1909-1920
1909 Special Libraries Association (SLA) is officially established
1909 Membership count 57
1909 Dues $2 including subscription to Special Libraries
1910 Affiliation with American Library Association (ALA) begins
1910 Special Libraries begins publication. Subscription $2.
1910 Directory of Special Libraries published, listing 100 libraries and 24 fields
1914 Membership count 354
1915 "Putting Knowledge to Work®" Association slogan coined by John A. Lapp
1919 First Conference held completely independent of ALA
1919-1920 First Female President elected Maude A. Carabin Mann

1920-1930
1923 Five classes of membership were established: Individual, $3; Institutional, $5; Associate, $2; Life, $100; and Honorary
1924 Districts change names to Chapters
1927 Association incorporated in Rhode Island
1928 Membership count 1,129

1930-1940
1930 SLA list of members published
1931 SLA moves to Standard Statistics Building in New York City.
1931-1932 Special Libraries registered as a trade name with the U.S. Patent Office
1931 SLA staff count: Two
1932 First recruitment material. Putting Knowledge to Work-Special Librarianship as a Career
1939 SLA moves to the Stecher-Hafner Building , 31 East 10th Street New York, NY.

1940-1950
1940 SLA staff count: Three
1941-1942 Dues waived for all members drafted in the military or government service
1942 SLA extends services to all libraries engaged in national defense
1943 SLA opens headquarter library
1944 Membership count 3,491
1944 Dues set for new membership categories: Sustaining, $25; Student, $1
1946 SLA becomes a member of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA)
1947 Special Libraries subscription $7
1947 Salary Survey conducted and published in Special Libraries
1949 SLA staff count: Eight; Membership count 5,443; Dues Institutional, $20; Active, $7; Associate, $4
1949 Divisions were formed from groups
1949 SLA disaffiliated from the ALA

1950-1960
1954 Retired membership established, with dues of $5
1959 Translations Monthly publication replaced by Technical Translations
1959 First presentation of SLA Hall of Fame

1960-1970
1960 Publications department established
1961-1962 News and Notes quarterly publication replaces the Bulletin
1963 Subscription to Special Libraries and Technical Book Review, $10 each
1964 Membership count 5,697; Dues Active and Associate, $20
1967 Conventions renamed conferences to emphasize the professional program content
1967 SLA moves to 235 Park Avenue South, New York, NY
1968 Initiation of a study on mechanized records of membership and subscription

1970-1980
1970 Proceedings initiated to seek Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reclassification of SLA as an Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 501(c)(3) organization
1972 Reclassification as an IRC Section 510 (c)(3) approved by IRS
1973 SLA suspends membership in International Federation for Information and Documentation (FID) until South African National Representative to FID either withdraws or no longer represents a government with a policy of apartheid
1974 Special Libraries registered as a trademark
1976 Dues for Members and Associates, $40; Sustaining Members, $200
1978 Professional development department established
1978 Membership approves a resolution not to select conferences and meeting sites in states that have not ratified the Equal Rights Amendment
1979 David Bender is appointed executive director

1980-1990
1981 Dues: Member/Associate Member, $55; Sustaining Member, $250; Student, $12
1981 Special Libraries changes frequency from monthly to quarterly
1981 SpeciaList monthly newsletter begins publication.
1981 Electronic mail communication between the Board of Directors and Association Staff begin experimental basis
1981 First Who's Who in Special Libraries is published
1981 Building Fund is established
1982 Public Relations program is established
1982-1983 Middle Management Institute established
1983-1984 Association celebrates its 75th Anniversary
1984 Building at 1700 18th Street in Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington DC is purchased as a new home for SLA
1984 Dues: Member/Associate Member, $75; Student Member/Retired Member, $15; Sustaining Member, $300
1985 SLA Headquarters moves from New York City to Washington, DC
1986 Fellows Award is established
1986 SLA initiates first annual State of the Art Institute
1987 Information Resources Center (IRC) implements online cataloging
1988 SLA introduces first computer-assisted study program at 79th annual conference
1988 SLA, ALA, District of Columbia Library Association (DCLA), hold Library Legislative Day
1989 Staff count: 26
1989 First Caucus established: Solo Librarian (which later became Solo Librarian Division)

1990-2000
1990 Information Services department established
1991 First annual International Special Librarians Day recognized
1993 SLA is connected to the Internet@ sla1@capcon.net
1995 Dues: Members, $105; Retired/Students, $25; Sustaining, $400
1995 SLA creates online discussion lists for members
1995 SLA launches its first videoconference training session
1996 SLA launches its own World Wide Web site (www.sla.org)
1996 SLA introduces the Legacy Club
1996 SLA publishes Competencies for Special Librarians of the 21st Century
1996 SpeciaList and Special Libraries are discontinued
1997 Information Outlook, the monthly four-color magazine is published
1997 New association management system acquired allowing members to update their records via the website
1997 SLA’s Virtual Bookstore launched
1997 CONSULT Online launched on the website
1998 Information Outlook available online at www.informationoutlook.com
1998 SLA Chat room hosting service created
1998 New Vision Statement and Strategic Plan adopted
1998 Leadership Development Department created to develop, manage and coordinate the Association’s leadership services
1999 Professional Development sponsors its first conference in Southern Europe, Management of the Library in the Electronic Era, in Barcelona, Spain
1999 SLA’s first satellite broadcast videoconference, which included mock licensing activity and discussion groups before and after the broadcast.
1999 Asian Chapter formed
1999 Introduces online conference planner for Annual Conference in Minneapolis

2000- Present
Global 2000 conference held in Brighton, England. Members raised in excess of $80,000 to send 25 librarians from developing countries to the conference.
2000 SLA’s Career Services Online revised to include online posting of job opportunities, resumes, Virtual Advisers, and greatly improved searching capabilities
2000 Launch of the Virtual Exhibit Hall integrated with the online conference planner
2000 Major redesign of SLA’s website, Virtual SLA
2001 SLA Executive Director David R. Bender retires after 22 years of service
2001 SLA Board of Directors appoints Roberta I. Shaffer as new executive director
2001 Publication of the membership e-newsletter, SLA.COMmunicate
2001 Web version of Quicken made available to unit treasurers supporting their need to access their financial records anywhere and at anytime
2002 First publication made available electronically in PDF as well as hardback format
2002 Electronic newsletter, BOARD.COMmunicate, launched to improve communications between the Association’s directors and members
2002 Bylaws revisions approved by members
2003 Vote on changing name
2003 SLA Board of Director appoints Janice R. Lachance as new executive director
2003 SLA members attending the annual business meeting in New York vote to retain Association's name
2003 SLA adopts new vision, mission, and core values statements
2003 SLA announces major web site redesign in response to member needs
2004 SLA accepts multiple currencies
2004 SLA offers multiple language translations on www.sla.org
2004 SLA adopts a new naming model and begins to use the acronym SLA publicly
2004 SLA moves to its new headquarters in historic Alexandria, VA