Theatre Library Association Updates and Future Planning
Dear TLA membership past, present, and prospective,
I’m writing on behalf of the remaining Theatre Library Association Board and legacy officers to share some overdue updates about the organization, and to invite all of you to help us reenergize and reboot TLA for a sustainable future.
For a variety of reasons exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the work of the Board and the activities of the Association have been inactive in some administrative areas over the last couple of years. Currently, most past members have lapsed membership status and we have not conducted new elections for officers and Board members. We apologize for this lull in activity and have been meeting to discuss both legacy and newer ways forward for TLA that offer manageable administrative workload and more programming and participation opportunities for prospective TLA members.
What is Ongoing and/or Under Review
- Book Awards, Professional Awards, and Brooks McNamara Performing Arts Librarian Scholarship are still active. The Book Awards have been a long-standing highlight of TLA that requires long-term sustainability, and we would like to invite more participation in its administration. You can watch a recording of this year’s Book Awards online!
- TLA Panel at the 2026 Music Library Association (MLA) Conference: “Beyond Scripts and Scores: Challenges and Opportunities in Performing Arts Librarianship.”
- Performing Arts Resources (PAR) publishing and distribution is on pause and under review to determine sustainability, leadership, and logistics. You can view an open access edition of the most recent 2025 volume available online.
Short Term Plans
- We will form an Interim Board for this year for renewed planning and sustainability, to be followed by full elections at a later time.
- All new and renewing personal membership fees will be waived for this year, and we will extend free membership an additional year for individuals who have paid dues the last couple of years. See more information below!
- We are planning an initial TLA forum on November 14th (3:00pm EST) to discuss the new shape of TLA moving forward, what programs you might want to see, what partnerships you want to pursue, and ways to make this association a vital resource for your work. A separate message will be sent to the listserv about the forum.
- We are exploring partnerships with associations like Music Library Association (MLA), ASTR, ATHE, and SIBMAS to strengthen our organization and operations.
- The website will be updated to reflect current information, as well as the changes that TLA is undergoing.
What You Can Do
- Join or Renew your membership (for free!) via our website. We have removed fees for memberships at this time, and you should not be charged. Select “Free Membership” if you are a new member and simply log in to renew if you are a past member. If you have paid for membership renewal over the last couple of years, we will make sure you can extend an additional free year as well.
- Attend the November Forum next Friday on November 14 at 3:00pm EST to add your voice to the conversation about the future of TLA. More information will be forthcoming about the forum. We will be exploring additional feedback opportunities for members over the coming year.
- Fill out this form (ideally by November 30, 2025) if you are interested in helping us shape this next phase of TLA either as a member of the Interim Board or as a volunteer.
- Contact the Book Awards Committee (tlabookawards@gmail.com) if you are interested in helping with planning and implementation of future TLA Book Awards.
Please stay tuned for more information, as we do some catching up and move into the next era of the Theatre Library Association.
Best wishes,
Diana King, on behalf of legacy TLA officers and the TLA Board