An Open Letter from ALA President Roberta Stevens and ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels:
Dear Colleagues:
Here is ALA’s new 2015 Strategic Plan (PDF file).
The plan outlines the vision and goals that will guide us through what promises to be a period of unprecedented challenges and opportunities for libraries. It reflects the work of thousands of members and the many boards, committees, and affiliates who responded to member questionnaires, helped craft the draft document, and provided suggestions and comments that were incorporated into the plan at every stage of its development.
Like all good plans, it builds upon the strengths of the Association, while at the same time looking toward the future. Our core organizational values still include a commitment to extending and expanding library services, and to representing all types of libraries and all librarians, library staff, trustees, and others working to improve library services. Social responsibility and the public good also remain core values, and our key action areas still include equitable access to information and library services, intellectual freedom, and literacy.
- Advocacy, Funding, and Public Policy continues as a key Association goal. This includes increasing public awareness of the value and impact of libraries, research and evaluation documenting the value and impact of libraries and resources, and training for advocates seeking increased funding and support for libraries. It also includes increased advocacy for literacy, intellectual freedom, equity of access, privacy, fair use, the preservation of our cultural heritage, information literacy, and permanent no-fee public access to government information.
- The Building the Profession goal includes ensuring that library education and training reflect the core values of the profession and meet the needs of the communities we serve. It also encompasses providing continuing education and career development and certification opportunities, as well as leadership and career development opportunities for LIS students. This goal also calls for us to assist libraries in recruiting a high-quality, diverse library workforce.
- The Transforming Libraries goal reflects a new and critical priority for every library and every member: How do we lead the transformation of libraries in an increasingly global digital information environment? Among the ways to do so are through increasing opportunities to share innovative practices and concepts, the recognition of and support for experimentation with innovative and transformational ideas, by helping libraries make use of new and emerging technologies, and by providing increased leadership development and training opportunities designed to support this transformation of libraries.
- The Member Engagement goal looks at how we can develop an Association in which all members, regardless of location or position, have the opportunity to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from engagement in their Association. This goal stresses continued innovation and experimentation in the creation of new opportunities for face-to-face and virtual engagement and new ways of recognizing member contributions.
- Last, the Organizational Excellence goal calls for continuous improvement of products and services to better serve current members and to attract new members. It also addresses the need to develop the resources needed to ensure the vitality of Association programs and services, and to strengthen the Chapters and Affiliates.
The 2015 plan is ambitious, but it recognizes that working together, our 60,000+ members can achieve great things. To quote from our “Big Audacious Goal”:
“ALA (that’s us) builds a world where libraries, both physical and virtual, are central to lifelong discovery and learning and where everyone is a library user.”
Working together, we can make this goal a reality.
Roberta Stevens
PresidentKeith Michael Fiels
Executive Director
