The Philadelphia Chapter of the Special Libraries Association began as a local library organization, the Special Libraries Council of Philadelphia and Vicinity, which was founded in 1919. It promoted the collection, organization, and dissemination of information to executives, research directors, and employees of industrial firms. It also developed the use of pertinent facts and technical materials in the operation of all types of business.

In 1933 the Council affiliated with the Special Libraries Association and became the Philadelphia Chapter. At that time the Special Libraries Association was an international organization of 5,000 special librarians. Its membership was composed of librarians and research workers who were actively engaged in the administration and interpretation of technical information in advertising and financial companies; in industrial firms manufacturing diverse products such as chemicals, electrical machinery, food, petroleum, pharmaceuticals, radios, steel, and textiles; and in governmental, educational, and social welfare institutions. The Council had active research groups within its membership such as the Science-Technology Group and the Social Science Group. These groups developed specific projects for the improvement of libraries and research organizations.

The chapter newsletter, the Bulletin, has been published since 1934 and is issued three to four times a year. It contains news of interest to special librarians. The chapter published the Directory of Libraries and Information Sources/Centers in Philadelphia and Vicinity from 1920-1999 in paper format. In 2004 the chapter unveiled its first online version of the directory. The chapter has operated an employment service since 1930 and currently posts job advertisements for special librarians in the Delaware Valley area. Regular chapter meetings are held from September to May in special library facilities or restaurants. The programs consist of panel discussions, featured speakers, demonstrations, or social occasions.

The records indicate that the chapter conscientiously documented its history from its beginning. The collection was weeded in the 1940s, and again in the 1980s and 1990s, more extensively and in accordance with a records retention policy developed by the Special Libraries Association for its chapters. The collection was stored at the Free Library of Philadelphia from the chapter’s founding through the 1980s. In 1984, it was moved to Friends Hospital, where it stayed until 1994, when it was transferred to the library at QVC, Inc (librarians who worked for these organizations were officers of the Philadelphia Chapter of SLA at the time the records were moved there). The collection was transferred to the Drexel University Archives in 2005.

Original order in the collection has been preserved in the arrangement of series. The first series consists of general materials relating to the history and governance of the chapter and other miscellaneous records relevant to the chapter as a whole, some of which were added to this series by the archivist. The next three series consist of records created by individual chapter governing bodies and officers (executive board, president, secretary, and treasurer), committees, and special interest groups.

1. General
2. Officers
3. Committees
4. Chapter Groups
5. Projects
6. Publications
7. Associated Organizations

Consult archivist regarding copyright restrictions.

The collection is open for research use.

Transferred to the University Archives by chapter member Marjorie Smink, May 2005. Deed of gift on file in office of university archivist.

According to the records of the chapter's archives committee, the collection was kept from the founding of the chapter until the 1980s at the Free Library of Philadelphia. It was moved to Friends Hospital in 1984. Records indicate that the collection was weeded extensively over time in accordance with the national association's records retention policy.

Special Libraries Association, Philadelphia Chapter, Records, Drexel University Archives.