AASL Launches Final Snapshot Survey for 2020-2021 School Year

CHICAGO – The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) has launched a survey to conclude the series of surveys launched in the spring of 2020 capturing the state of school libraries during pandemic school closures. The final survey is open to all school librarians through March 26, 2021, and can be accessed at www.ala.org/aasl/snapshot.

“The school librarian community understood long before COVID-19 that a school library is more than a physical space,” said AASL President Kathy Carroll. “These surveys, as well as the AASL Town Halls and Knowledge Quest blog posts, have told the story of perseverance, dedication, and innovation by school library professionals during the past year. Now, a year later, AASL needs your help in capturing the current state of school libraries, lessons learned, and shifts in roles caused by pandemic school closures. Please share the survey widely with your colleagues and encourage them to share their experiences.”

Like the previous snapshot surveys, the survey is open to all school library professionals including building-level school librarians, district supervisors, and educators of school librarians at the college/university level. Each position brings a unique perspective to issues, challenges, and success during this unprecedented time in education. A comprehensive picture of the pandemic’s influence on student learning cannot be painted without including each of these critical voices.   

The results of the snapshot survey will help AASL determine resource and advocacy needs for the 2021-2022 school year. Results will be shared with the profession in April during School Library Month. AASL is hopeful this survey will close the book on collecting information related to pandemic school closures. AASL plans to institute a yearly “State of School Libraries” survey to collect data.

The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), empowers leaders to transform teaching and learning.