California School Library Association

What California School Library Association does

California School Library Association (CSLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional association founded in 1915 and headquartered in Long Beach, California (6444 E. Spring Street #237). It serves as the only statewide association dedicated exclusively to California school libraries, with regional chapters covering all 58 California counties through Northern Region (4 sub-regions) and Southern Region (6 sub-regions) structures. CSLA's mission centers on advocating for fully-funded, fully-staffed school library programs and empowering members to promote literacy, inclusivity, and equity for all California students. Its membership comprises certificated teacher librarians, classified library staff, students, institutional partners, commercial supporters, and friends of school libraries, with membership dues tiered from $15 (Friend) to $500 (Sustaining) per year.

CSLA's core product is its membership program, supplemented by an annual conference (~500 attendees), monthly professional development webinars, and curated resources including an Intellectual Freedom Toolkit, AI Toolkits for Educators, WASC accreditation resources, and a TL Research Update. The organization operates the COMPASS Digital Resources program in partnership with the California State Library, providing free database access (Gale, Britannica, Capstone PebbleGo, Teachingbooks.net, ProQuest) to all California K-12 public and charter school students. CSLA's affiliated nonprofit arm, the California School Library Foundation (CSLF), administers scholarships (Rosemarie Bernier, Jewell Gardiner, Leadership for Diversity, SR Teacher Librarian), grants (Natural Disasters, Mini Grants, IMRA), and a planned giving program. Active state-level legislative advocacy is conducted through Ball/Frost Group, LLC as lobbyist, with formal liaison relationships to the California Department of Education.

The association is governed by a 15-member state Executive Board plus regional boards and operates with approximately 10 employees. Technology infrastructure is limited to Neon CRM-based membership management and standard webinar platforms; no proprietary AI, models, or data flywheel exists. Revenue derives from annual membership dues across 8 tiers, conference registration and exhibitor fees, sustaining member contributions from commercial partners (ABDO, Britannica Education, Follett School Solutions, Gale/Cengage, KQED, Mackin, Magic Factory, Media Source, Mrs. Nelson's, Perma-Bound), and tax-deductible donations to CSLF. CSLA is also an AASL Chapter under the American Library Association, extending national reach.

Name

California School Library Association

Legal name

California School Library Association

Website

https://csla.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1915

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CSLA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional association founded in 1915 that advocates for California school libraries through membership, training, conferences, and legislative lobbying for school librarians across all 58 counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE)

Keywords

• Professional association services
• School library advocacy
• Education membership programs
• Professional development webinars
• Educational conferences

Headquarters

HQ city

Long Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees ranging from $25 (Student) to $500 (Sustaining), with categories for certificated librarians ($75), classified staff ($45), associates ($35), friends ($15), institutional ($150), and commercial ($125).
2. Conference Revenue: Annual conference registration fees, exhibitor fees, and sponsorship revenue. The 2027 conference in San Francisco offers exhibitor registration with rates discounted for early registration and CSLA members.
3. Donations to CSLF: The California School Library Foundation (CSLF), the nonprofit arm, accepts donations designated for specific purposes including scholarships, grants, and the public awareness campaign. Donations are tax-exempt charitable contributions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CSLA sells tiered annual memberships to California school library professionals and supporters, granting access to advocacy resources, monthly webinars, a member portal, regional networking, and member pricing at the annual conference. It also runs the annual CSLA Conference, the COMPASS digital resource program providing database access to K-12 students, and the CSLF foundation arm offering grants, scholarships, and planned giving.

Product overview

California School Library Association (CSLA) is a membership-based professional organization that operates as a unified platform supporting California school libraries through advocacy, professional development, and resource provision. The core offering is the multi-tiered CSLA Membership Program, which provides access to newsletters, professional development webinars, curated resources, and networking opportunities. CSLA delivers programs through distinct modules including the annual conference, COMPASS Digital Resources (providing free database access to Gale, Britannica, Capstone PebbleGo, Teachingbooks.net, and ProQuest), the California School Library Foundation (CSLF) providing grants and scholarships, AI Toolkits for educators, Intellectual Freedom Toolkit, advocacy resources, WASC accreditation support, regional scholarships, awards, and position statements. The nonprofit arm (CSLF) manages fundraising including planned giving options. Additional offerings include the Calibk12 discussion forum and Library Advocacy Store on CafePress. The organization is structured into Northern and Southern regions with sub-regions covering all California counties.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CSLA Membership Program Tiered annual membership (Certificated $75, Classified $45, Associate $35, Student $25, Friend $15, Institutional $150, Commercial $125, Sustaining $500) for California school library professionals, institutions, and commercial supporters, providing access to webinars, member portal, advocacy resources, regional chapter programming, and member pricing on the annual conference.
• CSLA Annual Conference Annual in-person professional conference for school library professionals featuring keynote speakers, hands-on workshops, concurrent sessions, an exhibit hall, and networking events. The 2027 conference is scheduled January 28-31 in San Francisco.
• COMPASS Digital Resources California Online Media Program for Access and Student Success, providing free single sign-on access to K-12 research databases (Gale, Encyclopedia Britannica, Capstone PebbleGo Science, Teachingbooks.net, ProQuest) for all California public and charter school students.
• CSLA Monthly Webinars Monthly live professional development webinars on school library topics, open to all attendees for free live participation, with on-demand recordings accessible exclusively to CSLA members through the member portal.
• California School Library Foundation (CSLF) Programs CSLA's tax-exempt nonprofit foundation arm offering charitable giving, scholarships (Rosemarie Bernier $1,500, Leadership for Diversity $1,000-$1,500, regional scholarships up to $2,500), grants (Natural Disasters Grant, IMRA Grant, Mini Grants, Travel Grants), and planned giving programs.
• CSLA Legislative Advocacy Program Annual legislative advocacy program supporting California school libraries at the state level, including annual legislative priorities (Intellectual Freedom, Equitable Access to Diverse Information, Equitable Access to Qualified Library Personnel), legislative tracker, contracted lobbyist, and member advocacy tools.
• Intellectual Freedom Toolkit Five-step toolkit developed with the California State Library to guide school libraries in creating equitable material selection policies and addressing book challenges, aligned with library intellectual freedom principles.
• CSLA Planned Giving Program Legacy and planned giving program through the California School Library Foundation, accepting bequests, retirement plan designations, charitable remainder trusts, and life insurance contributions to support CSLF's long-term work.

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ABDO PublishingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSustaining member supporting CSLA through membership dues. Northern California Contact: Chad Swiggum; Central Contact: Sandi Rowe; Southern California Contact: Steve Nullmeyer; Imperial, Orange, Riverside, San Diego Counties Contact: Ron Joseph. Located at 1920 Lookout Drive, North Mankato, MN 56003.
• Britannica EducationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSustaining member providing educational encyclopedia and content resources. Contact: Rick Booms, VP of Statewide Partnerships. Located at 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite #200, Chicago, IL 60654.
• Follett School SolutionsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSustaining member providing school library management and learning resources. Located at 1340 Ridgeview Drive, McHenry, IL 60050-7047. Phone: 888-511-5114.
• Gale (Cengage)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner supporting CSLA through membership dues. Gale provides digital research resources and databases for libraries.
• KQEDminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPublic media partner supporting CSLA through membership. Located at 2601 Mariposa St., San Francisco, CA 94110. Phone: (415) 864-2000.
• MackinminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSustaining member and award sponsor. Provides educational library resources. Northern California Contact: Jennifer Maydole. Located at 3505 County Road 42 W, Burnsville, MN 55306. Phone: 800-245-9540.
• Magic FactoryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSustaining member. Located at 3818 Somerset Drive, Durham, N.C. 27707. Phone: (919) 585-5644. Contact: Stephen Zapotoczny.
• Media Source (Junior Library Guild, School Library Journal)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSustaining member representing Junior Library Guild and School Library Journal. Located at 7001 Discovery Blvd, Dublin, OH 43017. Junior Library Guild: (800) 325-9558. School Library Journal: (646) 380-0700.
• Mrs. Nelson's Book CompanyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSustaining member providing books and library supplies. Located at 1650 W. Orange Grove Avenue, Pomona, CA 91768. Phone: 800-875-9911.
• Perma-BoundminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSustaining member providing bound books and library materials. Located at 617 East Vandalia Road, Jacksonville, IL 62650. Phone: 800-637-6581. Regional Sales Director: David Wirth, 435-630-0167.
• California Department of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSLA maintains active liaison with the California Department of Education. Renée Ousley-Swank serves as CDE Liaison on the CSLF Board, working in the Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources Division at 1430 N Street, Sacramento, CA 95814-5901.
• California State LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSLA collaborates with the California State Library on intellectual freedom initiatives and the COMPASS digital resources program. The State Library provides funding and guidance for K-12 online content resources including Gale, Britannica, Capstone PebbleGo, Teachingbooks.net, and ProQuest databases.
• Riverside County Office of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with California State Library to launch the COMPASS digital resources program in July 2017. The Riverside Office of Education reviews and revises the program to meet current needs of libraries and students.
• California Teachers AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSLA maintains a liaison relationship with the California Teachers Association as part of its organizational liaison committee.
• California Association of Teachers of English (CATE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in the California Young Reader Medal (CYRM) program along with California Library Association and California Reading Association.
• California Library AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in the California Young Reader Medal (CYRM) program along with CATE and California Reading Association.
• California Reading AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in the California Young Reader Medal (CYRM) program along with CATE and California Library Association.
• San Diego Office of EducationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with CSLA to offer the Instructional Media Resource Associate Program (IMRA) in conjunction with the annual CSLA conference.
• Discovery EducationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHall Davidson serves as Senior Director, Global Learning Initiatives at Discovery Education, and is a member of the CSLF Board, bringing expertise in global learning initiatives and digital integration.
• American Association of School Librarians (AASL)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSLA is an AASL Chapter, the American Association of School Librarians division of the American Library Association, providing national-level representation and resources.
• Ball/Frost Group, LLCcoreOthersJeff Frost of Ball/Frost Group, LLC serves as CSLA's legislative lobbyist, guiding advocacy efforts based on the annual CSLA Legislative Priorities reviewed by the Government Relations Committee.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• California Library Association (CLA): California's statewide library association serving public, academic, and school library interests. Direct peer in geography and mission, with formal partnership via the California Young Reader Medal program.

Broad incumbents

• American Library Association (ALA): National umbrella association for all library types. CSLA's affiliation flows up through AASL to ALA, making ALA the broadest incumbent in the same ecosystem.
• American Association of School Librarians (AASL): National division of ALA dedicated to school librarians; CSLA is an official AASL chapter. AASL is the broader incumbent that CSLA feeds into and aligns with on national advocacy.

Others

• Public Library Association (PLA): ALA division focused on public libraries. Adjacent peer sharing membership association, conference, and advocacy structures but serving public rather than school librarians.
• California Teachers Association (CTA): California's largest K-12 educator union. CSLA maintains an organizational liaison with CTA; CTA represents the broader educator constituency whose school librarian members CSLA serves.
• California Reading Association (CRA): California-based literacy and reading professional association. Co-partner with CSLA in the California Young Reader Medal program; comparable nonprofit professional association structure serving overlapping educator segments.
• Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC): ALA division focused on library service to children. Adjacent peer in the broader library ecosystem, with overlapping interest in children's literacy that CSLA supports through school libraries.

Regional players

• Florida Association for Media in Education (FAME): Florida's statewide association for school library media specialists. Mirrors CSLA's school-library-specific focus, conference structure, and legislative advocacy model in a different region.
• Texas Library Association (TLA): Statewide library association in Texas with parallel school library advocacy, conference programming, and membership tiers. Closely comparable operating model in a different geography.
• New York Library Association (NYLA): Statewide New York library association with similar structure of regional chapters, advocacy, and annual conferences. Comparable membership-based association serving a different state.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/4csla

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles23 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about California School Library Association