Library Ties

From time to time, I’d like to share with you what AASL has been working on from my perspective as AASL President. Here are just some of the highlights between October 1^st and December 31^st. From our amazing member leaders to our AASL staff, it is amazing to see all that has been happening in a short time.

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.

Tags:   AASL · AASL President 2011-2012No Comments