Action for Development through Libraries Programme (ALP)
The ALP Programme was launched in 1984 at the IFLA Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, and was the subject of intensive discussion between 1987 and 1989. It was further developed and defined during 1990 and 1991 as a special project and is fully operational ever since.
The name of the Programme was originally "Advancement of Librarianship Programme", but was in 2004 changed to "Action for Development through Libraries Programme", however, the acronym still remains as "ALP".
Scope Statement
The mission of ALP is to further the library profession, library institutions and library and information services in the developing countries of Africa, Asia and Oceania and Latin America and the Caribbean. Within the special ALP areas the goals are to assist in continuing education and training; to facilitate the establishment of new library associations and the implementation of IFLA Guidelines on the management of library associations; to promote the function of libraries: services to the general public, information literacy and lifelong learning, and to combat functional illiteracy; to promote the use of ICT and the creation of electronic resources and to increase publishing activities and dissemination of information to the communities, with special attention to marginalized groups.
ALP also has a function as catalyst within IFLA for the organization's activities in Africa, Asia and Oceania, Latin America and the Caribbean. The scope of ALP is wide. Therefore, cooperation with relevant IFLA professional bodies, as well as with regional and international organizations, is essential to carry out the programme. ALP achieves its mission through a carefully planned programme of different activities in close cooperation between the International Focal Point of ALP and IFLA's Regional Offices, IFLA's Regional Division and its three Sections, as well as with other partners. This cooperation includes actions such as fund-raising, scholarships and attachment programmes, conferences, seminars and workshops, pilot projects and publications.
More about this core activity's objectives and activities