BRYN MAWR, Pennsylvania — The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is developing a “Summer Scares” reading program that will provide libraries and schools with an annual list of recommended horror titles for adult, young adult (teen), and middle grade readers. The goal is to introduce new authors and help librarians start conversations with readers that will extend beyond the books from each list and promote reading for years to come.
HWA is partnering with United for Libraries, Book Riot, and Library Journal/School Library Journal on “Summer Scares.”
Award-winning author Grady Hendrix and a committee of four librarians will be selecting three recommended fiction titles in each of three reading levels— Middle Grade, Teen, and Adult— for a total of nine “Summer Scares” selections. The goal of the program is to encourage a national conversation about the entire horror genre, across all age levels, at libraries all over the country and ultimately get more adults, teens, and children interested in reading. Official “Summer Scares” designated authors will also be making themselves available to appear, either virtually or in person, at public and school libraries all over the country, for free.
“Horror is one of those genres that is incredibly popular,” Grady Hendrix says. “But people look at you funny when you say you like reading horror. We want to use this opportunity to showcase the best of what’s out there today. These stories won’t just scare readers, but they’ll make them laugh, make them cry, and make them cringe. There’s more to horror than just saying ‘boo’.”
The committee’s final selections will be announced on February 14, 2019— National Library Lover’s Day. Some or all of the authors of those titles will appear on a panel to kick off “Summer Scares” at Librarian’s Day during StokerCon 2019 on May 10, 2019, in Grand Rapids, Mich.
CHICAGO – New research published in the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) peer-reviewed online journal, School Library Research (SLR), reports the findings of two case studies focused on student reading motivation. SLR promotes and publishes high-quality original research concerning the management, implementation and evaluation of school library programs. Articles can be accessed for free at www.ala.org/aasl/slr.
Natalie Hoyle Ross, a library media center director at Spring Brook Elementary School, focused her research on school librarians’ perceived value of one children’s choice award––the Bluestem Award––and its effect on school librarians’ promotions and student behavior in the school library. To conduct her research, Ross completed a qualitative collective case study and single case study and collected data from site visits, questionnaires, book availability, book circulation and voting ballots.
Ross shares her findings in “Sparking Reading Motivation with the Bluestem: School Librarians’ Role with a Children’s Choice Award.” Results suggest that school librarians’ perceived value of the Bluestem was essential for their promotion of the award. When school librarians purchased multiple copies of Bluestem Award books and promotional material and combined these items with increased personal interaction with learners, reading motivation increased.
School Library Research (ISSN: 2165-1019) is the successor to School Library Media Research (ISSN: 1523-4320) and School Library Media Quarterly Online. The journal is peer-reviewed, indexed by H. W. Wilson’s Library Literature and by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology and continues to welcome manuscripts that focus on high-quality original research concerning the management, implementation and evaluation of school library programs.
The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), empowers leaders to transform teaching and learning.
CHICAGO – As part of a key strategic initiative, the Public Library Association (PLA) has released a free promotional toolkit designed to help libraries raise awareness of family engagement through libraries. This new resource can be used to supplement libraries’ marketing, fundraising, community relations and political advocacy work.
The term “family engagement” describes a shared responsibility among families, educators and communities to support children’s learning and development. Building upon the early-childhood literacy success of Every Child Ready to Read@ your library® (ECRR), PLA established a Family Engagement Initiative in 2015 to help libraries serve families of all types with children of all ages.
Public libraries are critical to family engagement, given their ability to develop strong and lasting relationships with families, engage all members of the family no matter their ages or interests, and offer access to afterschool, weekend and summer programming, particularly in communities lacking many resources.
“Family engagement is all about nurturing the knowledge, attitudes, values, and behaviors that enable motivated, enthusiastic, and successful learners,” explains Clara N. Bohrer, co-chair of the task force and director of the West Bloomfield Township (Michigan) Public Library. “In libraries, that means forming respectful partnerships with parents and caregivers, and providing them with information, guidance, and opportunities to be active in their children’s learning and development.”
The Family Engagement Toolkit was developed in partnership with the American Library Association (ALA), as part of ALA’s Libraries Transform public awareness campaign. Best known for its signature “Because” statements, Libraries Transform was created to help libraries of all kinds communicate in one clear, energetic voice.
The Toolkit offers both strategy and tactics for family engagement advocates, including message points, customizable graphics, promotional ideas, and program examples from IDEABOOK: Libraries for Families, a family engagement publication released in 2017 by PLA and the Global Family Research Project. This is the second toolkit PLA has developed through the Libraries Transform campaign; a toolkit on Health Literacy was released last year.
Accessing the Toolkit
Registration on the Libraries Transform website is required to download the materials. To access the new Family Engagement Toolkit, please begin by clicking here. The link will bring you to a password-protected landing page where you must enter your existing credentials, or create a new registration, to proceed. Once the login/registration process is complete, reopen the URL http://ilovelibraries.org/librariestransform/family-engagement-toolkit to access the full toolkit.
For more information on PLA and family engagement, or to share examples of what your library is doing to engage parents in the education of children and youth, please contact Scott Allen at sallen@ala.org. Libraries are also encouraged to add their program information to the Living IDEABOOK, an online repository of family engagement ideas and success stories.
CHICAGO—ALA Publishing eLearning Solutions announces an exciting new workshop, Sensory Storytime Programs with Jennifer Roy. This workshop will last 90 minutes and take place at 2:30pm Eastern/1:30 Central/12:30 Mountain/11:30am Pacific on Wed., July 25, 2018.
For children with autism or sensory processing issues, a visit to their library’s storytime can be overwhelming and challenging for both parents and children. With as many as 1 in 59 children with autism according to the CDC, libraries across the country have begun to recognize and meet this need for an alternative storytime offering.
Whether you are thinking about starting sensory storytime or are looking to enhance your existing program, this workshop provides you with practical ideas for creating an interactive and responsive program that works for your community.
Jennifer Roy, an experienced children’s librarian, introduces you to sensory processing disorders and offers practical strategies so you can better connect with this target audience. Using step-by-step instructions, Roy teaches you how to structure a sensory storytime program and provides suggestions for selecting books, music, and materials for a range of budget and staffing considerations. You’ll walk away with the knowledge to set goals and objectives for the program that will help define and evaluate success.
About the Instructor
For 20 years, Jennifer Roy has been working with children in public libraries across the country and briefly in the United Kingdom. She has launched new services, reimagined spaces, and established productive partnerships. She earned her MLIS from San Jose State University in California and her BS in Early Childhood Education from Framingham State University in Massachusetts. With a special interest in early literacy, she has worked with non-profit groups, such as Reach Out and Read, Reading is Fundamental, and Imagination Library. She has created and led training programs for library staff at the branch, system, county, and state levels, including the creation of training manuals and evaluation tools. She currently works as an independent library consultant with a focus on training youth services professionals.
Registration for this ALA Publishing eLearning Solutions Workshop is available on the ALA Store. You can purchase registration at both individual and group rates.
ALA Publishing eLearning Solutions Workshops offer a convenient, hands-on learning experience that will help you and your colleagues make the best decisions for your library. This workshop is licensed for use by staff or users of the purchasing institution or library organization.
ALA Publishing eLearning Solutions (ELS) produces high-quality professional development events and materials for the library profession. ELS events cover modern issues on a wide variety of topics in formats that include live workshops, asynchronous eCourses, and print publications. We help ensure that today’s library employees have access to the professional development opportunities they need, whether they are brushing up on the basics or expanding their horizons with cutting-edge tools. Contact us at elsmarketing@ala.org.
ALA Store purchases fund advocacy, awareness, and accreditation programs for library professionals worldwide.
CHICAGO — There’s no doubt that foundational knowledge of science, technology, engineering, and math will help tomorrow’s job seekers to excel in the future of work. However, much of this success depends on the level of STEM instruction they receive while still in elementary, middle and high school.
While we often assume that STEM programs are being initiated by classroom teachers, new research suggests that librarians and media specialists are increasingly taking the lead in bringing new, innovative tools into their school programs.
Join us at 1 p.m. Eastern on Monday, June 11 for “Librarians’ Insights on How to Integrate STEM and Coding into Makerspaces,” a free, 60-minute webinar led by Dr. Azadeh Jamalian, head of education strategy at littleBits. Dr. Jamalian will talk about how school libraries are bringing STEM into their curriculum and the leading role that librarians and media specialists are taking to make this a reality.
Whether you’re an educator inspiring the next generation of problem solvers, a stakeholder involved in developing programs for your community, or a librarian interested in facilitating maker activities in your school or library setting, you will benefit from attending this session. Be sure to bring your questions!
Azadeh (Azi) Jamalian, PhD, is the head of Education Strategy at littleBits, an award-winning platform of easy-to-use electronic building blocks that is empowering kids everywhere to create inventions, large and small. Dr. Jamalian has a PhD in Cognitive Studies in Education from Teachers College Columbia University, and has published journal articles and book chapters on a broad range of topics such as designing learning platforms for children, emerging educational tech, game design, mathematical education, and cognition. Dr. Jamalian has received numerous awards including “IES Prize for Excellence in Research on Cognition and Student Learning” and “The Cooney Center’s certificate of innovation in Children’s Learning.”
This American Libraries Live webinar is sponsored by littleBits.
littleBits is an award-winning 21st century tool for invention-based learning. The easy-to-use electronic building blocks snap together with magnets empowering everyone to create inventions, large and small. Each color-coded Bit has a specific function (e.g. lights, sensors, internet connectivity) and is reusable. With endless inventions, guides, and resources, educators and students can engage in increasingly complex challenges and grow their TECHNOLOGY LITERACY, CRITICAL THINKING, CREATIVE CONFIDENCE, CODING and STEAM SKILLS.
American Libraries Live is an immediate and effective way to get to the heart of the real issues in our industry. Each program lasts 60 minutes. With the help of real-time technology, it’s like having your own expert on hand. We look forward to you joining us. To receive e-mail reminders, register here. If you’re unable to attend live, this event will be recorded and available at americanlibrarieslive.org/al-live shortly after it concludes.
For information about advertising or sponsoring an AL Live event, contact: Carrie Smith, American Libraries magazine, casmith@ala.org, (312) 280-4216. For general information or press inquiries about AL Live, contact: Colton Ursiny, Administrative Assistant, cursiny@ala.org, (312) 280-5100.
CHICAGO – Mike Havener, school librarian for Springfield (Illinois) High School, is the recipient of the 2018 American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) Ruth Toor Grant for Strong Public School Libraries. Sponsored by Jay Toor, the grant provides $3,000 in funding for the creation and implementation of a local public awareness/marketing campaign that promotes and positions the school library as a necessary resource in the community.
Havener will use the Toor funds to build a recording studio in an underused office space centrally located in his school library. Along with technological equipment, Havener plans to use a portion of the budget on painting the space and adding sound-dampening panels to the walls. His goal is to create a fresh, modern, and attractive space for students to work together in, while increasing foot traffic and advertising modern, non-traditional library services. Students and faculty will be invited to use the studio to record broadcasts that will bring greater public and administrative attention to the school library.
“One of the best ways to gain the attention and engagement of parents, administration, and community members is to showcase the work and creations of students,” wrote Havener in his application. “This project will give the library program the same kind attention that departments such as art and music receive through exhibits and concerts. All projects will be hosted on the school library website, uploaded to iTunes, and advertised throughout the building bringing crucial public and administrative awareness to the power, importance, and necessity of a strong school library program.”
“The recording studio planned by Mr. Havener will showcase student learning and creativity in ways unique to the school library,” said Lynn Gordon, award committee chair. “These broadcasts are the kind of creative collaboration that bring the library to the forefront of the school and serve as an advertisement for the school library! We give Mr. Havener, his partners Ms. Kaisner and Mr. Lightfoot, and the staff and students of Springfield High School our sincere congratulations and best wishes as they move forward with this project.”
Along with the $3,000 in funding for project creation and implementation, the grant includes $2,000 for both the school librarian and a school official to attend the ALA Annual Conference.
The AASL award winners will be honored at the AASL Awards Ceremony & President’s Program during the 2018 ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans. The ceremony will be held from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. on Saturday, June 23. All are welcome to celebrate the accomplishments of their peers during this recognition event.
The American Association of School Librarians www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), empowers leaders to transform teaching and learning.
Contact:
Sarah Ostman
Communications Manager
ALA Public Programs Office
312-280-5061 sostman@ala.org
CHICAGO — Twenty-five libraries have been selected to participate in the pilot phase of the Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) Great Stories Club, a thematic reading and discussion program series that will engage underserved teens through literature-based library outreach programs and racial healing work, the American Library Association (ALA) announced.
The TRHT GSC is supported by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
An expansion of ALA’s long-standing Great Stories Club program model, the TRHT Great Stories Club will feature books that explore the coming-of-age experience for young people in historically marginalized groups. The TRHT Great Stories Club is a part of the Kellogg Foundation’s Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation efforts, a comprehensive, national and community-based process to plan for and bring about transformational and sustainable change, and to address the historic and contemporary effects of racism.
The grantees represent twenty public libraries, two K-12 school libraries, one academic/college library and two prison libraries. Some grantees will work in partnership with alternative schools, youth detention centers and other organizations that serve youth. View a full list of grantee libraries and their partner organizations.
The libraries will work with small groups of teens to read and discuss three titles — selected by librarians and humanities scholars to resonate with reluctant readers facing difficult challenges — on the theme “Growing Up Brave on the Margins.”
Featured titles will include “Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal” by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona; “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas; and “MARCH: Book One” by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell.
Participating libraries will host at least three book discussion programs and at least one interactive racial healing session, led by a racial healing practitioner familiar with the Kellogg Foundation’s TRHT framework and racial healing approach. Programming will take place between May and October 2018.
Towson University, a public university near Baltimore, Maryland, will implement the TRHT Great Stories Club program by drawing on partnerships between Towson’s Center for Student Diversity and students from Baltimore City Schools.
“Our primary goals are that participants in the program get these three empowering books in their hands and get to meet each other in a space where their voices are central,” wrote Miriam DesHarnais, research and instruction librarian at Towson University’s Albert S. Cook Library. “By connecting the high school students with university students who are involved with Towson University’s Black Student Union, Towson Freedom School and our library’s A-LIST Student Leadership Program, we hope to provide a window into what activism and engagement on a college campus can look like.”
Grantees will receive 11 copies of each of the three book selections (ten to gift to participants; one for discussion leader/library collection); programming materials such as discussion guides, reading lists and program activities; and training opportunities, including travel and accommodations for a two-day orientation workshop in Chicago for project directors.
The TRHT Great Stories Club will be administered by ALA’s Public Programs Office in partnership with ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services.
About the American Library Association
The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with approximately 57,000 members in academic, public, school, government and special libraries. The mission of the American Library Association 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.
About the ALA Great Stories Club
A project of the American Library Association (ALA), the Great Stories Club (GSC) is a reading and discussion program model that targets underserved, troubled teen populations. Launched in 2006, the GSC has received funding from Oprah’s Angel Network, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ford Foundation, bringing literary reading and discussion programming to more than 800 libraries and 30,000 young adults. The project seeks to inspire teens to consider “big questions” about the world around them and their place in it, affecting how they view themselves as thinkers and creators; establish important connections between underserved youth, their public library and community support agencies; and contribute to improved literacy and changed, positive attitudes toward reading.
Renée Watson, author of Piecing Me Together, and Ekua Holmes, illustrator of Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets, are the winners of the 2018 Coretta Scott King Book Awards honoring African American authors and illustrators of outstanding books for children and young adults. David Barclay Moore, author of The Stars Beneath Our Feet, and Charly Palmer, illustrator of Mama Africa! How Miriam Makeba Spread Hope with Her Song, are the winners of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent. The awards were announced at the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits, held Feb. 9-13, 2018, in Denver, Colorado, and presented in New Orleans at the ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition in June.
The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are presented annually by the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee of the ALAs Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT) to encourage the artistic expression of the African American experience via literature and the graphic arts; to promote an understanding and appreciation of the Black culture and experience, and to commemorate the life and legacy of Mrs. Coretta Scott King for her courage and determination in supporting the work of her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., for peace and world brotherhood.
In Piecing Me Together, published by Bloomsbury,Jade is a likable protagonist who is easy to root for. There are many stories that shape who we are as peopleand Jade helps others express their feelings and thoughts about the world around them. Watson provides a multi-layered, yet necessary look at Black womanhood.
Renée Watson is an author, educator, and activist from Portland, Oregon, who now lives in New York City. Watson has taught creative writing and theater in public schools and community centers throughout the U.S. for over twenty years. She often focuses on the lived experiences of Black girls and women.
Watson brings us a coming-of-age tale that eloquently explores the many facets of Jade, a brilliant and creative teen on the brink of young adulthood, said Coretta Scott King Book Awards Jury Chair Sam Bloom.
In Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets, written by Kwame Alexander with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth and published by Candlewick Press, Ekua Holmess mixed-media collage images balance the tone and tenor of the new poems created by the authors, while paying homage to each of the featured poets in the subtle details extracted from various aspects.
“Holmes expertly infuses the multilayered poetry with the richness of the Black art aesthetic in her original, evocative, vibrantly colored compositions,” said Coretta Scott King Book Awards Jury Chair Sam Bloom.
Ekua Holmes is a native and current resident of Boston, Massachusetts, who has worked as an artist, curator, and active member of Bostons art community. She was influenced by the need to fill the void of what she perceived as an absence of positive Black images in her childhood neighborhoods.
The Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent affirms new talent and offers visibility for excellence in writing and/or illustration at the beginning of a career as a published African American creator of childrens books. This years winners are author David Barclay Moore for The Stars Beneath Our Feet, published by Alfred A. Knopf, and illustrator Charly Palmer for Mama Africa! How Miriam Makeba Spread Hope with Her Song, published by Farrar Straus Giroux.
The Stars Beneath Our Feet provides a realistic lens on the Black American experience and infuses it with heart, soul, and imagination. Moore plays with language, culture, stereotypes, and reality to create an engaging book that will resonate with youth in urban communities everywhere searching for positive survival techniques.
Mama Africa! How Miriam Makeba Spread Hope with Her Song visually tells the story of the singers career through the use of vibrant, colorful illustrations that juxtapose her rise in fame in comparison to the South African peoples civil rights struggle with apartheid. Palmers bold illustrations expertly complement the text in a riveting duet.
Three King Author Honor Books were selected:
Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James, and published by Bolden, an Agate Imprint, a Denene Millner Book.
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, published by Atheneum, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Childrens Publishing Division, a Caitlyn Dlouhy Book.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Two King Illustrator Honor Books were selected:
Crown: an Ode to the Fresh Cut, illustrated by Gordon C. James, written by Derrick Barnes,and published by Bolden, an Agate Imprint, a Denene Millner Book.
Before She Was Harriet:The Story of Harriet Tubman, illustrated by James E. Ransome, written by Lesa Cline-Ransome, and published by Holiday House.
For information on the Coretta Scott King Book Awards and other ALA Youth Media Awards, please visit www.ala.org/yma.
CHICAGO — For Immediate Release, Mon, 11/27/2017
Contact:
Rob Christopher
Marketing Coordinator
ALA Publishing
American Library Association
(312) 280-5052
CHICAGO — Despite the proliferation of online homework websites and tutoring services, public libraries still have an important role to play when it comes to supporting young people’s educational needs. Public libraries that take a proactive approach—by setting up organized homework centers—have the potential to become catalysts for better performance in school, improved self-esteem, and engaged learning. Whether readers are investigating the possibility of setting up a center from scratch or are eager to revamp an existing center, Cindy Mediavilla’s “Creating & Managing the Full-Service Homework Center,” published by ALA Editions, shows the way forward with:
discussion of the philosophy behind a public library homework center and its many benefits, with useful talking points for getting stakeholders on board;
examples of model programs from across the country;
guidance on assessing the community’s educational priorities and utilizing outcome-based planning and evaluation methods;
pragmatic advice on how to collaborate with schools and educators to coordinate goals;
thorough consideration of such key issues as carving out a space, setting hours, scheduling staff, and selecting and procuring educational resources;
handy tools for a successful homework center, including sample surveys, homework helper application forms and contracts, staff and volunteer job descriptions, and focus group questions;
advice on equipment and technology considerations; and
methodologies for evaluation and improvement.
Mediavilla authored “Creating the Full–Service Homework Center in Your Library,” (ALA, 2001), which has been called “the quintessential guide to the practicalities of setting up a formal homework help center to provide one–to–one homework assistance to student patrons” (Intner, “Homework Help from the Library,” ix). In the early 1990s she managed a homework center, called the Friendly Stop, for the Orange (CA) Public Library, and she has been studying after–school homework programs ever since. She has published several articles on the topic and has evaluated homework programs for the Long Beach and Los Angeles public libraries. She has made presentations on homework help programs at the conferences of several major library associations, and she has also conducted many workshops on the topic.
ALA Store purchases fund advocacy, awareness and accreditation programs for library professionals worldwide. ALA Editions and ALA Neal-Schuman publishes resources used worldwide by tens of thousands of library and information professionals to improve programs, build on best practices, develop leadership, and for personal professional development. ALA authors and developers are leaders in their fields, and their content is published in a growing range of print and electronic formats. Contact ALA Editions at (800) 545-2433 ext. 5052 or editionsmarketing@ala.org.
Contact:
Jennifer Habley
Manager, Web Communications
American Association of School Librarians
312-280-4383 jhabley@ala.org
PHOENIX – The American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) closed the curtain on a landmark National Conference & Exhibition Nov. 9-11 in Phoenix, Arizona, after introducing new standards school librarians will use for years to come.
Attended by more than 2,500 school librarians, administrators and exhibitors, the conference affirmed and strengthened the common beliefs of school librarians as they carry on their mission to make the school library the hub of a learning community that prepares learners for college, career and life.
Themed “Beyond the Horizon,” the event brought together school librarians, educators, authors and exhibitors at the only national conference dedicated solely to the needs of school librarians. Attendees participated in preconference workshops, author events, more than 100 concurrent sessions and access to an exhibition featuring companies relevant to school libraries and their users.
The major event was the launch of the “National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries.” The Standards, the result of a research-based approach with feedback from more than 1,300 school librarians and stakeholders, proclaim the role of school librarians in modeling, promoting and fostering inquiry. It also points to the school library’s value in bridging digital and socioeconomic divides.
“The National Standards demonstrate a long-term commitment to our profession that provides guidance for school libraries, school librarians, and the communities and learners we serve,” said AASL President Steven Yates. “The standards editorial board, led by Marcia Mardis, and the implementation task force, led by Mary Keeling, deserve fist bumps and high-fives for their monumental efforts.”
Local school libraries opened their doors to conference attendees for tours. They included a stop at Casa Grande Union High School. This school had plans to eliminate the school library program, but students successfully advocated for the program to be kept open. The tour also stopped at Vista Grande High School library, a joint-use library with a brand new maker space and a gaming space.
Attendees took advantage of such networking events as IdeaLab, a best-practice showcase featuring tabletop video displays several topics, among them blended learning, flipped classrooms and STEM/STEAM. In addition, an Unconference offered an opportunity to examine the National School Library Standards in a structured World Café format.
Concurrent sessions focused on pertinent topics for combating fake news, going beyond makerspaces and meeting the needs of autism spectrum disorder students in the school library. Several concurrent sessions were dedicated to the new AASL Standards, broken down into related foundations: inquire and include, collaborate and curate, and explore and engage.
Jaime Casap. served as Opening Keynote speaker. Google Inc.’s chief education evangelist preached the power and potential of technology and Web as enabling and supporting tools in the pursuit of inquiry-driven project-based learning models.
Jason Reynolds, award-winning author of “Ghost,” a National Book Award-finalist and the recipient of the Coretta Scott King Honor, the Walter Dean Myers Award and the Kirkus Award, regaled those who attended the Saturday General Session, with his love of stories and his concern about reluctant young readers.
Special events included Authors in the afternoon, featuring Christian Robinson, author of such award-winning books as “Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker,” Jordan Sonnenblick, who wrote the acclaimed “Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie” and Sarah Dessen, author of “Once and for All,” who was awarded the 2017 Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults.
The conference celebration on Friday night was held on Corona Ranch, an authentic Phoenix treasure, with a mariachi band and rodeo entertainment,,
Reporters from Publishers Weekly, American Libraries and School Library Journal were onsite and provided conference coverage. AASL President Steven Yates published an opinion in the Arizona Republic on the dire need for school librarians in the state. Yates was also interviewed on the same topic by Phoenix’s KTAR-FM for a recurring news segment that aired Thursday and Friday.
For more information regarding the AASL National Conference & Exhibition, please visit national.aasl.org.
The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), promotes the improvement and extension of library program services in elementary and secondary schools as a means of strengthening the total education program. Its mission is to empower leaders to transform teaching and learning.
Whether you are thinking about starting sensory storytime or are looking to enhance your existing program, this workshop provides you with practical ideas for creating an interactive and responsive program that works for your community.
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CHICAGO — For Immediate Release, Mon, 11/27/2017