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Bob Sibert, president of Bound to Stay Bound Books, has been selected as the recipient of the 2015 Crystal Apple by American Association of School Librarians (AASL) President Terri Grief. The Crystal Apple honor is given at the discretion of the AASL president to an individual or group that has had a significant impact on school library programs and students.

Sibert’s support has enabled AASL to share advocacy tools with both school librarians and school administrators. A BTSB grant covered the cost of printing AASL’s School Library Programs Improve Student Learning advocacy brochures and the dissemination of 50,000 brochures to public, elementary and middle school principals.

In March of 2015, as part of another BTSB sponsored initiative, the advocacy brochures, along with 25 copies of a limited print edition of the “School Libraries Transform Learning” digital supplement, were mailed to delegates and leadership of state and regional school library associations. These advocacy packs were created for distribution to state-level policy makers, administrators and school board leaders, and additional BTSB sponsored advocacy packs will be made available in the future to AASL national conference attendees and to the profession-at-large.

“I would encourage everyone out there affected by education - in other words, everyone - to join me in supporting school librarians and the cause of good school libraries,” said Sibert. “At a time when reading and research skills are more important than ever, while school libraries and school librarians are being neglected or eliminated, there will never be a more critical time to join the cause.”

“Bound to Stay Bound President Bob Sibert is the Crystal Apple recipient because of his longstanding, personal involvement with AASL,” said AASL President Terri Grief. “His outstanding contributions as a member of the Alliance Committee and his eagerness to promote AASL are only two of the reasons I selected him. We are so fortunate to have him as a major partner.”

“I would like to thank Terri Grief, the AASL Board and the membership for the AASL Crystal Apple Award,” Sibert continued. “Our company, Bound to Stay Bound Books, was presented with this honor in 2004 and, truthfully, there is no way I would even have been considered for it this year if not for all the hard work and support that comes from the Bound to Stay Bound team.”