Author: Faizan Irfan
Mphil scholar (Punjab University)
Lecturer Library Science (Govt. Associate College, Safdrabad)
American Library Association (ALA)
The American Library Association (ALA) is the world’s oldest and most powerful library organization. The aim of the American Library Association (ALA) is to “provide leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services, as well as the profession of librarianship, in order to facilitate learning and assure universal access to information.” It comes into existence on October 6, 1876, in Philadelphia during the Centennial Exposition.
Strategic Planning at the American Library Association
The ALA Council approved a new Strategic Plan (2017 Update) on June 28, 2015, as well as the Association’s new strategic directions for the next three to five years. In the fall of 2018, the ALA Executive Board voted to declare that the ALA’s Strategic Directions for the next three to five years will be guided by a social justice lens.. The following are the four strategic directions:
- Advocacy
- Information Policy
- Professional & Leadership Development.
- Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Mission & Priorities
Mission:
“The mission of the American Library Association shall be to promote library service and librarianship,” according to the ALA Constitution. “To provide leadership for the growth, promotion, and improvement of library and information services, as well as the profession of librarianship, in order to facilitate learning and assure access to information for all,” says the mission statement.
Motto:
The best reading, for the largest number, at the least cost.
Priorities:
n 1998, the ALA Council adopted Diversity, Equity of Access, Education and Continuous Learning, Intellectual Freedom, and 21st Century Literacy as guiding principles for steering the Association’s operations and resources. These principles have been expanded to include eight Key Action Areas, which are supplemented by the ALA Ahead to 2015 report. The Association’s current strategic plan, which began with ALA Goal 2000, section 2005, and ALA Ahead to 2010.
Note: Official link to visit virtually American Library Associations: https://www.ala.org/
References
Retrieved from: https://www.ala.org/