91´«Ã½

CHICAGO – The Association of Indiana School Library Educators (AISLE) has been named one of four recipients of the 2020 American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) Past-Presidents Planning Grant for National School Library Standards. The $2,500 grants, awarded in honor of AASL past presidents, are presented annually to AASL Chapters for the planning and execution of an event, initiative, or activity focused on the implementation of AASL's . AISLE is the recipient of the planning grant awarded in honor of Carl A. Harvey II and sponsored by Roger and Susan D. Ballard.

Said grant committee chair Dorcas Hand, “Indiana is modeling an innovative and comprehensive strategy that began in 2018 with data collection about the state of school libraries statewide, and will now answer that data with training focused on perceived gaps, specifically in the education of workers staffing school libraries without adequate training in school library functions and goals. This model will be useful in many other states, as will the training that is to be carefully targeted to both current library staff and interested potential library staff not yet trained.”

“AISLE will use their planning grant to offer professional development to targeted school library employees and candidates, especially non-degreed librarians and library support staff, who may wish to become school librarians,” said AASL President Mary Keeling. “This deep dive into the AASL Standards aims to inspire a vision of strong school libraries and encourage enrollment in a school library certification program for those who have no formal training in librarianship. I applaud AISLE for developing a program that addresses the very serious professional development needs in their state.”

“AASL works with its chapters to activate leadership within the school library community and to influence educational policy and funding for school libraries at the local, state, and national levels,” said Keeling. “We are pleased to offer planning grants honoring past presidents to help state chapters address their state librarians’ particular professional learning needs. This year’s grants demonstrate how the National School Library Standards can inspire strong school libraries in any context and serve as a frame for powerful messaging. I am delighted with the variety of plans receiving awards. Many thanks to AASL’s past presidents who continue to lead through their generous sponsorship of these awards, and congratulations to the grant recipients!”

The AASL award winners will be honored during a virtual AASL Awards Ceremony during the fall of 2020. The virtual ceremony will replace the live ceremony traditionally presented during the 91´«Ã½ Annual Conference. Out of concern for the health and safety of all members of the community, the 91´«Ã½ Executive Board felt it was important to cancel the 2020 conference taking place in Chicago. Details for the virtual ceremony will be shared as they are finalized.

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