Almost one hundred years after the first organization was created to serve and support the burgeoning field of state and local history, AASLH is providing services and leadership to thousands of institutional and individual members. It is the only comprehensive national organization dedicated to state and local history.

From its headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, AASLH serves a membership, which directly reflects the kaleidoscopic demographics of the field itself. Most history organizations in the United States are small, volunteer led and, often, volunteer staffed. They have small budgets and limited staff resources. AASLH is the national organization known for serving this special audience.

AASLH exists to serve the entire field of state and local history. AASLH also includes in its membership organizations and their agents as large as Colonial Williamsburg and the Smithsonian Institution. The Association works hard to represent the field in all of its diversity. For this diverse membership, with its many various circumstances, needs and wants, AASLH has fashioned a roster of programs and services that are meeting members' needs and progressively advancing the goals and standards of the field.