AASL webinar helps prepare school librarians for performance evaluations

CHICAGO —Writer Patricia Owen will discuss the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL), newest publication “A 21st-Century Approach to School Librarian Evaluation” in a webinar of the same name taking place at 6 p.m. Central time on Jan. 31, 2013. During the webinar, Owen will walk participants through the workbook’s suggested readings, action tips, and evidence collection to help school librarians engage in rigorous self-evaluation and to shape school administrator evaluations. To register, visit www.ala.org/aasl/ecollab/upcoming.

“A 21st-Century Approach to School Librarian Evaluation” uses the program guidelines established in AASL’s “Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs” as the basis for a school librarian evaluation rubric—one that can be adapted or duplicated by school librarians and shared with school administrators. Owen’s step-by-step walkthrough of the workbook will help webinar participants prepare for their annual performance evaluation.

The webinar is open to AASL members and subscribers of eCOLLAB, AASL’s professional development repository. Registrations will be accepted until 10 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 31, and a seat in the webinar is guaranteed to the first 100 attendees. To register, visit www.ala.org/aasl/ecollab/upcoming.

Patricia Owen, M.Ed., NBCT, was the district information resource coordinator and librarian at Eastwood Local Schools in Ohio until her retirement in 2012. Owen has presented on “college-and career-readiness” and school librarian evaluation issues at national- and regional-level conferences and is a member of the INFOhio 12-13 College & Career Readiness and OhioLINK Dual Enrollment task forces. “A 21st-Century Approach to School Librarian Evaluation,” Owen’s first book, is available in both print and e-book formats, as well as in a print/e-book bundle through the ALA online store.

eCOLLAB | Your eLearning Laboratory: Content Collaboration Community, a repository of AASL professional development, provides members and subscribers with a central location to find and manage their e-learning as well as to connect with others in the learning community. eCOLLAB contains webcasts, podcasts and resources from various AASL professional development events, as well as the latest issue of Knowledge Quest in an interactive PDF format. To begin utilizing eCOLLAB or to subscribe, visit www.ala.org/aasl/ecollab.

The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), promotes the improvement and extension of library services in elementary and secondary schools as a means of strengthening the total education program. Its mission is to advocate excellence, facilitate change and develop leaders in the school library field.