholesalers to Libraries
See these listings for distributors and wholesalers (also sometimes called jobbers and dealers), companies that libraries often contact to place orders for books and audio-visual media -- such as DVDs, audiobooks, downloadable audio and video, etc. -- (as mentioned on ALA Library Fact Sheet 5 - Marketing to Libraries) from the resources named above:
- Book Wholesalers and Distributors (of books and audio-visual media) in the American Libraries Buyers Guide
- Book Wholesalers and Audio Wholesalers and Film & Video Wholesalers and CD-ROM/DVD-ROM Wholesalers in the Librarian's Yellow Pages