Sponsored by the Toor Family, in honor of their parents, Jay and Ruth Toor
Monetary Amount: $1,000 travel stipend
The next award cycle will open September 2024
Overview
The Toor Family, in honor of their parents, Jay and Ruth Toor, have established the Toor Scholarships for Strong Public-School Libraries. As strong school library advocates throughout their life, Jay & Ruth supported the need for state-certified public-school librarians in every school for all learners. The Toor Scholarships will continue Jay & Ruth’s efforts to share advocacy in the creation and implementation of local public awareness/marketing campaigns that promote and position school librarians as necessary resources in the community. Support is available on a competitive basis to public school librarians—located in the United States and led by a certified school librarian— who have created and implemented a local public awareness/marketing campaign that promotes and positions their school library as a necessary resource in the community, tying in the theme “Strong School Libraries." Each scholarship recipient will receive a $1,000 travel stipend to attend the biennial AASL National Conference and will participate in a concurrent session panel to present and discuss their campaign with attendees. Additional promotion of campaigns will include opportunities to publish articles and host webinars on AASL’s various platforms.
Eligibility
- All applicants (individual or institution) must be current members of ALA and AASL at the time the application is submitted.
- The public school library must be located in the United States.
- The applicant must be a state-certified school librarian.
- Unsuccessful applications may reapply each year, as long as they are received by the application deadline.
- Institutions represented by The Ruth Toor Grant for Strong Public-School Libraries jury can be eligible to apply, but committee members must recuse themselves from the discussion, vote, or decline the nomination if they have a conflict of interest.
Criteria
The criteria include a two-page narrative that outlines the project, how the public school librarian increased public awareness, and how attending the AASL National Conference will assist in advancing their work as school librarians. The grant provides funding support on a competitive basis to certified public school librarians—located in the United States — who have created and implemented a local public awareness/marketing campaign that promotes and positions their school library as a necessary resource in the community, tying in the theme “Strong School Libraries."
The following documentation is required in addition to the two-page narrative:
- Timeline of project/outline of timing for replication planning by other school librarians
- Reach of the project- how many individuals were ‘touched’ by the campaign/project
- Key staff involved, including names and roles
The scholarship recipient must agree to deliver a presentation of their project at AASL’s National Conference and submit a minimum of one of the following professional development items for those school librarians not in attendance at the conference:
- Submit an article for consideration to Knowledge Quest, AASL’s official journal.
- Present a webinar, which will be recorded and archived in AASL’s eLearning.
- Submit a blog post for Knowledge Quest website.
Download Criteria & Rating Sheet
Questions?
Allison Cline 
Deputy Executive Director