The following is a composite statement from documents of the ILA and the NYAIL

Our Mission Statement:
Together and individually, we are dedicated to the improvement
of our profession. We strive to educate ourselves and increase
our knowledge and ability, for our benefit and for the benefit of
the institutions that we serve. We encourage good fellowship
among members by interchange of experiences and special knowledge.

Who we are: We are locksmiths, carpenters and building
engineers employed by and/or working for colleges, universities,
hospitals, companies, and government facilities, and involved in
the installation, servicing, maintenance, specifying and/or
recommending of security and life safety hardware.

We work in various job titles. We're licensed (where required).
We might belong to various unions (or none). We work for various
departments at our employers:
* Security/public safety
* Buildings & grounds
* Maintenance
* Facilities management
* etc.

We typically have varying responsibilities which might include:
* Locks
* Key cutting
* Masterkey systems
* Recommend, specify and approve door hardware
( for new construction and renovation}
* Life safety issues
* Key issue/key control
* CCTV
* Access control
* Door checks
* Tower clocks and bells
* A.D.A. (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance
* Computer systems
* Web page maintenance

What we have in common is the fact that we work as locksmiths,
whether in the job title or not!


Why the Institutional Locksmith Association? : Institutional
locksmiths found themselves with problems and nowhere to turn
for help. We needed a forum for the locksmiths to be able to discuss
common problems which occur in the institutional setting, such as:
* Help with key control and master keying
* Help with technical information
* Help locating parts, supplies, key codes, etc.
* Help communicating internal needs to your institution.
* Help with maintaining currency of knowledge
* Help understanding rapidly changing llife safety and fire codes


What are the Benefits for You and Your Institution? We are
dedicated to improve our profession and ourselves for the benefit of
our Institutions through:
* Education
* Communication
* Cooperation
* Certification

Our Associate membership, which consists of factory
representatives and distributors of locksmith and security supplies,
provides contacts and benefits which are invaluable to your institution,
including:
• New Product Reviews
• Technical Info & Help
• Master Keying Assistance
• Free or Discount Training and Much More!

We also offer three levels of locksmith certification:
CIL - Certified Institutional Locksmith
CJIL - Certified Journeyman Institutional Locksmith
CMIL - Certified Master Institutional Locksmith
as well as our PLUS program which recognizes those Institutional
Locksmiths who make the extra effort to maintain currency of
knowledge and to be of benefit to the trade and their institution
by earning Continuing Education credits through taking or teaching
classes, writing books or articles, or taking additional testing.