Substance Abuse Librarians And Information Specialists

What Substance Abuse Librarians And Information Specialists does

Substance Abuse Librarians and Information Specialists (SALIS) is a Berkeley, California-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1978 that serves as the professional association for information professionals working in the alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) field. Its members include librarians, researchers, treatment professionals, and policy specialists; its international reach extends through affiliation with the International Coalition of Addictions Librarians (ICAL) and a broader network of addiction-focused libraries.

SALIS's core asset is the SALIS Collection, a curated digital library of more than 8,400 ATOD resources hosted and distributed in partnership with the Internet Archive using Controlled Digital Lending, which preserves publishers' lending rights while broadening access. Adjacent programs include the Drug Policy Archive (developed with the Drug Policy Alliance, launched April 2025), the Rutgers Digital Alcohol Studies Archives partnership (May 2024), the SALIS Speaker Series (launched April 2025), and the Empathy Lens interactive tool (December 2025).

The organization funds operations through individual membership dues ($150/year professional, $75/year student/retired, $70/year affiliate), donations, and grants from bodies such as the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM), the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, the University of Washington Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute (ADAI), and the Drug Policy Alliance. SALIS employs between 11 and 50 people and does not publicly disclose revenue or grants received.

Name

Substance Abuse Librarians And Information Specialists

Legal name

Substance Abuse Librarians and Information Specialists

Website

https://salis.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Substance Abuse Librarians and Information Specialists (SALIS) is a 1978-founded 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving information professionals in the alcohol, tobacco, and drug field, operating a curated 8,400-item digital lending library via the Internet Archive and funding itself through individual memberships, donations, and foundation grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association / Library and Information Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Libraries and Archives (51921)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) & Resource Sharing Operations (EDAEAGAK)

Keywords

• Professional library association
• Addiction information services
• ATOD digital library
• Substance use research
• Controlled digital lending

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SALIS is an international nonprofit professional association that curates and disseminates information on alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD). Its principal product is The SALIS Collection, a free digital lending library of more than 8,400 books and reports on addiction, hosted on the Internet Archive platform. The organization also provides membership services, an open-access journal, a long-running newsletter, an annual conference, and a webinar speaker series for addiction information professionals.

Product overview

SALIS (Substance Abuse Librarians & Information Specialists) is an international professional association offering a suite of information resources for the alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD) field. The core offering is The SALIS Collection, a digital library of over 8,400 resources in partnership with the Internet Archive. Supporting offerings include the SALIS Journal (eProceedings published since 2014), SALIS News newsletter (since 1981), New ATOD Books resource listings, annual conferences, and a Speaker Series of webinars launched in 2025. The organization also maintains archives and special collections including the Drug Policy Archive and Rutgers Digital Alcohol Studies Archives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The SALIS Collection: A free, digital collection of full-text alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) books and documents created in partnership with the Internet Archive
• Substance Abuse Library and Information Studies (SALIS) eProceedings
• Drug Policy Archive
• Empathy Lens

Products and services

• The SALIS Collection A free, open-access digital library of more than 8,400 full-text books and reports on alcohol, tobacco, other drugs, and addiction topics, hosted on the Internet Archive platform using Controlled Digital Lending. Available to the general public and to ATOD researchers, librarians, and treatment providers worldwide.
• SALIS Membership International membership organization for librarians and information professionals in the alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD) field, offering networking, access to member-only resources including the SALIS-L listserv, voting rights, ability to hold elected office, and professional development opportunities via annual conferences and webinars.
• SALIS Journal (Substance Abuse Library and Information Studies eProceedings) Open-access eProceedings journal featuring peer-reviewed articles and presentations from SALIS annual conferences on addiction information studies, established in 2014.
• SALIS Conferences & Meetings Annual conference series providing professional development and networking for substance use information specialists, with archived presentations from 1998 to 2023.
• Drug Policy Archive Sub-collection of 2,600 books from the Drug Policy Alliance, including rare materials from Ethan Nadelmann's personal collection with handwritten notes, hosted as part of The SALIS Collection at Internet Archive.
• New ATOD Books Curated listing of new books about alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, with archive of titles dating back to 1997, available as an informational resource for ATOD information professionals.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 8,400 resources available free to the public through the SALIS Collection
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025NNLM provided grant funding for the Empathy Lens project, developed by University of Washington's Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute. The resource provides hundreds of free, non-stigmatizing images for health organizations working in harm reduction.
• Drug Policy AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 April 2025Collaboration to create The Drug Policy Archive, digitizing 2,264 books from DPA's library into the SALIS Collection at Internet Archive. The collection includes rare materials from Ethan Nadelmann's personal collection with handwritten notes, representing a comprehensive resource on drug policy reform and harm reduction.
• Hazelden Betty Ford FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 August 2021Hazelden joined SALIS in the early 1980s. The partnership involves sharing full-text PDFs from Hazelden's library catalog, including self-help brochures, TIP/TAP Series, NIDA and NIAAA Research Monographs, and Surgeon General reports. Librarian Ann Geht represents Hazelden as a SALIS member.
• Internet ArchivecoreTechnology or IntegrationPrimary technology partner for The SALIS Collection digitization project. Internet Archive provides the digital lending platform using Controlled Digital Lending (CDL) technology, enabling SALIS to preserve and make available over 8,400 digitized ATOD resources to the public.
• Rutgers University LibrariesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the Rutgers Digital Alcohol Studies Archives, preserving materials from the Rutgers Center of Alcohol (CAS) Library and Archives. SALIS member Judit Ward contributed blog content on the digitization process.
• University of Washington Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute (ADAI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Empathy Lens project, creating a free resource of accurate, compassionate, non-stigmatizing images for health and service organizations. Presenters Meg Brunner and Erinn McGraw developed the resource funded by NNLM.
• ADAI Clearing House at University of WashingtonminorOthersListed as one of the addiction libraries in the SALIS network, providing clearinghouse services for ATOD information.
• Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA)minorOthersListed as one of the addiction libraries in the SALIS network, contributing to the international ATOD information exchange.
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Library, TorontominorOthersListed as one of the addiction libraries in the SALIS network, serving as a major Canadian resource for addiction and mental health information.
• Alcohol Research Group Library, CaliforniaminorOthersListed as one of the addiction libraries in the SALIS network, providing alcohol research information resources.
• Australian Alcohol and Drug Foundation LibraryminorOthersListed as one of the addiction libraries in the SALIS network, representing the Australian ATOD information community.
• Better World BooksminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership for option to purchase certain books from the SALIS Collection. BWB is a socially responsible bookstore that sells used and new books, integrated into the Internet Archive SALIS Collection interface.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Drug Policy Alliance: Drug policy reform advocacy organization whose library was digitized into the SALIS Collection in 2024-2025. Functions as a content partner and overlapping voice in the ATOD information ecosystem, though its core mission is policy advocacy rather than information curation.
• Research Society on Alcoholism: Scientific research society focused on alcohol studies. Overlaps with SALIS's ATOD domain on the alcohol-focused subset, with comparable professional society structure (membership, journal, annual meeting), but focused on research scientists rather than information professionals.

Others

• Internet Archive: Core technology infrastructure partner hosting the SALIS Collection via Controlled Digital Lending. Not a peer in mission, but a foundational enabling platform without which SALIS's digital library product could not exist at current scale.

Broad incumbents

• American Library Association: Largest U.S. library professional association. SALIS is a specialized subject-matter counterpart within ALA's broader ecosystem, with overlapping advocacy, conference, and continuing-education functions but a narrower domain focus.
• National Library of Medicine: World's largest biomedical library and a likely upstream information source for ATOD researchers. SALIS functions as a complementary curated resource to NLM/PubMed, focused on grey literature and historical materials NLM does not digitize.
• Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation: Major addiction treatment provider that also maintains an addiction-focused library. Direct partner and contributor to the SALIS Collection; comparable as a long-tenured institution curating addiction literature, though operating primarily in clinical care.

Regional players

• Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction: Canadian national addiction agency with library/clearinghouse functions and a listed partner in the SALIS network. Comparable in role as a national ATOD information hub, but operating with government backing and primarily serving Canadian stakeholders.
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH): Canadian addiction and mental health hospital and research center with a major library. SALIS network partner serving as a comparable institutional library resource for addiction information, but with a clinical/research rather than membership-association mandate.

Direct peers

• Medical Library Association: Professional association for health sciences librarians. Highly comparable to SALIS in structure (membership, conferences, special interest groups) and overlaps in serving librarians supporting substance use / addiction treatment information.
• Special Libraries Association: International membership association for librarians and information professionals in specialized fields (health, law, etc.). Directly comparable to SALIS as a niche professional association serving information specialists, with similar membership model, conferences, and advocacy focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/salis.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/substance-abuse-libarians-and-information-specialists-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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