In 1959, PNLA celebrated its golden anniversary in Seattle, with a well-attended preconference on the role of personnel training and supervision.  Program highlights included sessions on the work of public library commissions, county libraries, and how to select and advertise children’s books.  For a $5.00 registration fee, attendees also enjoyed luncheon banquets, an author’s breakfast, and a hosted boat trip around Lake Union).  Ending its first half-century, the association could reasonably in give itself a pat on the back for all its accomplishments.

The Seattle World’s Fair was the focus of PNLA activity in 1962.  Automation and technology, topics that would soon consume the profession, were part of the Century 21 exhibit.  A database underwritten by IBM contained more than 1500 books, including Great Books of the Western World.

As with the rest of the world, the sixties was a time of great change for PNLA.  Topics such as what role the association would play in the future, the elimination of standing committees, PNLA’s relationship with PNBC, election of officers and the location and timing of conferences were all hotly debated.  By 1967, PNLA had restructured to include 5 active and standing committees: Bibliography, Membership, Nominations, Adult Education, and Library Development and Legislation.

With reorganization, new members and new ideas continued to push PNLA toward more change.  The theme of library cooperation was prominent well into the next decade.   The work of the PNBC increased significantly, with book borrowing and photocopy requests rising exponentially.  By the end of sixties, PNBC consisted of 215 members with a union catalog of more than 3.7 million cards.