The American Library Association, founded in 1876, is the oldest and largest national library association in the world. It is concerned with all types of libraries: state, public, school, and academic libraries, and special libraries serving persons in government, commerce and industry, the arts, the armed services, hospitals, prisons, and other institutions. With a membership of libraries, librarians, and other interested persons from every state and many countries of the world, the association is the chief spokesman for the people of the United States in their search for the highest quality of library and information services. The association maintains a close working relationship with more than 70 other library associations in the United States , Canada , and other countries, and it works closely with many other organizations concerned with education, research, cultural development, recreation, and public service. In 1978 the Association had 3 078 organization members and 31476 personal members.