ALA is the leader for national and international policies and standards concerning information services. Its mission is "to provide leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all." ALA serves public, state, school, tribal and academic libraries, and special libraries in government, industry, the armed services, hospitals, and prisons; and in rural, urban and suburban areas. ALA supports all types of literacy, economic mobility, educational persistence, full participation in democracy, intellectual freedom, access to information, the arts and is a trusted source of public health information; and serves all ages and communities.