Established in 1976, CHLA/ABSC grew out of the efforts of the Canadian Group of the Medical Library Association and the Canadian Association of Special Libraries and Information Services. Today, CHLA is a professional organization of approximately 400 individuals in the health sciences library field in Canada.

Through its programs and publications CHLA/ABSC encourages the professional development of its members whose foremost concern is the dissemination of health sciences information to those in research, education and patient care.

The mission of the Canadian Health Libraries Association / Association des bibliothèques de la santé du Canada is to improve health and health care by promoting excellence in access to information.

The Medical Library Association (MLA) is the second oldest special library association in the United States. The Association of Medical Librarians (as it was known until 1907) was founded "to encourage the improvement and increase of public medical libraries". Nearly a century later, MLA has grown to a professional organization of more than 1,200 institutions and 3,800 professionals in the health information field.

The mission of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) is to advance the progress of medicine and improve the public health by:

1) providing all U.S. health professionals with equal access to biomedical information; and,

2) improving the public's access to information to enable them to make informed decisions about their health.

The Program is coordinated by the National Library of Medicine and carried out through a nationwide network of health science libraries and information centers.

The Pacific Northwest Chapter/Medical Library Association promotes excellence and leadership of health information professionals through education, research and communication; fosters the utilization of information systems and services in support of informed health care decision making; promotes cooperation among library/information services; and represents chapter members' interests to MLA and other groups and agencies.

ALA mission is to promote the highest quality library and information services, and public access to information. ALA offers professional services and publications to members and nonmembers alike.

The BCLA is a nonprofit, independent, voluntary association. Members include librarians, library personnel, library trustees and other interested individuals; corporate, government, school and academic libraries; publishers and library supply companies.

The Canadian Library Association is the national English language association which represents those who work in or advocate for Canada’s estimated 21,000 libraries.

The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is a nonprofit global organization for innovative information professionals and their strategic partners.

SLA serves more than 12,000 members in 83 countries in the information profession, including corporate, academic and government information specialists.

SLA promotes and strengthens its members through learning, advocacy, and networking initiatives.

SLA WCC provides dynamic individuals and groups involved in the business of information with an energizing environment in which to build and share the skills and expertise they need to thrive and prosper in a changing economy. We achieve this through enterprising leadership, timely communication, meaningful mentoring and the provision of outstanding learning opportunities.

An informal organization of more than 100 librarians and information professionals who are interested in information technology, online database searching and other computer applications in libraries. While the majority are from special libraries (including government and corporate sectors), VOLUG's members include professionals from the academic and public library communities as well as freelance and consulting practitioners.