Preddy elected 2015-2016 AASL president

CHICAGO – Leslie Preddy, school librarian at Perry Meridian Middle School in Indianapolis, Ind., has been elected as the 2015-2016 American Association of School Librarians (AASL) president. Preddy will serve as president-elect during 2014-2015 under AASL President Terri Grief.

Upon learning of her election, Preddy stated: “This country is full of school librarians pouring their heart and soul into the lives and learning of their community. Their priority is making a difference in the lives of their students, families and staff. School librarians have a pivotal and active role in motivating and developing America’s youth into literate, technologically savvy and intellectually thoughtful members of our communities. It is a privilege and an honor to be elected to represent my colleagues and their students as president-elect of the American Association of School Librarians. I look forward to working to help support all they do each day in their school libraries!”

Preddy is a previous AASL Collaborative School Library Award recipient and under her tenure, Perry Meridian Middle School was named a National School Library Program of the Year in 2010. She has served as chair of the AASL Innovative Reading Grant committee and as a member of the AASL Distinguished School Administrators Award committee and the ALA Sara Jaffarian School Library Program Award for Exemplary Humanities Programming.

On a local level, Preddy represented Indiana in the AASL Affiliate Assembly in region 3. She is a past chair of the Association of Indiana School Library Educators (AISLE) and has served in various capacities for the organization including leadership retreat chair and state conference chair. Additionally, Preddy has served as state conference co-chair for the Indiana Library Federation, as a member of the Indiana Library Media Standards for Educators committee for the Indiana Department of Education, and as chair of Indiana’s Young Hoosier Book Award program.

Full AASL election results can be found on the AASL website at www.ala.org/aasl/elections.

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.