Applications open for 2019 AASL awards

CHICAGO - Applications for the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) 2019 awards are now available. AASL members are encouraged to nominate a colleague or themselves to be lauded for their outstanding talent and dedication to the profession as part of this prestigious awards program. AASL awards and grants recognize excellence and showcase best practices in the school library field in categories that include collaboration, leadership and innovation.

Applications are now open for:

• the National School Library of the Year Award, sponsored by Follett, which awards $10,000 and a crystal obelisk to a school library that meets the needs of the changing school and library environment and is fully integrated into the school's curriculum;

• the Distinguished Service Award, sponsored by Rosen, which awards $3,000 to an individual member of the library profession who has, over a significant period of time, made an outstanding national contribution to school librarianship and school library development;

• the ABC-CLIO Leadership Grant, sponsored by ABC-CLIO, which awards up to $1,750 to a school library association that is an AASL affiliate for planning and implementing a leadership program at the state, regional or local level;

• the Affiliate of the Year Award, which awards a $1,000 stipend to the AASL Affiliate most active and dynamic in achieving the goals of AASL at the state and local level;

• the Collaborative School Library Award, sponsored by Upstart, which awards $2,500 to a collaboration and partnership between school librarians and educators in meeting goals outlined in AASL's “National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries” through joint planning of a program, unit or event in support of the curriculum and using school library resources;

• the Distinguished School Administrator Award, sponsored by ProQuest, which awards $2,000 to a school administrator who has made worthy contributions to the operations of an exemplary school library and to advancing the role of the school library in the educational program;

• the Frances Henne Award, sponsored by ABC-CLIO, which awards a school librarian with five or fewer years in the field $1,250 to attend an ALA Annual Conference or AASL National Conference for the first time;

• the Innovative Reading Grant, sponsored by Capstone, which awards $2,500 to fund literacy projects for grades K-9 that promote the importance of reading and facilitate literacy development by supporting current reading research, practice and policy;

• the Intellectual Freedom Award, sponsored by ProQuest, which awards $2,000 to the recipient and $1,000 to the school library of the winner’s choice in recognition of upholding the principles of intellectual freedom as set forth by AASL and ALA;

• the Inspire Collection Development Grant, sponsored by Marina “Marney” Welmers, which awards up to $5,000 to public middle or high schools to extend, update, and diversify their book, online, subscription and/or software collections in order to realize sustainable improvement in student achievement;

• the Inspire Special Event Grant, sponsored by Marina “Marney” Welmers, which awards up to $2,000 to public middle or high schools to create new or enhance existing extracurricular activities in order to increase student academic achievement;

• the AASL Past-Presidents Planning Grant for National School Library Standards, sponsored by Roger and Susan D. Ballard and Cassandra Barnett, which annually awards $2,500 to three AASL Affiliates to plan and execute an event, initiative, or activity focused on the implementation of the new AASL "National School Library Standards." Grants are presented in honor of AASL past-presidents.

• the Roald Dahl’s Miss Honey Social Justice Award, sponsored by Penguin Random House, which awards $8,000 in funds and books to AASL members who have collaboratively designed a lesson, event, or course of study on social justice exemplified by a character from Roald Dahl’s books; and

• The Ruth Toor Grant for Strong Public School Libraries, sponsored by Jay Toor, which awards $5,000 in funding and travel for the creation and implementation of a local public awareness/marketing campaign that promotes and positions their school library as a necessary resource in the community.

Applications for the National School Library of the Year Award are due Jan. 1, 2019. All other applications or nominations are due Feb. 1, 2019. All applications will close at 4:30 p.m. CST on the day of the deadline.

Applicants are encouraged to read all award and grant criteria on the AASL website before applying. Criteria and rating sheets are provided to give applicants an understanding of the items the award committee will use to base their scores. Questions about the application process should be directed to Shannon Carter at scarter@ala.org.

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