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CHICAGO – The Washington Library Association (WLA) - School Library Division is the recipient of the 2024 American Association of School Librarians (AASL) ABC-CLIO Leadership Grant. Sponsored by ABC-CLIO, the $1,750 grant is given to an AASL Chapter for planning and implementing leadership programs at the state, regional, or local level.

WLA – School Library Division’s program “Olympic Library Leadership Incubator” will grow leadership among chapter members. By enabling participants to step into leadership positions both within the library world and communities, this program will create a strong group of school library advocates who understand how to leverage their relationships and programs to develop school library supporters in their communities and across the state.

WLA president, Sarah Logan, notes “Far too many educators enter the classroom or administrator’s office with little or no idea of the role of Teacher-Librarians, and this needs to change. We hope to harness the collective power of school library leaders to implement this change in our state and to create a model for expanding our library ecosystem into teacher- and school administrator- education that could be replicated across the nation.”

“The committee appreciated the chapter’s development of a program that other chapters could learn from and replicate in their states,” said Laura Ward, award committee chair. “The WLA-School Library Division’s “Olympic Library Leadership Incubator” program will not only offer a workshop for future leaders to develop specific goals but will also provide support throughout the year as plans roll out across the state.”

The ABC-CLIO Leadership Grant will enable WLA- School Library Division to offer a one-day in-person workshop that will include instruction on:

• Creating and delivering professional development to classroom teachers and site administrators
• Creating and delivering conference sessions and journal articles both within the library world and to adjacent groups (educator groups, school board groups, parent groups, etc.)
• Leveraging the connections and visibility this activity creates to increase the profile of school librarians and strong school library programs among our stakeholders.

In addition, the workshop will also create a plan for including education about Teacher-Librarianship in teacher and administrator pre-service programs.

“Partnerships with fellow educators and school administrators are critical for the success of school libraries and school librarians,” said AASL President Courtney Pentland. “Empowering the school librarians in Washington to engage, educate, and activate as advocates is not only admirable but necessary for the future success of school libraries in Washington state and across the country. I look forward to hearing more about this wonderful program that builds relationships between Washington school librarians and both current and pre-service educators and administrators and possibly seeing its expansion across the AASL’s Chapters.”

The AASL award winners will be recognized during the 2025 AASL National Conference taking place October 16-19 in St. Louis, Missouri.

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

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