The first President of the Indian Library Association was

The correct answer is ​M O Thomas.

Key Points

• The Indian Library Association (ILA) was established on September 13, 1933.
• It was formed on the occasion of the 1st All India Library Conference held at Calcutta (now Kolkata). 
• The ILA is the largest and most renowned professional body in the field of Library and Information Science in India.
• The headquarters of ILA is situated in Delhi, India.
• It is the premier national association representing the library profession in the country. 
• M O Thomas was the first president of ILA from 1933-1937.
• Dr. Mohan Rambhau Kherde is the current President of ILA.

Additional Information

• Publications:
  • The Journal of the Indian Library Association (JILA) is an official organ of the Indian Library Association (ILA).JILA as an official organ of ILA started in 1965. The journal is issued as a quarterly publication.
  • Since 1978, the Association has been publishing regularly the proceedings of the All India Library, Conference which includes the Seminar Papers discussed at the meeting.
  • In 1985, it brought out the fourth edition of the Indian Library Directory
  • An ILA Members Directory was published in 1987.
  • In 1995, a database NALANDA of over 10,000 libraries (5336 Academic, 1470 Public, and 3280 Special) was created.
• ILA has instituted many awards for encouraging excellence in professional practices such as: 
  • ILA-Kaula Best Librarian Award 
  • ILA- Vendanaikee Fellowship
  • ILA-C D Sharma Award 
  • ILA- AG Verghese Award
  • ILA-Dr. K Padma Umapathy and Dr. S K Umapathy Fellowship in Library and Information Sc.
  • ILA-Dr. L M Padhya Best University Library Award 
  • ILA-S M Ganguly Award