I want to thank Molly as well as the Division Presidents who made sure to spread the word at every major function and event.  In addition, blasting it out to their Boards, their members, and the entire library community.  We are in this together!

As of this second (1/25 at 9:20pm) we are at 14,377 signatures, and we need 10,623 more signatures.  We need to reach 25,000 in just a few days – Feb. 4th.  So, please continue to blast it out on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and every other venue you have.  Please continue to help get the word out about school libraries and help us ensure the Obama administration has to respond to this petition.

Interview with ALA President Molly Raphael:

Interview with AASL President Carl Harvey:

White House Response:  https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petition-tool/response/combating-online-piracy-while-protecting-open-and-innovative-internet

Huffington Post Article:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/14/white-house-sopa-pipa_n_1206347.html

After 12 days, the petition for school libraries is almost at 8700 signatures.  This is over 1/3rd of the signatures we need, but we still need over 16,300 more signatures.  We have to get 25,000 signatures to get a White House response.  Please continue to push the survey with family, friends, teachers, students, administrators, community members, and anyone you know that might be willing to sign. Anyone over the age of 13 can sign the petition.

The link to the petition can be found here:  http://wh.gov/Wgd

You do have to create an account to be able to sign the petition.

I understand it can be a little clunky and not everyone is successful the first time.  Trying different browsers and different computers has helped some folks.  Logging out of the site and logging back in has helped others.  Still others has persevered and come back a day or two later and it worked.

Thank you so much for all everyone has done to get us this far, but keep up the effort to get more signatures!  We have until Feb. 4, 2012, so time is ticking away!

Events / Projects

• Most of my time from October to December was spent traveling.  I had the chance to visit some wonderful state conferences as well as our own AASL National Conference.   AASL has a rotation where the President, President-Elect, and Past-President visit a total of 10 state conferences each year.  It brings a connection between the state and national organizations.  Of the five states I’ve visiting this school year, four had conferences this fall.

Below are links to blog postings with my thoughts from the various events.

• Kentucky School Media Association – http://carl-harvey.com/libraryties/2011/10/01/a-visit-to-louisville-ky/
• Connecticut Association of School Media  – http://carl-harvey.com/libraryties/2011/11/13/a-visit-to-hartford-ct/
• AASL National Conference – http://carl-harvey.com/libraryties/2011/11/13/aasl-15th-national-conference-and-exhibition/
• Michigan Association of Media Educators – http://carl-harvey.com/libraryties/2011/11/13/a-visit-to-lansing-mi/
• Indiana Library Federation – http://carl-harvey.com/libraryties/2011/11/20/a-visit-to-ft-wayne-in/ (while this one was not an “official” visit, I had to attend my own state conference!)
• Arizona Library Association – http://carl-harvey.com/libraryties/2012/01/01/a-visit-to-tuscon-az/
• Personal project – following the lead of our colleague in California, I am preparing to post a new petition about school libraries on the White House petition website.  Look for it in early January.
  • http://carl-harvey.com/libraryties/2011/11/28/school-library-white-house-petition-%E2%80%93-some-thoughts-and-next-steps/
• The Congressional Briefing was a success.  There is still much to do in helping to educate lawmakers about school libraries, but it was a good start.  As part of the new federal budget, Congress appropriated $28.6 millionfor literacy.  A minimum of half, or $14.3 million must go to low-income school libraries.  Continued effort will be needed as ESEA reauthorization goes through Congress.
  • http://carl-harvey.com/libraryties/2011/10/19/aasl-goes-to-washington/
  • http://www.ala.org/aasl/aaslissues/advocacy/briefing

Board Votes

The Board continues to work in between our Annual and Midwinter meetings.

• The Board voted to ask the ALA Education Committee for a permanent seat for the ESLS section on their committee.
• The Board voted to approve Columbus, Ohio as the location of the 2015 AASL Conference.
• The Board voted to sign on as a stakeholder of the National Center for Literacy Education.

Press Interviews

• Podcast – American Radio Network
• Huffington Post – How will we read in schools?
• What You Can Do To Support School Libraries
• ASCD article – The Coach in the Library
• Detroit Free Press

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the work of AASL.

I got a chance for the first time to hear Stephen Abrams.  He was actually at the Indiana Library Federation conference a few weeks prior, but I had conflicts for each of his session.  So, it was fun to actual hear some of his thoughts on the future of libraries.  Its a very hot topic not only in the public library realm, but also school libraries.  How do we need to adapt and change to be effective and relevant today (and in the future!)?

Arizona has a student book choice award called the Grand Canyon Award, so it was an honor to attend their luncheon.  I also had the opportunity to speak at the Teacher-Librarian division’s business meeting.  Jean Kilker and Kerrlita Westrick, co-chairs of the division, were wonderful hosts and it was great to share with them some of the many projects AASL is working on.

This was my last stop for 2011.  I have loved all my visits this fall to the various state conferences, and am looking forward to the few I visit in the spring.  But, it has been great to be home for a while and play catch-up on things around the house and at school.

Michigan was the second time I attended a conference and was the opening keynote speaker.  Hopefully my spin on how librarians should be leaders was a good fit for them.  I enjoyed sharing some of the stories from our school and learning some about how the schools in Michigan are doing.  With my sessions done first, I was able to sit back and just enjoy the conference…a real treat.  There were great sessions from the likes of Kristin Fontichairo, Judy Hauser, and more.  I loved meeting their retiree group.  MAME 4 Ever does some amazing work for Michigan.  I had never heard of a garage sale at the exhibit hall, but what a great way for retirees to pass on their valuable resources to the next generation.  Teri Belcher and her crew do just an amazing job.

As always, my favorite parts were the conversations.  The closing keynote was my friend Gail Bush, so it was fun to catch-up with her as well.  Sue Lay and her conference committee did an amazing job of putting it all together.  The last event I attended was the Past-President luncheon.  It was a great way to pass on the wisdom of the association to the new and future leaders.  They had quite a turn out!

I’m home for a while, but our state conference and one more Presidential visit is on the calendar before the end of the year!  Its been busy, but a lot of fun!

WOW!  I could probably sum up my feelings of AASL’s 15th National Conference and Exhibition conference with just one word.  But, as my English teachers in high school reminded me often, short and succinct were not always my strong suit.  I’ll have to say it was such an honor and a thrill to be President of AASL during the National Conference.  The real work of planning, organizing, and running the conference was done by the AASL Conference Committee led by Cheryl Steele and Ty Burns as well as our amazing AASL Staff.  It was so great to see all of that hard work paid off.

As we’re only two weeks since the conference, I’m just catching up at home and work.  The bad thing about that is I’m way behind in writing this post.  The good thing is I’ve had a little more time to reflect and think about the experience in Minneapolis, MN.    I’m sure I won’t be able to truly convey the conference experience in just a few words, but certainly there were many highlights.

The biggest observation I had was the positive tone!  We’ve heard the horror stories as the economy has impacted education funding and in turn effected school library programs.  But, instead of dwelling on that at the conference, everyone I talked with and interacted with was more focused on the future.  How do we move forward?  How do we prepare for the future of our field?  How can I go back to the situation I have and apply what I learned this week?  Sure, we all have stumbling blocks in the way of creating the program we know our students deserve and need.  But, instead of wallowing in what we couldn’t do, the feeling in the conference for me was more about what we can do.  I believe that is a critical path for us to follow.

One of the signs of a good conference is there are so many sessions you want to attend, that you can’t make it to all of them.  This was very true for this conference.  I really had to plot and think about which session was going to benefit me most in my position.  I also used some of the symbols in the book to know that some of the sessions would be available in the virtual conference (more about that in a minute), so I could use that to factor in some of my decisions as well.  I saw amazing sessions from Buffy Hamilton, Steven Baule, Violet Harada, and Annette Lamb just to name a few.

My “big” job during the conference was to kick the conference off with the opening general session.  I’ll have to say I think that will end up being one of the highlights of my presidency.  To walk out on the stage and see a room filled with school librarians eager and ready to spend the next few days learning and sharing with each other was inspiring.  I got through all my talking points without too many fumbles.

The two main speakers brought different perspectives.  I was more familiar with Nicholas Carr as I read his book as part of the online discussion we held on the AASL conference ning.  His concepts about how the Internet is effecting our ability to think are interesting.  It certainly brought some great questions and discussion as I think many of those in attendance.  Certainly, the attendees connected with Dr. Mimi Ito.  Her research about kids and technology and how they are using it was fascinating.  We offered two showings of the movie: Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century.  I wasn’t able to get to the showings of the movie, but after listening to her speak I am looking forward to watching the DVD.  This was certainly an interesting combination of opening and closing speakers.  I think both created a great atmosphere for discussion and debate and it provided a rich conversation experience.

The Exploratorium, Author Banquets, Learning Commons, Storytelling Event, and more filled out the rest of the conference.  Unfortunately I couldn’t get to as many of them as I had hoped.  But, those things I couldn’t attend in person, I heard wonderful comments from other attendees.

I did get to spend some time in the exhibit hall.  It was great to catch-up with some of my vendor friends and check out some of the great new products coming down the pike, too.  Of course, there were a few receptions and fun events as well which was also a lot of fun.

One thing AASL is trying is how to bring the conference to some that couldn’t make it to Minneapolis.  The virtual conference provides access to the keynotes, concurrent sessions, and slidecasts of other sessions.  An amazing wealth of professional development you can enjoy while sitting in the comfort of your own home or library.  Using some of the latest technology and tools it does require AASL to charge for access, but it is well worth the dollars spend and a bargain compared to coming to MN.

The conference ended with our traditional closing party at Nicolette Island.  It was a great evening to kick back and have some fun.  We ate, we talked, and we danced (yeah, they even managed to drag me out there a bit!).  It was a great way to end a wonderful few days of learning.

I’ve said it before and likely will say it again, the part I loved best was being able to talk and share and learning from all my friends, colleagues, and attendees.  As I left Minneapolis to come home (at least for a few days), I came away with new friends, new ideas, and at the same time got to connect with some of my dear friends I’ve met over the last 10 years since I attended my first AASL in 2001.

Below are some links to more photos and video clips from the conference posted by friends and colleagues.

Twitter hashtag – #aasl11

Pictures:
AASL 11 Photo Group – http://www.flickr.com/groups/aasl2011/
Capstone Photos – http://connect.capstonepub.com/2011/11/an-aasl-2011-pictorial.html

My Photos -

School Tube Video

Video from School Library Monthly

I’m a little behind in sharing some of these adventures, so working on playing catch-up today.    I had the pleasure of visiting the Connecticut Association of School Librarians in Hartford, CT on Monday, October 24th.  They held a one day conference in collaboration with the Connecticut Educators Computer Association.

This was a whirlwind visit, as I headed straight from the AASL Executive Committee meetings in Chicago to the conference and straight from the conference to the Minneapolis for the AASL Conference.  But, I had a great day with the folks in Connecticut.

My sessions focused on leadership and elementary 21st Century Skills.  I enjoyed listening to the opening keynote from Dr. Jason Ohler.  I had a quick visit with author Jerry Pallotta who had visited our school 10 years ago.  It was a great day chatting with friends and meeting new ones from CT.  Sara Kelly-Mudie and her crew from CT put together a great one day event.

It was kind of neat to be in Hartford, too, because I got a sneak peak of the facility where the 16th AASL National Conference will be held on November 13-17, 2013.

On Monday of this week, I had the pleasure to be in the company of an amazing panel of school library supporters.  These amazing educators and parents came together in Washington, D.C. for the first ever AASL Congressional Briefing.

The briefing, titled Education Reform and the SKILLS Act: The Impact of the Twenty-First Century School Libraries on Career and College Preparedness, was presented by AASL in conjunction with Representative Rush Holt and Senator Jack Reed.  The briefing was designed to provide information and background on why the SKILLS Act should be included as part of the reauthorization of ESEA.

We formed a planning group made-up of the AASL Advocacy Committee Chair Dr. Judi Repman and AASL Legislative Committee Chair Connie Williams.  We started with a  conference call in early August and from there the planning began and moved very quickly.  The Legislative Committee took the lead on preparing a one-page brochure/handout to give attendees outlining the key facts and research that supports the SKILLS Act.  They spent many hours fine-tuning and picking out just the right words and links that would make the most impact to attendees.

All of the resources and handouts are posted on the Congressional Briefing website at:  http://www.ala.org/aasl/congressionalbriefing/

From there, the process began to compile our panel.  We knew we needed a panel that could provide different perspectives on school libraries.  The planning team was very methodical about thinking about who and the perspective they could bring to briefing.  We were able to locate some of the most dynamic speakers in the country.  As the President of AASL, I also joined the panel and was the moderator for the event.  I can’t tell you how honored I was to be in the company of such amazing advocates for school libraries.   Our panel (in the order of their presentations)

• William A. Mayer, university librarian, American University (D.C.), international speaker and leader on the changing face of services in libraries
• Carl Harvey, school librarian, North Elementary School (Ind.), AASL president
• Connie Williams, National Board Certified Teacher Librarian, Petaluma High School (Calif.), AASL legislative committee chair
• Donna L. Haye, assistant superintendent, Atlantic City Public Schools (N.J.), an AASL Distinguished School Administrator
• Kathy Mortimer, parent from Henrico County Public Schools (Va.) an AASL National School Library Program of the Year

We decided to use the L4L branding and outlined our agenda under the AASL Standards for the 21^st Century Learner – Think, Create, Share, and Grow!  It provided a great framework for us to paint the picture for attendees about how school libraries continue to change and evolve into 21^st Century school library programs.

William Mayer spot about the important role that school libraries take in preparing students for college and careers.  I focused on elementary school libraries and Connie Williams brought the perspective of secondary school libraries.  Donna Haye talked about the dramatic transformation libraries have made in her district in the last 10 years and the impact the dollars have made on their libraries and student achievement.   Finally Kathy Mortimer shared from a parent’s perspective about the amazing school libraries and opportunities her children have access to and the need for every child to have those experiences.  I could go on and on about what each presenter shared and talked about.    Each spoke eloquently about their perspective and ideas about the importance of school libraries in the education of our students.   So, rather than me attempting to recap everything they said, you can go to the AASL website and view the videos of the Congressional Briefing at: http://www.ala.org/aasl/congressionalbriefing/

Many educational staffers of Representatives and Senators attended the briefing.  It was a “packed house!”  You could see their pads of paper taking notes and we can hope that they went back and shared with their bosses the importance of school libraries.

Following the briefing, we each went off for an afternoon filled of meetings with staffers of the Senators and Congressmen from our own states.  Making that personal connection was important and we’ll be following back up with them as the ESEA act makes it way through Congress.

The timing for the briefing could not have been more perfect as the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is beginning working on the ESEA reauthorization this week.

Thank you to several of our vendors and members who donated through the Friends of AASL to help fund this endeavor.  Many others have written letters or contacted their legislators to advocate for school libraries.  Their support has been key.

On a personal note, I can’t thank everyone who worked so hard on this day enough.  The time and effort they devoted to put this together was amazing.  The AASL staff, the ALA Washington Staff, the Advocacy Guru group, the members of the AASL Legislative and Advocacy Committees, and finally the amazing panelist all deserve to be recognize for their hard work and efforts over the last few months.

But….the work isn’t done.  The briefing in DC this week was great and I think had an impact.  However, it can have a bigger impact if we each have to take time to call our Senators and Representatives and share with them the importance and value of school libraries in our schools.  They need to hear our voices loud and clear and often.  So, when the ALA Washington Office or AASL sends you the email to call you into action, don’t assume someone else will call and do it.  We ALL have to step forward and take ownership of making sure those in Congress (and at the state level, too) have no doubt that school libraries are a critical part of the education ecosystem of today’s schools.

Events / Projects

• Congressional Briefing – Probably the biggest project we are working on currently is preparing to provide a briefing to Congress on the 21^st Century School Library.    School librarians and school library stakeholders are encouraged to support the work of the congressional briefing by contacting their members of Congress and urging them to attend the briefing.  We are currently working to raise funds to defray the cost of the briefing via the Friends of AASL.   Read the complete press release.

• The timing of the briefing connects perfectly with the SKILLS Act and the reauthorization of ESEA which is on Congress’s agenda.  We are currently urging school librarians to call their Senators and ask them to sign on as co-sponsors of the SKILLS Act today!  Get your colleagues and friends to call, too!

• Committee Chair Orientation – Over the course of 4 weeks, an online training for all committee chairs was held.  We began with a webinar and then moved to online discussions in ALA Connect.  It was a great way to get our committees all on the same page and get working on their Minimum Intended Outcomes!

• AASL National Conference – Minneapolis – Obviously a great deal of time has been spent getting ready for the AASL National Conference in Minneapolis.  The committee led by Ty Burns and Cheryl Steele has been hard at work putting together an amazing professional development experience.  I’ve been personally involved with the online book discussion of Nicholas Carr’s book The Shallows on the conference Ning which has been very enlightening and engaging!

• ALA Campaign for School Libraries – ALA has started a task force to create a campaign in support of school libraries.  Read the press release here.  http://ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pr.cfm?id=8155  Working with ALA President Molly Raphael, we helped to set the stage for this group and appoint AASL members to represent us.  AASL President-Elect, Susan Ballard, has agreed to co-chair this task force.

• Banned Websites Awareness Day – Sept. 28, 2011 – recently AASL sponsored the first Banned Website Awareness Day.  This idea  had been tossed around for years in blogs and articles such as this one by Doug Johnson < http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2011/blue-skunk-blog/2008/9/23/blocked-bytes-week.html>.  The AASL Board in June  of this year voted to have the first annual event this year during Banned Book Week.  Thanks to Helen Adam and the Intellectual Freedom Committee as well as AASL Director-Elect Michelle Luthala for all their hard work on this project.

•  AASL Executive Committee Meeting – In a few weeks the AASL Executive Committee will be meeting in Chicago.  Our annual fall meeting allows us time to prepare for the Midwinter meetings as well as engage in a joint meeting with the Executive Board of ALA and all the ALA divisions.

• Treasurer’s Training / MIO – In July I had the chance to travel to Chicago for AASL Treasurer’s Training.  Every 3 years we elect a new treasurer and Karen Lemmons began her term in July.  The staff provides a training to help get the new treasurer up to speed, and since I live so close I drove up for the training.  I also spent a great deal of my time in Chicago working on the Minimum Intended Outcomes for our committees this year!

Board Votes

The Board has been working in between our Annual and Midwinter meetings.  Two Board votes have been taken on position statements.  Both statements below have been approved.

• Position Statement on Labeling Books with Reading Levels
• Position Statement on Flexible Schedule – To be posted soon

Press Interviews

• Education Writers Association Ning – Week long discussion with Education Reporters from all over the country.
• Augusta Chronicle
• School Library Journal
• Fort Worth Star-Telegram
• Banned Website Awareness Day
• New York Times
• TakePart.com
• School Planning and Management Magazine

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the work of AASL.

I’m sure I’ve said it before, but the networking and chatting and meeting people is what I love best about a conference. I got a chance to meet a lot of wonderful librarians from Kentucky. Terri Kirk, a long time friend from working together in ALA, was the conference chair, so it was wonderful to get an opportunity to catch-up with her as well.

My sessions on Leadership and 21st Century Skills as well as what is happening in AASL currently.  The presentations can be found on my website here soon.

I saw lots of great sessions on reading promotion, technology tools, and leadership. They keynote was from Wendy Steadman Stephens from Alabama.  She had some great ideas for future-proofing your library and great ways to maximize using technology in the school library.

At their business luncheon today they presented a certificate from the Gov. of Kentucky naming me an Honorary Kentucky Colonel.  It was a very nice honor, and I want to thank the Kentucky School Media Association for all their wonderful hospitality.