Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How may I obtain assistance with navigating the website?

A. To gain assistance by phone, contact ALA at (800) 545-2433, press 3 to reach the ALA Library, or send an e-mail to library@ala.org.

Q. What do all the buttons mean on the home page? What will they allow me to access?

A. Going across the top, left to right:

Libraries & You — geared to the public, with recommended reading lists and information on how to support libraries

Education & Careers -- information on accredited programs, recruitment and continuing education

Awards & Scholarships — information on grants, fellowships and professional achievement awards

Our Association — the home pages for ALA governance, divisions, offices and roundtable

Issues & Advocacy — contains one-stop pages for information on issues ranging from diversity to censorship to literacy

And on the second row:

Professional Tools -- a toolbox of resources for those who work in all types of libraries, including collection services, administration and management and user services; these pages pull from resources across the website

Events & Conferences — lists goings-on at ALA, its divisions, office and roundtables, including details on annual events such as National Library Week and Banned Books Week

Products & Publications — everything printed, published or sold by the ALA

News — features the latest press releases, press kits and promotions, plus a link to AL Online

Q. Can you give me some tips on searching your site effectively?

This site uses the standard Boolean search operators AND, OR and NOT to help you refine your search. If you have trouble with a search, just click on the Search Tips link on the Advanced Search page.

Q. What do I do if there was something on your old site but I can't find it on the site now?

First, we recommend that you try using our Search tool to find the page. If that doesn't work, you can email library@ala.org for help, or visit the site archive at http://archive.ala.org. Please note that if you visit the archive, the content you find there may be outdated.

Q. Will the URLs that I currently use to gain quick access to the site still work?

A. The main ALA URL -- www.ala.org -- remains the same. Many division, roundtable and office URLs also transferred to the new site. There are, however, many underlying addresses or URLs that will be changed in the transition. Enhanced search features and a detailed site maps are available in the new site to assist members and visitors in finding information. In addition, you may visit the Conversion Status Report for updated information on the progress of content migration from ALA's archive site to the new site.

During the week of January 19, 2004, URLs on ALA's Web site will be dramatically shortened to enhance the site's usability and allow users to refer to its pages more easily in print and other publications. This change to the site's structure will not affect any existing references to the longer URLs found on the site previously. All "old" URLs will automatically "redirect" to new ones, so that if you have bookmarked one of our pages, referred to it in print, or linked to it from somewhere else on the Web, you will be automatically redirected to the appropriate content.

Q. If I have feedback about the site, how can I send the feedback to ALA?

A. ALA is very interested in hearing what our members and site visitors have to say about our website. We have established an email box for this purpose. To provide feedback, you may complete the Feedback Form online, or email feedback@ala.org. (For comments or questions about ALA and its work, please use ala@ala.org.)