AASL 14th National Conference & Exhibition
Request for Program Proposals
November 5-8, 2009Charlotte, North Carolina
The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) will hold its 14th National Conference and Exhibition November 5-8, 2009, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The National Conference Committee is pleased to announce the 2009 Request for Program Proposals.
The AASL 2009 National Conference theme is "Rev Up Learning @ your library." The committee encourages you to submit proposals to showcase your ideas, research, developments, and vision about the future of school libraries.
Concurrent Sessions
Deadline: December 1, 2008
The 14th National Conference will offer a number of 75-minute peer-reviewed concurrent sessions. As in previous conferences, program content must address any or all of the three areas of responsibility as identified in Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning:
- Learning and Teaching
- Information Access
- Program Administration
The committee encourages proposals that aim to inform conference attendees of the new Standards for the 21st-Century Learner. More information is available at http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards.
The Learning Standards
The learning standards describe how learners use skills, resources, and tools to:
- inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge;
- draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge;
- share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society;
- pursue personal and aesthetic growth.
During the submission process, you will be asked to describe how your session meets the above guidelines. A sample of the selection criteria rubric is below.
We anticipate that lead presenters of concurrent sessions will be notified of acceptance or rejection no later than January 20, 2009. If you have not been notified of acceptance or rejection within two weeks of the anticipated date, please contact the AASL office as listed below.
Selection Rubric for Concurrent Sessions
Each proposal will be read and evaluated by a minimum of three independent readers. Independent readers serve as a part of the Program Subcommittee of the AASL National Conference Committee. Proposals are rated with a point system based on a rubric for each of the criteria.
Proposals will meet the following criteria:
- The content of the proposed program is relevant to the conference theme: Rev Up Learning @ your library. (Maximum score: 10 points)
- The content of the proposed program connects to the vision of Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning; its themes of Collaboration, Leadership, and Technology, and library media program responsibilities for Learning and Teaching, Information Access and Delivery, and Program Administration. Proposals should specify and address at least one of the four Standards for the 21st-Century Learner. (Maximum score: 25 points)
- The presentation meets adult learning needs, does not "lecture only" and includes elements of interaction with the audience. (Maximum score: 10 points)
- Information presented will create learning extensions for the participants. What can the audience adapt or apply to their own situations? (Maximum score: 20 points)
- The proposal describes and demonstrates the Standards for the 21st-Century Learner. Programs will provide an opportunity for the audience to deepen and extend their understanding of the new learning standards. (Maximum score: 25 points)
- The proposal includes all required elements; is well organized, clear, and concise. (Maximum score: 10 points)
Submission Process
Once again, AASL is using an online submission process to receive proposals. The online submission process is comprised of three steps:
- Enter your lead presenter information.
- Enter your program details, including: title, program descriptions, and for concurrent sessions only: audience, grade levels, experience levels of audience, preferred room set, program outline, how the program will address Information Power and the Standards for the 21st-Century Learner, and primary topics addressed in the program.
- Review your proposal summary and add additional presenters, if any.
After reviewing the summary of your program proposal, you will have the option of clicking either Save & Edit Later button, if you wish to add to or revise your proposal at any time prior to the December 1, 2008, deadline; or a Final Submit button, if you are completely satisfied with your proposal and do not need to add to or revise it further.
Your program proposal will be stored in a database, which will be used by the National Conference Program Review Subcommittee to select sessions for the 2009 conference in Charlotte, NC, and by the AASL staff to promote the conference.
- Start or submit a program proposal
- Edit an existing program proposal (Lost your login information? E-mail aaslprofdev@ala.org)
Questions?
Please contact the AASL office at 800-545-2433 ext. 4386 or at aaslprofdev@ala.org if you have any questions or comments about the proposal submission process.
