Excellence in School Librarianship

This is a really powerful video (less than 5 minutes) compiling feedback from administrators of different schools located around the nation on the impact of school librarians. It was posted on the AASL forum yesterday and was created by Judi Moreillon, who is known for her advocacy of school librarians. This would be a fantastic resource to share with principals and other supervisors! 

*Personal side note, feel free to take or leave it: the only two aspects I really wish they had tweaked were the consistent reference to librarians in the feminine (as we all know we have some rockstar guybrarians in our midst!) and the emphasis on school librarians as the Most Important Person. We are each free to have our thoughts on this, but personally I don't think that touting ourselves as the most important members of our faculty is beneficial or accurate. We are equal partners with our teachers and administrators and students and support staff...we just have unique training that helps us fill some special roles!

Blogging Challenge for School Librarians

Check out this blogging challenge for librarians! If you haven't started a blog for your library, this is a great way to get it kicked off nicely! 2014 is the year to come aboard the blogging train.

20-day Blogging Challenge for School Librarians

Blogger, Wordpress, and Edublog are all GREAT platforms for starting a blog. Comment here OR post to our Edmodo group or discussion forum if you want to try this and need help getting started!

Come to the AASL Conference in Hartford!

Only days are left to get the discounted registration rate for the AASL Conference in Hartford!

Advance registration rates end October 17th.



Here are some of the concurrent sessions on Friday, November 15:

• Challenge Your Four Walls with a Twitter PLN
• Game On: Scratch in the Library and Classroom
• Game On: Using the Latest and Greatest to Entice Patrons and Promote Literacy
• Give the Kids the Keys: Students Drive the Independent Project
• Lessons from the Winners Take All Community Read
• Leveraging the Library: Sci-Fi, Storytelling, and New Media Ignite Student Interest in Science
• Making the Case for Tablet Computers
• No-Fear Nonfiction: Meeting the Challenge
• Presenting Social Issues in Teen Literature
• Rising to the Challenge: Preparing Students for College-Level Research
• Rocks in the River: The Challenge of Piloting the Inquiry Process in Today's Learning Environment

And that is just Friday! Plenty of opportunities abound to rub shoulders with some of the best librarians in the business. This type of professional development always brings out the best ideas in technology, books, programming, and literacy promotion.

Conference friends are a built-in bonus and the friendships continue through Twitter and ALA Connect.

So, come and join the fun and remember the old adage that "you get out of it what you put into it!"

ASLA New Librarians Conference June 9th

Leadership for the 21st Century

ASLA New Librarians Conference

It’s back!  The Alabama School Library Association (ASLA) is offering a special professional development opportunity for school librarians who have been librarians for three years or less. This pre-conference is held in conjunction with ASLA’s Annual Simmer Conference. You will have an opportunity to meet other new librarians in Alabama, ASLA Board members, ASLA officers, “Library Girl” Jennifer LeGarde, and hopefully join networks in your area of the state affiliated with ASLA.  You will learn about what ASLA is, what we do, and how you can be an active part of the organization.

You must be new to the library profession, not just new to the position. 

This pre-conference on Sunday, June 9, 2013 will provide:

• All meals - Sunday lunch, Sunday dinner, Monday continental breakfast, and Monday lunch

• Lodging for Sunday night at the Hilton Garden Inn in Liberty Park

• Complimentary 2013-2014 ASLA membership

• Complimentary registration to the ASLA Summer Conference on Monday, June 10^th

• Opportunities to network with local and national school library leaders

• Information on professional organizations and potential leadership possibilities

Best of all, this experience is FREE!

This opportunity will be available to only 25 new school librarians, so act now!   For more information send your name and e-mail address to Jennifer Anders at janders@jefcoed.com or call 205- 379-5550

ASLA (Alabama School Library Association) is a professional organization dedicated to the improvement of instruction through the utilization of media and technology. It provides a forum for school librarians, administrators, curriculum specialists, teachers, school librarianship educators, graduate students, professional association leaders, and retired library media professionals to promote excellence in education in Alabama through effective school library programs.

ASLA is the state affiliate of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, the American Association of School Librarians, and the Alabama Education Association.