The Modern Language Association of America (MLA), headquartered in New York City, is the principal professional association for scholars and teachers of English and other modern languages in the United States. Founded in 1883, the MLA publishes the MLA Handbook and the MLA Style Manual (the working citation reference standard for humanities scholarship), the journal PMLA, the MLA Bibliography database, and a substantial scholarly book list. The MLA Handbook by Joseph Gibaldi is one of the most widely used citation and research-paper references in American higher education.