Libraries and librarianship drew the attention of the association following the First World War.  During the 1920s, wages for library workers were low but work was plentiful.  With the Great Depression, the situation changed dramatically.  Library staff was cut everywhere, book buying budgets were frozen, and building projects scaled back or put on hold.

In 1934, PNLA celebrated its silver anniversary in Walla Walla by looking ahead.  The Proceedings reflect a profession concerned with familiar issues: balancing the needs of a general public with leisure time against specialists and their needs, marketing, publicity, centralized library administrations, regional cooperation of libraries, focusing on the needs of children as they outgrew the resources in the children’s section, and making the catalog more accessible to the public.

The 26th conference took place in Portland in 1935, with several important issues coming up for votes.  These included opposition to war preparation and fascism, advocacy for federal funding of nationwide library service, the creation of a quarterly publication and a call to reform ALA; giving rank and file members more voice. A recurring theme of the organization has been communication and publicity.  Conference proceedings were prepared and mailed to members as well as “publicity albums.” 

The first issue of the PNLA Quarterly was published in October, 1936.  Subtitled “A Northwest Journal of Current Library Opinion,” the Quarterly was an outgrowth of the need for both a recruitment tool and also a centralized communication channel for association members.   It is the winner of three ALA/H.W. Wilson Periodical Awards and has been in continuous publication for the past sixty-three years.  Similar to conference proceedings, the Quarterly serves as both a mirror and measure of current issues and interests.