ABSTRACT
The Association of Library Trustees and Advocates (ALTA) was a division of the American Library Association (ALA) and the only division developed for lay supporters and citizens who govern libraries. Founded as the Trustees Section in 1890, this division was one of the oldest units within the ALA. The mission of ALTA was to provide programs and publications designed to help America’s library trustees increase their effectiveness both in terms of library governance and, more recently, in terms of library advocacy. On February 1, 2009 Friends of Libraries U.S.A. (FOLUSA), an independent NGO founded to support library friends groups, merged with the ALTA. This merger resulted in an expanded division of ALA that is now called the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF).
