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CHICAGO – Three research papers have been awarded the 2022 American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Research Grants by the Educators of School Librarians Section (ESLS) of AASL. Sponsored by ABC-CLIO, the grants recognize excellence in manuscripts addressing a persistent and recurring challenge in the field of school librarianship. Each grant consists of a $350 award and the researchers will present their papers at the 2023 AASL National Conference in Tampa, Florida.

Recipients of the 2022 AASL Research Grants are:

Melanie Lewis Croft, Assistant Professor in Media, University of West Georgia, “Enabling School Librarians to Serve as Instructional Leaders of Multiple Literacies.”

April Dawkins, Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Emily Eidson, School Library Media Coordinator, Ledford Middle School, Davidson County Schools, “A Content Analysis of District School Library Selection Policies in the United States”

Kyungwon Koh, Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Xun Ge, Professor, University of Oklahoma, and Julia Burns Petrella, Doctoral Candidate, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, “Librarian-Teacher Co-Teaching and the Role of School Librarians in Facilitating Inquiry and Maker Learning”

“The research explored in this year’s recipients reflects the multi-faceted and critical leadership role school librarians hold in education today,” said Joyce Valenza, ESLS chair. “By offering these grants and acknowledging the grant winners, AASL looks to increase the visibility of school library research while also providing evidence-based practice to school librarians in the field.”

“AASL made a commitment in our strategic plan to advance research that informs school librarian practice,” said AASL President Jennisen Lucas. “School librarians are instructional partners, teachers, leaders, information specialists, and program administrators and this year’s recipients touch on each of these roles in their papers. It will be exciting to hear the researchers communicate their findings at national conference in Tampa. I’m sure the sessions will be full of school librarians looking to apply their findings to their own school library practice.”

The AASL award winners will be recognized during the 2023 AASL National Conference taking place October 19-21 in Tampa, Florida. The 2022 and 2023 AASL Research Grant recipients will present their papers as part of concurrent sessions during the conference.

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