AASL Frances Henne Award goes to Alisa Auchmoedy-Finck

CHICAGO – Alisa Auchmoedy-Finck, school librarian at the Marbletown Elementary School in Stone Ridge, N.Y., is the 2012 recipient of the American Association of School Librarian’s (AASL) Frances Henne Award. Established in 1986, the $1,250 award, sponsored by ABC-CLIO, recognizes a school librarian with five years or less experience who demonstrates leadership qualities with students, teachers and administrators. As the award recipient, Auchmoedy-Finck has the opportunity to attend her first ALA Annual Conference.

A second-year school librarian after years working as a classroom teacher, Auchmoedy-Finck strives to provide each of her students with the tools needed to succeed in the 21^st century. Her instruction ranges from teaching kindergartners the very basics of navigating the library to empowering fourth graders to analyze and present information they’ve learned in creative, engaging ways. To accomplish this, she has created interactive review games, a website (www.finckslinks.com), and WebQuests that support the curriculum and are also used by the school’s classroom teachers.

In addition to instruction, Auchmoedy-Finck works to instill in her students a sense of responsibility to help others outside of the school community. She has arranged school food drives for the local food pantry, raised money to preserve acres of rainforest, coordinated a pen-pal program between students and the elderly in the area and created care packages for the Ronald McDonald House. Auchmoedy-Finck also arranged a library card drive to keep students reading over the summer. This drive resulted in more than 100 students from the small, rural community gaining access to the public library and its programs.

“When considering Alisa Auchmoedy-Finck for the Frances Henne award, committee members were also impressed by her commitment to professional growth,” explains Janice Ostrom, award committee chair. “Since receiving her library degree Alisa has attended as many educational opportunities as her schedule and personal finances would allow. Her personal investment in an expanded knowledge-base, professional networking and sharing new knowledge with co-workers indicates she will take full advantage of the opportunity to exchange ideas and increase knowledge at ALA Annual.”

“I cannot express how incredibly proud and appreciative I am to receive the 2012 Frances Henne award. I'm grateful to both AASL and the Frances Henne Award committee for providing this amazing opportunity for new librarians,” said Auchmoedy-Finck. “Each morning as I walk into my library to prepare for the day, I feel a thrill. The bottom line is this: I love what I do and simply can’t imagine doing anything else.”

Auchmoedy-Finck and other AASL award winners will be honored at AASL's Awards Luncheon during ALA's 2012 Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif. The luncheon will be held Monday, June 25. Carmen Agra Deedy, best-selling author and ardent supporter of libraries, will be at the ceremony courtesy of Peachtree Publishing. Ticket information can be found on the AASL website at http://www.ala.org/aasl/annual.

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.