For immediate release | October 28, 2010

Becoming the kind of leader your school can’t do without

CHICAGO—ALA Editions, the publishing imprint of the American Library Association, announces the publication of “Being Indispensable: A School Librarian’s Guide to Becoming an Invaluable Leader,” by Ruth Toor and Hilda K. Weisburg. In their previous Editions book “New on the Job,” experts Toor and Weisburg helped newbies make the transition to real-world school librarianship. “Being Indispensable” is all about staying a librarian: without a proactive approach, school librarians, facing a severe economic downturn and budget cuts, run the risk of becoming an endangered species. In clear, simple and practical language, this book empowers school librarians by helping them

  • Understand what other stakeholders in a school need and want;
  • Demonstrate their importance to administrators, teachers and parents;
  • Plan strategically in both their personal and professional lives;
  • Master important tools like advocacy and marketing.
This title is also available in a Kindle edition through Amazon.
Toor is now a consultant after retiring from her job of 29 years as the school librarian at Southern Boulevard School in Chatham, N.J. Having been president of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and a member of ALA Council, she still works actively on ALA, AASL and ALSC committees. During her AASL presidency, she was its representative to the National Forum for History Standards and helped critique the National Social Studies and English/Language Arts Standards. She was also a member of the Implementation Committee for “Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning,” the former AASL National Standards. She is an internship adviser for professional development studies at Rutgers University’s School of Communication and Information.



Weisburg retired as library media specialist at Morristown High School in Morristown, N.J. in 2004. She has taught graduate courses at William Paterson University and Rutgers University. A past president of the New Jersey Association of School Librarians (NJASL), she is the association’s delegate to AASL’s Affiliate Assembly, on which she has served as chair and Region II director. Currently, she is a member of the ALA Literacy Committee and the ALA/CBC (Children’s Book Council) Joint Committee. She is the chair of the 2010 National Institute (Fall Forum). With Toor, she has written numerous books for librarians; the duo has been writing and editing the School Librarian’s Workshop since 1980.
ALA Store purchases fund advocacy, awareness, and accreditation programs for library professionals worldwide. ALA Editions publishes resources used worldwide by tens of thousands of library and information professionals to improve programs, build on best practices, develop leadership, and for personal professional development. ALA authors and developers are leaders in their fields, and their content is published in a growing range of print and electronic formats. Contact ALA Editions at (800) 545-2433 ext. 5418 or editionsmarketing@ala.org.

Contact:

Rob Christopher