Donovan and Kordeliski Seek 2025-2026 AASL Presidency

CHICAGO – Lori Donovan and Amanda Kordeliski will seek the 2025-2026 AASL presidential term during the 2024 American Library Association (ALA) election. The full slate of AASL candidates can be found at www.ala.org/aasl/elections

Donovan is currently the Library Services Specialist for Chesterfield County Public Schools, Virginia. She served on the AASL Board of Directors from 2021-2023 and has served as chair of the Practice Committee and the OER Task Force. She is a past chair of both the AASL Supervisors Section and AASL Affiliate (Chapter) Assembly. She was part of the inaugural class of the ALA Leadership Institute, a unique 4-day immersive leadership development program for future library leaders and is a past-president of the Virginia Association of School Librarians (VAASL). She is the author of the AASL Shared Foundation Series Inquire and co-authored Powered Researchers: Turning Student Aides into Action Learners (Libraries Unlimited).

”I am honored to be nominated to be a candidate for AASL President-Elect. With the news of how school libraries and school librarians are being treated and tasked with increasingly restrictive practices, it is important to remember that students deserve access to information in a democratic society so that they can develop important critical thinking skills necessary to become productive citizens. At the AASL National Conference in Tampa this past October, I was so inspired by the librarians who presented sessions that incorporated the AASL National Standards and stood up for intellectual freedom even in challenging times that I left that conference hopeful for what the future holds. I am excited about the opportunity to work alongside all the amazing librarians in leading AASL as we work to build that future for the betterment of all our students.”

Kordeliski is currently the Director of Libraries and Instructional Technology for Norman (OK) Public Schools, Oklahoma and has held a variety of leadership positions within the ALA and AASL. She is a member of ALA PolicyCorps Cohort III, Unite Against Book Bans Cadre, and the PolicyCorps Advisory Board where she advocates for libraries at the state and national levels. Kordeliski serves as a Director-at-Large on the AASL Board of Directors and served on the 2023 Michael L Printz Award committee for YALSA. Amanda is a recipient of the Oklahoma School Librarians Technology in Education Award and the Oklahoma Polly Clarke School Librarian of the Year Award.

“I am incredibly honored to stand as a candidate for AASL President-Elect. I know this is a critical time for school librarians and I believe my current work on the AASL board, ALA PolicyCorp and Unite Against Book Bans has prepared me to help meet the unique challenges school librarians are facing. If elected, I will continue to fight for access to information and against censorship in our libraries while continuing to move school libraries forward and advance the work of our association. I recognize it is essential that every learner has a school librarian and will continue to advocate for qualified school librarians in every school. I am passionate about developing library leaders and want to create and encourage tools to empower school librarians to become leaders in their libraries, districts, and states across the country.”

Voting for the 2023 elections will open on Monday, March 11, 2024 and close on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. petition. Any AASL member who wishes to place their name on the ballot as a petition candidate should refer to www.ala.org/aasl/about/elections/petition.

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL), www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA) empowers leaders to transform teaching and learning.