The Uttar Pradesh Library Association (U.P.L.A.), a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1960, was first established during the All India Library Conference held in Lucknow from April 19–22, 1935. Its first President was Dr. Wali Mohammed, and Mr. Fazal Illahi served as General Secretary.

After becoming inactive due to limited library awareness, the Association was revived in 1948 under the leadership of Col. N. Rahman. It was revived again in 1956, in the presence of Chief Minister Dr. Sampurnanand, with Mr. C.G. Vishwanathan as President and Mr. K. Kumar as General Secretary. Since then, U.P.L.A. has actively worked to advance librarianship and library development across Uttar Pradesh.

Major Objectives:

• To develop library movement within the State
• To improve the status and service conditions of library and information science professionals
• To generate an appropriate public opinion for the Public Library law in the State
• To create reading habits amongst the general public in the State
• To coordinate with the Government and the Social organizations in the planning and execution of their policies towards mass education
• To take all such actions as may be identical or conducive to the attainment of the objectives of the Association

The Association adopted a federal structure in 1959 by amending its constitution to enable wider participation, establishing branches in major districts, including Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi, Kanpur, and others. It is governed by an elected Executive Committee, with more than 1950 life members.

In 1959, U.P.L.A. launched a Certificate Course in Library Science to train semi-professionals and school librarians. The course was later taken over by the U.P. Education Department in 1970. Currently, 13 Schools of Library Science operate under U.P.L.A., training around 550 students annually, and organizing refresher courses to strengthen professional skills.