On March 26, the Special Libraries Association (SLA) announced its dissolution, following a unanimous vote by 2025 SLA Board members. The SLA Board is currently developing a plan for the dissolution process, which they anticipate should be complete by April 2026. That plan will be presented to SLA membership for a vote in June and, after legal review, a Petition for Dissolution will be filed with the office of the Attorney General for New York. SLA will then have 270 days to wrap up the organization’s finances and liabilities.

The SLA Board intends to hold Town Hall meetings to keep members up to date on the dissolution. SLA President Hildy Dworkin told LJ that the organization is “prioritizing transparency to our members, and disseminating information as soon as possible.” SLA has created a communications team dedicated to this purpose. “SLA is an association made up of its members for its members,” said Past President John DiGilio, and “ultimately the membership has to approve whatever that final plan is. We are going to make sure they have whatever information they need to cast their votes accordingly.” Both Dworkin and DiGilio described an “open door” policy to member questions.

SLA leadership has stated that the organization is dissolving because it can “no longer meet its financial obligations and attempts to reverse declining membership have proven unsuccessful.” The organization cited a decline in “financial stability, membership numbers, and volunteer leadership,” worsened by unexpected expenses that pushed SLA to the brink of insolvency. “There’s been so much upheaval in our industry,” DiGilio said of the current climate for libraries and professional associations. “Nobody knows where libraries stand and what’s next.” While SLA aimed to cut expenses in areas like technology infrastructure, the past year presented damaging surprises. This included the discovery, during a data audit and clean up, that previous competing membership tracking systems had led to inflated and inaccurate membership numbers and income projections.

The timing of the dissolution process aims to avoid a declaration of bankruptcy, which would mean a loss of control over the organization’s finances and distribution of assets. “SLA, we believe, still has a lot to offer,” DiGilio told LJ. “Our goal is to make sure we have the best chance to do that before things run out. Rather than wait until everything comes crashing down, when we might not be able to guarantee that a future of the legacy of SLA persists.” That legacy, he explained, encompasses the “core mission” of SLA to “give special librarians a voice” and to provide opportunities for advocacy. A letter to SLA Members stated that it is “important to the Board that the process of dissolution happens on our terms, where we can maintain the dignity and legacy of the Association we cherish.”

Founded in 1909, SLA served librarians and other information professionals working in specialized libraries, including professionals in law, medical, business, government, and beyond. The hope is that this legacy will not end completely following the dissolution. The SLA Board is “exploring all options to maintain the SLA name and brand, preserve the Association’s history and legacy, and look for an alternative home for its members and partners,” according to an organization statement. This may involve a merger with another organization, which both Dworkin and DiGilio described as a best-case scenario; other options on the table include movement to an all-volunteer structure. “Because the industry itself is going through a period of reset, people want to be involved in that discussion,” said DiGilio. “The bottom line is that people are still interested.”

Dworkin praised the SLA Board of Directors, which has been holding frequent meetings to work out the complexities of the dissolution, ranging from financial to legal processes, and keeping lines of communication open with members. “The discussions obviously right now can be very intense but always productive,” she said. During the dissolution process, SLA will continue to exist—Dworkin noted that even after announcing the dissolution, the organization had over 50 people join. SLA still aims to continue member benefits and events, including its 2025 Annual Conference in June. The theme of this conference, fittingly, is “creative transformation, creating community, creating change,” said Dworkin—the event will include educational sessions, round tables, and open houses for discussion of the dissolution. Overall, the goal is to celebrate SLA’s legacy as the organization takes its next steps.