Pentland Elected 2023-2024 AASL President

CHICAGO – Courtney Pentland, school librarian at North Star High School in Lincoln, Nebraska, has been elected the 2023-2024 president of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL). Pentland will serve as president-elect during 2022-2023 under AASL President Kathy Lester.

Upon learning of her election, Pentland said, "I am so grateful and honored to have been elected to serve as president-elect for AASL. Being a part of this profession has been a true gift in my life, and I am so thankful to have the opportunity to give back to and help support these amazing humans we call school librarians and the vital work they do. I am excited to start working more with the entire AASL community – the Board, members and their delegates, sections, staff, partners, and more – as we carry on together working to advocate for and support school librarians, their students, and their school communities. While we are continuing to face familiar and new challenges, we also have the opportunity to come together to grow, learn, and lift each other up. We are truly stronger together, and I believe that collectively, we can work toward ensuring that every student has access to an adequately funded and appropriately staffed school library, with a certified school librarian, that features a thoughtfully curated collection of resources that fits their personal and learning needs. They, and we, deserve nothing less."

Pentland is the Chapter Delegate to AASL for the Nebraska School Librarians Association and a part of the AASL Member Engagement Committee. At the state level, she has served as the president, board member at large, advocacy chair, professional learning chair, liaison to the Nebraska Library Association, and liaison to the Nebraska State Library Advisory Council for the Nebraska School Librarians Association.

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), empowers leaders to transform teaching and learning.