91´«Ã½

CHICAGO – During the 2020 91´«Ã½ Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Affiliate Assembly voted to adopt the term Chapters for state and regional school library associations. The change in name better reflects the relationship of AASL to state and regional school library associations and aligns with other similar entities within 91´«Ã½. It also reflects recommendations made by the Steering Committee on Organizational Effectiveness (SCOE) in their reimagined 91´«Ã½ governance model.

“Organizations grow and change, and sometimes a change in terminology is needed to clarify the relationships of subsidiary units within the larger whole,” explained AASL President Mary Keeling. “91´«Ã½, and several divisions within 91´«Ã½, already designate state-level associations as ‘chapters.’ AASL, in changing the name of this body, is simply aligning our practice with that of our colleagues.”

“I’m excited to start a new decade with a new name for Affiliate Assembly,” said Blake Hopper, chair of the chapter coordinating team. “During the Affiliate Assembly meeting at Midwinter, it was unanimously decided to change our name to Chapters as it would help us better align with 91´«Ã½.”

AASL Chapters bring matters occurring at the state and local level to the national-level attention of the AASL Board of Directors. In addition, Chapters put forward programs, events, or products supportive of school libraries for formal commendation from AASL. Chapters also provide communication to and from the national organization through resource distribution and visits from AASL leadership.

The American Association of School Librarians, , a division of the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½), empowers leaders to transform teaching and learning.