| Sen. Jack Reed & Rep. Raúl Grijalva Introduce the Right to Read Act On October 26, ALA and AASL welcomed the bicameral introduction of the Right to Read Act (S. 5064 and H.R. 9056) by Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-03). The act is designed to ensure all students, including low-income and minority students, children with disabilities, and English language learners, have access to an effective school library staffed by a certified school librarian. It also reaffirms that First Amendment rights apply to school libraries, in response to the growing trend of book bans, which limit appropriate educational options for students. Right To Read Act: Join AASL in Thanking Sponsors Please join AASL and ALA in thanking Senator Jack Reed and Representative Raúl Grijalva for introducing the Right to Read Act (S. 5064 and H.R. 9056) on 10/6/2022! The ALA/AASL goal is to reach 5000 'thank you' signatures and we need everyone to sign and spread the word to colleagues and community members to sign as well. Go to bit.ly/Right2Read22 to sign! AASL Town Hall: Transforming Gratitude and Narrative into Advocacy November is a great time for giving thanks and sharing stories. During these challenging times, it's important that we collect and share positive narratives of the impact of school libraries on our students and recognize our gratitude for school library supporters. At 6:00 p.m. Central on Wednesday, November 16, join AASL President Kathy Lester and AASL member panelists in a discussion about turning our gratitude and positive narratives into advocacy for our students and our profession. New research examines school librarians' involvement in online teaching and learning practices during COVID-19 pandemic In the recently published "School Librarians Leading from the Center in Online Learning Contexts: Informal Communities of Practice Creating Space for Connection and Collaboration," Donna Wake, Helen Hu, and Erin Shaw present a study that examined the nature and depth of school librarians' involvement, in a position to "lead from the center," a term used to describe the centrality of school librarians in school spaces, during the COVID-19 pandemic as schools moved from in-person to online contexts. The article can be accessed for free at www.ala.org/aasl/slr. AASL Professional Development Moves to ALA eLearning Beginning November 7, access to AASL webinars and archives will move to ALA eLearning. This centralized web portal brings together the most comprehensive digital collection of professional development for library professionals anywhere. This fully accessible, mobile-friendly site offers numerous benefits, including a robust search capability and dynamic product listings. Along with AASL produced webinars and archives, AASL members and school librarians can access the full eLearning catalog from all ALA units, divisions and offices. Access to AASL materials remains complimentary to AASL members as a benefit of their membership. Intellectual Freedom Round Table seeks nominations for the John Phillip Immroth Award
The ALA Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT) is accepting nominations for the 2023 John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award. This award, presented annually, honors notable contributions to intellectual freedom and demonstrations of personal courage in defense of freedom of expression by a living individual, group, or organization. The award consists of a citation and $500. The deadline for nominations is December 31, 2022. Apply to Become a KQ Blogger
AASL seeks bloggers for its Knowledge Quest website. Responding individuals should demonstrate the ability to write a blog post of 600-900 words on a topic of interest to school library and education professionals on a monthly basis. The Knowledge Quest blogger position is a minimum one-year commitment, and applicants must be a current, personal member of AASL to be considered. |