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 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 American Association of School Librarians (AASL) celebrates sixty-five years in 2016 as a division of the American Library Association (ALA), it is wholly appropriate to examine the life of the organization contemplating what the future holds for school librarians. It is important to understand the past and abiding certainty and steadfast…

Five initiatives launched during Cyndi Phillip's term as American Association of School Librarians (AASL) President (2006-2007) continue to have an impact on school librarians ten years later. They include the rewriting of AASL's learning standards, introduction of the SKILLS Act, the presentation of the Crystal Apple Award to Scholastic Library…

Reaching the "leadership zone" happens when librarians tap into the extraordinary skills lying within to overcome obstacles and transform sometimes-difficult situations into meaningful outcomes. Maturing into an experienced leader who stays in the leadership zone requires knowledge, training, and practice. This article provides tactical…

In 1939 technological advances included the first handheld electric slicing knife, the first mass-produced helicopter, and the first transmission of a picture via a cable system (Science and Technology 2001). That year also saw the first Code of Ethics adopted by the American Library Association (ALA OIF 2010, 311). Can an ethical code first…

School librarians regularly face difficult intellectual freedom questions. Is it a good idea to put grade- or reading-level labels on the outside of books or use labels to determine what students should read? Do children have First Amendment rights? The ALA "Intellectual Freedom Manual" provides answers and guidance. The…

Mission statements are expected elements of business plans and corporate communications. Yet, practice in creating them and monitoring their impact varies and skeptics wonder about their usefulness. A survey of business literature provides a context for school library mission statements. Mission statements define the nature, purpose, and role of…

In this article, the author shares a story that one would tell his/her colleagues at a district professional-development meeting in his/her efforts to inspire them to move from good to great. He considers the careers of three school librarians in one school district--Amy, Brady, and Cindy--who ended up becoming strong, resourceful leaders for…

Support for intellectual freedom, a concept codified in the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights and Code of Ethics, is one of the core tenets of modern librarianship. According to the most recent interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights, academic librarians are encouraged to incorporate the principles of intellectual freedom…

This article presents an interview with two effective spokespeople, notable school librarian Sara Kelly Johns and retired public library administrator Molly Raphael, who compete to be American Library Association (ALA) president. One of them will be elected president of ALA for a year's term beginning in July 2011. Each candidate comes from a…

Whether a school library program is the picture of good health in a state that mandates a professionally staffed library media center in every building or is suffering in a low-wealth district that is facing drastic cuts, the recently launched toolkits by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) are stocked with useful strategies and…

The feelings of librarians planning for the American Library Association (ALA) conference at Disneyland (aka Anaheim, California, June 26-July 2) range from moderate pleasure to dread. Some remember the joys and difficulties of Orlando, especially the exorbitant cab fares and mediocre restaurants. Others quail at screaming kids and tourists in…

The publishers' hall at the recent Association of College and Research Libraries conference, held in Seattle in mid-March, was a study in give-and-take: how much publishers such as Elsevier and Oxford University Press will give in this lousy economy, and how much budget-strapped librarians can take. Libraries are some of the biggest customers for…

In March 2007, SirsiDynix notified its Horizon and classic Dynix customers that it would not be releasing Horizon 8.0 in favor of developing its Unicorn software. As vice president/president-elect of SirsiDynix's Horizon/Dynix user group, the author was one of the first ones to be notified of this abrupt change in company strategy. The news sent…