It is time for the AASL membership to elect the volunteers who will lead our organization. Candidates will introduce themselves in a series of blogs, and were asked to prepare answers to the question:  They have also written answers to the following question: “Which part of the AASL strategic plan speaks to you most and why?” Please read through their answers below and be sure to vote when the ballot arrives in your inbox.

Statements and/or videos were a voluntary option offered to all candidates.  Voting for the 2025 ALA elections will open on Monday, March 10, 2025 and close on Wednesday, April 2, 2025.

The candidates for the Supervisors Section, Chair-elect are:

Maureen Squier

The candidates for the Supervisors Section, Secretary are:

Kaitlyn Benavides

Chair-elect:

Maureen Squier

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am honored to be a candidate for AASL Supervisor Section Chair-Elect and excited for the opportunity to serve.

My journey with AASL began in library school when I was fortunate to have my membership provided, and I have remained an active member ever since. I spent ten years as a junior-senior high school librarian before stepping into my current role as Director of the Questar III BOCES School Library System, where I have spent the past four years supporting school libraries and librarians across upstate New York.

Beyond AASL, I have been deeply involved in the New York Library Association-Section of School Librarians (NYLA-SSL), where I recently completed my term as president. Leading through a time of significant challenges for both our section and the profession reinforced my commitment to advocacy, collaboration, and strengthening the role of school libraries.

The AASL strategic plan prioritizes engagement, recognizing it as essential to advancing our profession. As school librarians navigate challenges, so too do school library supervisors. The AASL Supervisors Section provides a vital space for idea-sharing, collaboration, and action. I look forward to the opportunity to work within AASL’s engagement strategies to strengthen connections among school library leaders and champion the critical work of school librarians and the communities they serve.

I appreciate your support and look forward to continuing the conversation!

SPVS Secretary:

Kaitlyn Benavides

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leadership Engagement as well as Purposeful Engagement stick out to me most when I consider how I can best support Library Media Specialists and school communities. I have found that mentorship and collaborative conversations among district library leaders truly serve as an advocacy tool as we each navigate similar encounters and opportunities in our roles. Through leadership engagement, we can serve our respective school systems in a more informed manner. I always feel validated when I lean on the experiences and expertise of fellow leaders across our state.

We all know that knowledge is power, and I learned the true impact that creating clarity can have on school communities when educating others on the role of a school librarian, the intentionality behind all library practices, its impact on student success, and the ubiquitous capabilities and possibilities that our LMS can offer. When I think of purposeful engagement, I believe that creating systems to help stakeholders learn the good news of our libraries can have reciprocal positive effects for our library staff as well as our patrons. Additionally, I feel a call to serve as AASL aims to develop opportunities for school librarians to understand the complexity and impact of policy. I never thought that I would spend so much time considering the crossroads of law, policy, and procedure in my role, but here we are. Providing these learning opportunities can absolutely be a system of support as librarians across the country face similar challenges.

I specifically like that AASL’s strategic plan focuses on all engagement because sometimes it does take a village to create a thriving library, grounded in all core values of AASL. I hope that I can be a small part of that village as we collectively continue to make our libraries stronger and more impactful!