Amid the ongoing pandemic, school librarians across the country have been facing a different kind of battle, one that has been going on for years in some cases: the fight for every student to benefit from the instruction and carefully curated resources a certified school librarian can provide. Several states are working to introduce or retain…

Pennsylvania school librarians have ongoing professional learning opportunities to build compelling and inclusive experiences for learners in their libraries and within the school community. From learning the basics about the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Integrated Standards Frameworks to building innovative curriculum and…

In 2021, the Oklahoma School Librarians (OKSL) won the ABC-CLIO Leadership Grant. The OKSL division of the Oklahoma Library Association has always been a small division, but as budget shortfalls and teacher shortages ramped up in the early 2010s, as the author states, they reached a crisis point. According to the author, they were losing school…

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Standards are an invitation to explore the endless possibilities of "why." The standards provide permission to take risks, to step beyond the comfort of four walls to truly stretch and grow. The AASL Standards provide a common language for school library stakeholders that bring into…

The passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) offered a significant opportunity for school librarians; it also created opportunities to partner with school librarians on their efforts to be included in their states' educational plans. This three-part article explores the development and rollout of the American Association of School…

One of the issues connected to the use of standards in independent schools is the varying approaches to an astonishing variety of school missions. Independent school administrators and teachers often see national standards to be the purview of the professionals they hire. As a result, teachers and department heads work to select standards that…

In Maryland, national standards in any discipline are reviewed and revised with student and educator needs in mind. The approval process for all standards includes stakeholder review and revision followed by a public comment period. Comments are then considered and used to inform further revisions. Finally, guidance, supporting documents,…

As the sun rises over the horizon each day, we rarely get the opportunity to consider how the new day contributes to the month that forms part of a season that culminates in the year. A year's progress guides and shapes the development of all growing things. Though not necessarily in a tidy twelve-month cycle, while developing the new standards…

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) as an American Library Association division is sixty-five years young in 2016. This article describes the AASL as a division of the American Library Association (ALA). The author presents: (1) Early Days in ALA; (2) AASL as a Division; (3) AASL's Future; and (4) Commemorating the Past by Paying…

In Kentucky the school library is regarded as the hub of the school community and integral to teaching and learning. The power of the school library lies in the programming, resources, services, and instruction it provides educators and learners to support learning. Stakeholders come to appreciate Kentucky's school libraries because of their…

The publication in 2015 of new international school library guidelines was the culmination of a two-year process involving a wide network of contributors. The process was guided by the Joint Committee of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) School Libraries Section and the International Association of School Librarianship…

A library supervisor for the Anchorage (Alaska) School District, credits five things with transforming her perspective throughout her school library career and helping her develop a clear vision and clearly articulated core values. Each of the five required her to move beyond her library and even beyond her district. The most critical opportunity…

Schools and school libraries are becoming more diverse. What cultural barriers do you face in your position? Have you come across challenges in how you handle cultural situations with students, teachers, or administrators? If so, have you considered skills that can help you facilitate conversations more effectively? How would you rate your…

Cultivating partnerships is a crucial advocacy strategy for school library associations building support for the work they do. School librarians cannot do their work in isolation, so it makes sense for their associations to reach out to other associations whose members work with or could potentially support school libraries and school library…

The National School Library Standards require school librarians to make equity a value that permeates the entire school library community. Creating displays to celebrate diversity is not enough. We cannot allow ourselves to approach diversity as a "social good," in which isolated programs serve marginalized students without challenging…