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For the Record | AASL President-Elect’s Report – Midwinter 2017

By Steven Yates on 02/15/2017 • ( 0 )

Steven Yates | University of Alabama (AL) President-Elect, 2016-2017

What an exciting time to be in Atlanta! Between the Women’s March and the Atlanta Falcons punching their ticket to the Super Bowl, the convention center was at the center of activity. Being at the center of activity is a familiar spot for school librarians, so it makes sense that our conferences should be just as bustling as our everyday learning spaces. Harnessing the power of our face-to-face ALA meetings is part of my presidential initiative, but I need each of you to make next year the biggest and brightest for AASL.

Presidential Initiative

The work of AASL is guided by a powerful strategic plan. The fall 2017 release of AASL’s new learning standards are the culmination of hundreds of hours of work to help AASL maintain its leading role in national standards for school libraries. My presidential initiative is inspired by our new standards and my desire to tackle the second critical issue of the strategic plan, membership development, by providing opportunities for AASL members to make face-to-face contact with each ALA division and as many caucuses and roundtables at ALA Midwinter Denver, ALA Annual New Orleans, and other divisional meetings. The initiative strives to meet the following goals:

Support the fall 2017 standards rollout by sharing with fellow ALA members and encouraging engagement with and support of the standards in all library environments.
Thank these fellow ALA constituent groups for their support for ESSA adoption and other school library-related endeavors.
(Re)acquaint our fellow ALA members on what today’s school librarian does and how we are skilled collaborators ready for new partnerships for a stronger AASL and ALA.

Together with our standards, we will continue to be the voice of today’s and tomorrow’s school librarians.

You Make the Difference

AASL would not exist without you, our members. The accomplishments of AASL would not occur without our dedicated volunteers. We have volunteer opportunities ranging from short-term virtual projects and task forces to presenting at AASL National Conference in Phoenix and running for an elected office. Please take a moment to visit the Get Involved form and let us know how we can connect you to the exciting momentum of activity in AASL. You will make a difference in your profession while extending your learning network and making lifelong friends—what a deal!

Read other ALA Midwinter 2017 reports from AASL’s For the Record:

Author: Steven Yates

Steven Yates is an assistant professor and coordinator of the school library media certification program at the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alabama. He earned a doctor of philosophy in instructional leadership with an emphasis in instructional technology in 2017.