| Get Ready for School Library Month at the March AASL Town Hall April is School Library Month! Join AASL President Kathy Lester and members of the AASL School Library Event Promotion Committee to explore ways school librarians can celebrate the essential role they and their school libraries play in transforming learning. Bring your ideas to share and the committee will share their own - and the resources they are busy curating and creating to celebrate this 38th annual event! | AASL Opens STEM Inspire Special Event Grant Application
The AASL STEM Inspire Special Event Grants, made possible through the generous support of the Danaher Foundation, will offer $48,000 in STEM Grant support to provide direct assistance funding to middle or high school libraries for special short-term projects or events that would engage students to promote STEM education and promote student interest in a career in the STEM field. Applications are due by noon on April 11, 2023. AASL introduces the Toor Scholarship for Strong Public-School Libraries
The Toor Family, in honor of their parents, Jay and Ruth Toor, have established the Toor Scholarships for Strong Public-School Libraries. The scholarship is awarded to a public school librarians who have created and implemented a local public awareness/marketing campaign that promotes and positions their school library as a necessary resource in the community. Applications are due April 11, 2023. OIF Webinar: Managing Challenges with Our School Policies and the Law The second of the two-part webinars series, Addressing Challenges in America's School Libraries, takes place at 6:00 p.m. Central on March 22. In this session, Theresa Chmara is an attorney in Washington, DC, and General Counsel of the Freedom to Read Foundation, will provide a review of minors' rights under the First Amendment. Then Mariela Siegert, a professor at Dominican University and a school librarian, will share the best practices that she uses to prepare students for challenges. Volunteer for an AASL Committee or Work Group
Getting involved with your national association and sharing your passion the school librarianship not only benefits the profession, but benefits you as well! Appointments for the 2023-2024 AASL governance start soon! Share your interests today - your colleagues value the unique perspective you bring. Tell Congress to Protect the Freedom to Read
Like you, ALA is outraged at the extreme censorship efforts targeting libraries around the country. And we're taking action. We know that the Constitution and our values are on our side – and our polling shows that voters agree. But the small minority of censorship proponents are loud. We need to get loud, too. Take action and tell Congress to reject censorship and defend the freedom to read: bit.ly/RejectCensorship. School Librarians Invited to Apply for $5,000 Sara Jaffarian School Library Program Award
School librarians are invited to apply for the 2023 Sara Jaffarian School Library Program Award. The $5,000 award, administered by the ALA Public Programs Office, recognizes outstanding humanities programming in kindergarten through eighth grade, the American Library Association announced. Applications are due May 5, 2023. ALA Invites Libraries to Apply for Great Stories Club Grants for Teens
ALA invites school librarians to apply for ALA's Great Stories Club (GSC), a thematic reading and discussion program that engages teens who are facing difficult challenges through literature-based library outreach programs. Selected libraries receive 11 paperback copies of theme-related books, a $500 programming stipend, online training, program resources, and support. Applications are due March 15, 2023. |