History of the Nevada Library Association
By Billie Mae Polson,
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Library
(with later revisions)
BEGINNINGS
In 1946, a small group of six librarians met in Reno, Nevada, to discuss the possibility of forming a state library association. They drafted a letter to other librarians in the state giving the following reasons why the establishment of the Nevada Library Association (NLA) would be of value to the state:
- Act as a clearing house for library information in Nevada, through meetings and a published newsletter.
- Act as a forum for presenting new ideas which may benefit Nevada libraries.
- Act as a group to protect or broaden the scope of Nevada library service, and call attention to the work of Nevada's libraries.
The letter of the Committee to Organize a Nevada Library Association was signed by the six people who were, a few months later, to become the charter members of the Nevada Library Association: Mr. E.C.D. Marriage, librarian, Nevada State Library; Mrs. Lois Bicknell, librarian, Reno High School; Miss Cornelia D. Provines, librarian, Nevada State Historical Society Library; Mr. Edwin Catagna, librarian, Washoe County Library; Mr. James J. Hill, director of libraries, University of Nevada; and Mr. Marco G. Thorne, reference librarian, Washoe County Library.
PURPOSES OF NLA
The first Constitution, adopted June 4, 1946, stated that the object of the Nevada Library Association shall be to promote library service and librarianship. In 1963, the NLA was created by statute as "a nonprofit corporation created to promote library service and librarianship in Nevada." See former Nevada Revised Statute 82.650 (repealed 1991). In the 1977 Bylaws it stated:
Article II. Purpose: The purpose of NLA shall be to promote library service of the highest quality for all present and potential users of libraries in Nevada. NLA is organized and operated for educational and literary purposes, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private individual or member.
OFFICERS
The association has an elected president and a board of trustees who have the vested corporate powers of the association. The board of trustees consists of the president, the president elect who serves as vice president, the executive secretary, the treasurer, the immediate past president, and one representative from each of the three districts and each of the three sections of the association. Advisory, nonvoting members are the state librarian, the library representative of the Nevada State Department of Education, and the NLA delegates, if any, to national and regional organizations.
DISTRICTS
The Nevada Library Association during its first years was organized into geographical districts reflecting the interests of all groups within the boundaries of the district. The Southern District was formed in 1950 with Mrs. Reba McKinster of Las Vegas as its first chairperson. At that time it was to include the counties of White Pine, Lincoln, Clark, Nye, and Esmeralda. The Southern District, in cooperation with the State Library, sponsored the first Audiovisual Workshop for librarians in 1959. By 1958, two other districts had been formed, a Northwestern District, and the White Pine District, which included the counties of White Pine, Nye, and Lincoln and which had emerged from the Southern District - and informal talks about the formation of an Eastern District had been held. By 1959, the proposed Eastern District was formed as the Northeastern District. As of 1974, the White Pine District was no longer a separate district since two of the counties, Nye and Lincoln, had merged with the Southern District. The Southern District includes the counties of Clark, Esmeralda, Nye, and Lincoln; the Northwest District includes the counties of Washoe, Pershing, Storey, Churchill, Carson City, Lyon, Douglas and Mineral. The Northeast district includes Elko, Lander, Eureka, Humboldt and White Pine. Each district is governed by its own rules of procedure, which must not be in conflict with the Bylaws of the association. With the passage of new bylaws for the association in 1973, each district elects a member to represent the district membership on the Board of Trustees of the Nevada Library Association. Each district also elects such other officers as it deems necessary.
SECTIONS
NASL (Nevada Association of School Librarians)
The Nevada Library Association is also divided into sections reflecting type of library and interest groups reflecting statewide interest or activity. Each constituent group is governed by rules of procedure which must not be in conflict with the Bylaws of the association. The elected chairperson of each section is a member of the NLA Board of Trustees, and each section elects such other officers as it deems necessary. At the present time, the Nevada Library Association has 3 sections. The first section was formed in 1958 by the school librarians. The first chairperson was Miss Mildred Pierce. The Nevada Association of School Librarians (NASL) has been influential in changing legislation relating to school libraries in Nevada. It jointly sponsored a series of workshops on school library problems for school librarians, with the Nevada State Department of Education and the University of Nevada, and it was influential in adding to the curriculum of University of Nevada, Reno and University of Nevada, Las Vegas courses in school librarianship. In 1959, 1960 and 1963, NASL held spring meetings for school and public librarians, called the School Library Conferences. As early as 1959, NASL was actively campaigning with the Nevada State Department of Education for a qualified library consultant position; in 1961 an English-Library Consultant office was funded. With the advent of the Federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Title II funds, the consultant's office was later merged with the state Education Office for the dispersal of federal funds. The Nevada Association of School Librarians was responsible for the School Library Development Project and the publication of Standards for Library Instructional Materials Centers in Nevada.
In 1975, NASL was responsible for the development and statewide dissemination of A School Librarian Competency Appraisal Report as an evaluation tool for the school librarians. For several years NASL has actively supported the proposal to the Nevada State Education Certification Committee that a one unit course in Library Skills be required for teacher certification in Nevada. In 1978, the section working in conjunction with the University of Nevada, Reno, offered a one credit course, "Special Problems in Education: Programming the School Library" during the joint meeting of the Mountain Plains Library Association/Nevada Library Association, and with the NLA Media Section a workshop, "Media Magic to Motivate Library Users" during the same meeting. NASL has since merged with the Children's service section. It is now called Nevada School and Children Librarians' Section. (For further information on these former groups contact the NLA archivist.)
PLAN/NALT (Public Library Association of Nevada / Nevada Association of Library Trustees)
During the 1958 annual convention, a committee was formed by some of the public librarians and library trustees to consider the feasibility of forming a trustees section. In 1959 the Nevada Association of Library Trustees (NALT) was formally organized and accepted as a section of the Nevada Library Association. Mrs. Glen Griffith was the first acting chairperson as the section was being formed and Mrs. Ruthe Gallagher was the section's first elected chairperson. The purpose of NALT was the promotion and fostering of the development of public libraries in Nevada. One of its first projects was a request to the Governor of Nevada, Grant Sawyer, that a Governor's Conference for Library Trustees be called. Governor Sawyer complied, and between 1960 and 1964 he called four such training conferences for library trustees. Nevada Association of Library Trustees has also compiled and published a Handbook for Nevada Library Trustees.
The Public Library Association of Nevada (PLAN) was formed in 1962. Mrs. Dora Witt was its first chairperson. Its purpose also was the promotion and fostering of the development of public libraries in Nevada, the implementation of the ALA's Interim Standards for Small Public Libraries and Public Library Service, and the achievement of the plans for public library development outlined in their publication, Public Library Development in Nevada - A Plan, 1964.
The Public Library Association of Nevada and the Nevada Association of Library Trustees were merged into one section of the Nevada Library Association in 1971; this section is named Public Library Association of Nevada/the Nevada Association of Library Trustees (PLAN/NALT). Its charge is to promote and foster the development of public library services in Nevada. In its new organization, PLAN/NALT published Standards for Nevada Public Libraries in September 1972. In l989, the Advisory Council on Libraries approved new Minimum Public Library Standards.
NCRL (Nevada College and Research Libraries) [formerly ASIS (Academic and Special Libraries Section)]
The Academic and Special Libraries Section (ASIS) of the association was formed in 1967; its bylaws were approved by the NLA Board of Trustees in 1968; Mr. Martin Dickstein was its first chairperson. This section changed its name in 1974 to Nevada College and Research Libraries (NCRL). The stated purpose of the section is to promote library service of the highest quality for all present and potential users of academic and special libraries in Nevada. In 1975, NCRL published the first edition of Information Resources In Nevada; IRON.
DISCONTINUED INTEREST GROUPS AND SECTIONS
In 1973, a fourth section of the Nevada Library Association was formed: the Children's Services Section, with Mrs. Nancy Cummings as its first chairperson. The primary goal of the section is to promote the continuous growth and improvement of library service for all young people in Nevada. Its name was changed to the Children's and Young Adult Services Section in 1978 (CYAS). Fifth and sixth sections of the Nevada Library Association were formally approved in 1975; they were the Media Section and the Section on Underserved Populations (SOUP). With the passage of new bylaws during the 1977 annual meeting, CYAS, Media and SOUP became interest groups of NLA. This action was taken when the number of sections with representation on the board of trustees threatened to bring the board up to the 15-member statutory maximum and prevent the formation of additional new groups.
Another interest group, devoted to newspaper indexing projects, began the following year and lasted until 1990. The Indexing Interest Group promoted newspaper indexing cooperation and union listing among Nevada libraries. From 1984 to 1992, the RAISON (Reference and Information Searchers of Nevada Interest Group) was active in improving computerized reference work mainly among Nevada's academic libraries. In the meantime, CYAS merged with NASL to become NSCLS. The interest groups of SOUP, MEDIA, Indexing and RAISON all have been discontinued. (For further information on discontinued groups, contact the NLA archivist.)
CURRENT INTEREST GROUPS
The current NLA interest groups in 1996 are: All Classifications Teamed In One Network (ACTION), Collections, Automation, Preservation, Technical Services & Acquisitions in Nevada (CAPTAIN), Government Documents Interest Group (GODIG), Nevada Networking/Automation Group (NNAG) and Nevada Young Readers' Award (NYRA).
The oldest of these is GODIG (government documents), originally organized as a separate entity from NLA and called Nevada-Government Documents Round Table (N-GODORT). When the option became available to become an interest group in 1977, N-GODORT became the first "new" NLA interest group (other than the sections which became interest groups).
CAPTAIN began in 1989 among the larger libraries in the state with specialized technical services librarians and continues to today. ACTION and NYRA became new interest groups in 1991. ACTION emphasizes library paraprofessional development and networking, while NYRA gives an annual award to Nevada book authors writing for young readers (based on a state-wide nomination and election process among school children). The most recent (and currently largest) NLA interest group is NNAG, dedicated to the continued growth and connectivity of automation in the information industry.
STANDING COMMITTEES
The NLA Bylaws call for various standing committees, with the current ones: Awards, Bylaws, Finance, Government Relations, Intellectual Freedom, Membership, Nominating, Library Planning and Personnel Development. Reflecting the varied interests and concerns of Nevada librarians, these committees have helped improve the association and enrich the lives of its members and the people they serve.
CERTICATION
Among the most active of the standing committees of the Nevada Library Association in the early years was the Certification Committee, which established policy for and administered the certification of Nevada librarians. This voluntary program for certification was started in the 1950's by the entire association. Its policy gradually changed to focus on certification for public librarians during the 1960's and it became a functioning committee of the Public Library Association of Nevada in the early 1970's. By 1978, this program was seen to have outlived its usefulness and was abandoned. In the early 1990's, interest in public library certification revived in response to the closing of various library schools in the country. The Certification Committee was not restarted, but NLA and the Nevada State Library and Archives sponsored SB232 which authorized library certification in Nevada (and passed in the 1995 legislature). See NRS 379.007-379.009.
INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM
The Intellectual Freedom Committee was organized during the 1962 convention in Reno, Nevada. David Brunton, of the Nevada State Library, was its first chairperson. The policy statement of the committee was endorsed and adopted by the membership of the Nevada Library Association in 1968, and revised in 1970-71 and 1977, with an additional Resolution on Access to Library Materials and Services in 1994. The Intellectual Freedom Committee has sponsored booths at the Nevada State Fairs and at the Nevada Library Association conventions; it worked and works very closely with the Government Relations Committee when censorship and obscenity bills come before the state legislature. The two committees working together, with backing from the entire association, succeeded in changing an amendment to the criminal obscenity statute which removed libraries from likelihood of censorship.
When the statutes had to be changed again due to the Supreme Court's latest decision on obscenity, the Chair of the Intellectual Freedom Committee, Martha Gould, was placed on a Legislative Interim Study Committee on Obscenity to develop legislative proposals for consideration of the next Legislature. During the 1979 session for the Legislature, AB 143 passed with the Committee's recommendations which provided for the exemption of schools, libraries and museums in obscenity statutes. See NRS 239.013. An Intellectual Freedom Manual was produced and printed by the committee in 1984 and 1994.
LIBRARY PLANNING
The Library Resources and Development Committee has undergone various name changes during the years; it is now the Library Planning Committee and encourages and promotes the growth and development of Nevada's libraries. In addition to its appointed chair, its membership includes the immediate past president, the current president, the president elect, and the chairperson of the Nevada State Advisory Council on Libraries. This committee was responsible for the first plans for a statewide library information network and for a state grants-in-aid program. The state grants-in-aid concept was first presented to the state legislature in 1965; it was unsuccessful until the 1973-1975 biennial legislative session when monies were placed in the budget of the State Library as a line item in the governor's budget of "library development." The Nevada Council on Libraries developed from plans of the Library Development Committee, and from the recommendation made by Gretchen Knief Schenk in her Public Library Service in Nevada.
ANNUAL MEETINGS
The Nevada Library Association has held an annual convention/meeting since 1946. The meeting is usually held in October, although in earlier years the meetings were held in the spring. The first meeting was attended by some 30 librarians, the second by 54 members and five exhibitors; in later years the meetings have been attended by as many as 200 members of the association and 35 or more exhibitors. The meeting site changes each year. In 1967 NLA held a joint convention with the Nevada Educational Media Association which attracted well over 200 people and 62 exhibitors of all types of media and media equipment.
Joint conventions with the Mountain Plains Library Association were held in 1978, 1985 and 1994. The association has from its beginnings worked for the strengthening of the State Library and its functions. The resolutions of the first convention were: first, to secure the introduction and passage by the state Legislature of adequate library laws; second, help strengthen the State Library. At the first convention, the board of trustees voted to affiliate with the American Library Association, and during the 1958 convention the Nevada Library Association joined the Mountain Plains Library Association. The 1958 convention was the first one to hold special meetings reflecting the interests of sections.
LEGISLATION
The legislative efforts of the Nevada Library Association, especially in regard to permissive library legislation, have been almost uniformly successful, although not always at the first request. Since 1946 the Nevada Library Association has been directly connected with every piece of library legislation passed by the State Legislature. During these years the following laws were passed for the improvement of libraries in Nevada:
The state librarian shall be a graduate of a library school accredited by the American Library Association. NRS 378.020
The powers and duties of the office of state librarian were expanded and strengthened. Four of the most important new powers of the office were the power to enter into agreements with other libraries or library districts in the state for the improvement of library service; and to render, at his discretion, financial assistance to regional, county, city, or town free public libraries; and to render, at his discretion, technical assistance to any library seeking such assistance; and the state librarian was authorized to accept and direct the disbursement of funds appropriated by any act of Congress and apportioned to the state for library purposes. NRS 378.080-378.100
The Nevada Council on Libraries was legally empowered to foster the improvement of library services. NRS 380A.011
In 1956, the joint efforts of the Nevada Library Association and the Nevada Teachers Association were successful in obtaining a state law stating that the board of trustees of a school district shall expend for library books at least $1.00 for each child each year, with a minimum of $10.00 for any school. This law was later repealed when it became clear that it was being used as a ceiling instead of an incentive.
The law relating to the dispersal of library gift funds was expanded to allow such funds to be used for capital improvements. New laws were made to allow county libraries to extend their services by contracting with counties, cities, towns, and school districts without library service; a new law allowed the formation of regional libraries and made provision for their funding. The library trustee law was changed to provide for limited terms of office rather than lifetime appointments, and the members of boards are now appointed by the governing body of the county or city concerned.
In other legislative actions, the office of State Archivist was established legally as a division of the Secretary of State, and in 1979, it was transferred to the Nevada State Library. The establishment of county library districts by petition of the residents of a county and provision for the funding of that county library district was added to the Nevada Statutes in 1967. A State Publications Distribution Center was passed into law in 1971, and certain state and local government publications are now distributed to designated depository libraries. In 1972, library development monies, i.e., state grants-in-aid, were placed in the budget of the State Library.
In a report to the governor in 1972, made by a special committee appointed by the governor to suggest methods of economizing in state bureaus and departments, it was seriously suggested that the State Library be abolished as a unified entity and its functions be distributed among other departments, i.e., the state Department of Education. The Nevada Library Association was successful in aiding the State Library in efforts to retain the State Library as a unified entity, and adding the Nevada Center for Cooperative Library Services, the technical services center established in 1971 with LSCA Title III funds, as a division of the State Library with increased state funds for its operation provided in the State Library's budget. A complete reorganization of most Nevada state agencies put all of the cultural promotion agencies (historical society, archives, museums, state library) together in the Department of Museums, Libraries and the Arts in 1993. One section of the MLA department is the Nevada State Library and Archives, under the direction of the state librarian.
Efforts continue to have library science added to the Student Exchange Program of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education in Nevada. The WICHE Commissioners for Nevada approved NLA's proposal and included funding in their recommended budget. However, the governor did not include it in his budget, and the final WICHE budget for Nevada was approved as he had recommended for the biennium of 1979-80. NLA was successful in obtaining the passage of SCR 26, calling for an interim study on libraries and access to information by the Legislature. This came as a direct result of the Governor's Conference on Nevada's Library and Information Needs, 1978, the precursor to the White House Conference on Library and Information Services. NLA helped to fund the Governor's Conference and its members gave of their expertise, time, and labor to make it a success. Miss Ann Thompson, NLA President, 1979, was elected by the delegates of the Governor's Conference as one of Nevada's delegates to the White House Conference.
LIBRARY STUDIES
The Nevada Library Association has requested or sponsored five other library studies since 1946. Edwin Catagna, chairman of the association's Legislative Committee, compiled the first library survey, Public Library Service for All Nevadans; the Regional Library Idea a Solution for Nevada's Needs, in 1948. The regional library recommended in this survey became possible in 1959 when the state legislature passed the regional library permissive legislation and provided for its funding. In 1950, the Nevada Library Association's Committee on Library Resources and Development asked the American Association of University Women, Nevada Branch, to conduct a survey for them. The result of the survey was a recommendation that strengthening the State Library would be the most feasible method of improving library services in the state. The Nevada Legislative Council Bureau researched needed library legislation at the request of the Nevada Library Association and presented its report titled, Legislation Toward Effective Library and Related Services for the People of Nevada, its Bulletin No. 25, 1952 to the 1953-1955 legislative session.
In 1958, Gretchen Knief Schenk wrote Public Library Service in Nevada, a survey with recommendations, more familiarly known as the "Schenk Report," which reinforced the recommendations of earlier surveys and added a recommendation for the establishment of a legally established board or council which would oversee library services and their development, not as a governing body, but as an advisory body which would report directly to the governor and the State Legislature. The Nevada Council on Libraries was established in 1965: One of the first decisions it made was the financing of the most elaborate survey to date, with the aid of a grant from the Fleischmann Foundation. Dr. A. Spencer Hill compiled the material in one of the four surveys requested by the council, titled A Survey of Nevada Libraries, published in 1967. One of the recommendations of this survey concerned the establishment of a library information network for the state. The Nevada Library Association Library Development Committee supplied information about the need for such a network and developed a plan for its implementation - the network plan is now operated with funding with federal funds from the State Library budgeted "library development" funds.
REORGANIZATION
An ad hoc committee on the reorganization of the Nevada Library Association to study the goals, objective, methods, and the structure of the association was enlarged by the President, Billie M. Polson, in 1971, at the suggestion of Dr. Lawrence Allen, guest speaker at the 1971 convention: An earlier and smaller committee on constitutional revision had been appointed by the previous President, Mrs. Elizabeth Johnson, in 1969. The ad hoc committee of 10 members was to appoint a 25-member task force which would divide into five subcommittees, each subcommittee to have a specific area of concern and the original 10-member ad hoc committee to coordinate and advise. The five subcommittees were: Bylaws and Constitution, Manpower, Library Resources, Finance, and Library Development. The Bylaws and Constitution Subcommittee completely rewrote the constitution and bylaws and merged the old and the new into a single document of Bylaws adopted by the association in 1972. The subcommittees on manpower, resources, and finance made recommendations for change in the structure of the association which were also accepted by the membership and adopted at the 1972 convention. The Library Development subcommittee was found to be such a duplication of the already existing Library Development Committee that it was phased out. In 1977 a further revision attempted to deal with problems left over from the earlier revision. The revision also created interest groups to allow for more flexibility in the creation of groups to meet current interests without impact upon the membership of the board of trustees.
In 1996, immediate past-president Karen Albrethsen began chairing a Special Committee on Long-Range Planning for NLA, with assistance from various past presidents of the association. Also in 1996, the association board of trustees considered creating a Special Committee on Scholarships with Steve Fitt as chair. The final 1996 milestone was the 50th anniversary NLA conference held in Laughlin, Nevada.
CONCLUSION (& CONTINUING FORWARD)
In common with most of the western states, Nevada has vast distances and a sparse population base with the exception of the two urban areas of the state, Reno and Las Vegas, conditions which do not help libraries, which are usually low on the budget priority; but as the Nevada Library Association has grown during the past years so have library services in Nevada. Of course, the association has not been the only factor in the improvement of library services within the state, as the people of the state and the individual librarian must be the motivating factor, but the Nevada Library Association has proved the validity of the reasons given for its establishment: It has acted and will continue to act as a clearing house for library information in Nevada, through meetings and a published newsletter. The published newsletter has undergone four title changes throughout its years of publication, several changes in format, and several editors, but is still a vital source of library information. The Nevada Library Association has acted and will continue to act as a forum for presenting new ideas to benefit Nevada libraries; and the Nevada Library Association has acted and will continue to act as a group to protect or broaden the scope of Nevada library service and call attention to the work of Nevada's libraries.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Publications of the Nevada Library Association
Armstrong, Robert D., "Appendix to Journal of Senate and Assembly, Contents and Index," Nevada Lib., 1970(3-4), 107-112 (April-July 1970); 1970(5), 135-140 (October 1970); 1971(3), 117-120 (April 1971).
Bylaws, adopted June 4, 1946, as amended October 21, 1961; October 26, 1963; October 1966-1969.
Bylaws, adopted October 1972, as amended October, 1973; October 1977.
College and Research Libraries, Directory Committee, Information Resources of Nevada 1975 (IRON), Reno, Nevada, 1975.
Constitution, adopted June 4, 1946, as amended October 21, 1961; October 26, 1963; October 1968-1969. Merged with new Bylaws, as adopted October 1972.
Genealogical Prospecting In Nevada : A Guide To Nevada Directories, Compiled by Joyce C. Lee for the Nevada State Library in cooperation with the Nevada Library Association, June 1984.
Governor's Conference on Nevada's Library and Information Needs: 1978, Las Vegas, Nevada. Nevada Libraries: Your Winning Card; prepared by Blanch Zucker, Chair, Nevada Library Association Publicity Committee.
Intellectual Freedom Committee, Intellectual Freedom in Libraries; a Statement of Policy Adopted by Nevada Library Association, Carson City, Nevada, 1971, rev. 1977.
Intellectual Freedom Handbook, Nevada Library Association, 1984
Intellectual Freedom Handbook, Nevada Library Association, 1994
Interlibrary Loan Committee, Nevada State Interlibrary Loan Code, Carson City, Nevada, 1972.
Legislative Committee, A Plan for Public Library Service in Nevada, 1964-65 (Brochure), Reno, Nevada 1964.
Libraries and Information Services in Nevada's Future, NLA Library Planning Committee, 197-.
Nevada Association of Library Trustees, Handbook for Nevada Library Trustees, Nevada State Library, Carson City, Nevada, 1961.
Nevada in Print, a project of the Northwest Regional section of the Nevada Library Association, Nevada State Library, Carson City, Nevada, 1954.
Nevada in Print, 2nd ed., Nevada State Library, Carson City, Nevada, 1961.
Nevada Librarian [newsletter of the Nevada Library Association], 1946-1951, Vol. 1-4, November 1951, Nevada Library Association, Reno, Nevada, (Bimonthly, irregular. Various editors.)
Nevada Libraries [continues Nevada Library Notes], 1964-73, Vol. 1-10, published for the Nevada Library Association by the Nevada State Library, Carson City, Nevada, (Quarterly. Editor Barbara J. Mauseth.)
Nevada Libraries High Roller [continues Nevada Libraries], Vol. II (1974) Washoe County Library, Reno, NV.
Nevada Library Association Handbook, 2nd rev. ed., prepared by Barbara J. Mauseth, Carson City, NV, 1970.
Nevada Library Association Handbook, 3rd rev. ed., prepared by Richard Pressley, Las Vegas, NV, 1974.
Nevada Library Association Handbook, 4th rev. ed., prepared by the Bylaws Committee, Robin Barker, Chair, Carson City, NV, 1980.
Nevada Library Association Handbook, 1987
Nevada Library Association Handbook, rev. ed., prepared by Mark Strachan, Bylaws Committee Chair, May 17, 1991
Nevada Library Notes [continues Nevada Librarian], 1951-1963, Vol. 1-10, published for the Nevada Library Association by the Nevada State Library, Carson City, Nevada (Irregular. Various editors.)
N.L.A. Handbook, prepared by Ruby McLeod, Carson City, NV, 1957.
N.L.A. Handbook, rev. ed., prepared by Ruth Donovan, Carson City, NV, 1965.
Northwest Regional Section, Recommended Books Grade 4-8, compiled by Alene De Ruff, Nevada State Library, Carson City, Nevada 1952
Public Library Association of Nevada - Nevada Association of Library Trustees Standards Committee, Standard for Nevada Public Libraries, Carson City, NV, 1972.
Public Library Development Committee, Nevada Guidelines to the Use of Interim Standards for Small Public Libraries and Public Library Service, Carson City, NV, 1964.
Public Library Development Committee, Public Library Development in Nevada; a Plan, Carson City, NV, 1964.
Salary Study Committee, Salaries in Nevada Libraries, 1953-, Carson City, NV, 1954-.
Works about the Nevada Library Association
American Library Association Intellectual Freedom News, "Nevada Opposes New Obscenity Statute," 18, 44-4 (May 1969)
"Anderl cited by NLA" MPLA Newsletter 22:14 (December 1977).
Castagna, Edwin, "Books and Libraries in the Sweet Promised Land of Nevada", the text of an address before the 12th Annual Convention of the Nevada Library Association, Reno, October 13, 1959, Carson City, Nevada State Library, 1960.
"Library Association News: Nevada," Library Journal, 1037 (August 1946).
"Nevada Library Association, Library Journal, 86, 3254 (October 1, 1961).
"Nevada Library Association Conference, 1974, Tonopah, NV." Mountain Plains Library Association Quarterly, 19:25 (Fall 1974).
"NLA Workshop" MPLA Newsletter. 23:11 (O'78).
Shiber, J.F., "Report from Nevada," Library Journal, 2036-9 (October 1, 1955).
Bowers, Donald L., "Book Boom in Nevada," Library Journal, 508-9, 539 (February 1, 1962).
Castagna, Edwin, "Let’s See What’s Going On in Nevada," Library Journal, 527-31, 539 (April 1, 1948).
Congressional Record, May 8, 1956 v. 102, pt. 6, 84th Congress, 2nd Session, pages 7696-97, remarks of Rep. Cifford Young (NV) on Library Services bill.
