AASL celebrates 25 years of Affiliate Assembly

Contact: Keidra Chaney


312-280-4381

For Immediate Release


June 2002

AASL celebrates 25 years of Affiliate Assembly

Since 1977, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Affiliate Assembly has served as a channel of communication between state and regional school library media organizations and AASL leaders. This year, AASL will recognize the 25th year of Affiliate Assembly at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in Atlanta.

Fifty-two library media organizations representing approximately 32,000 school library media specialists from 48 states comprise the Affiliate Assembly, with two voting delegates from each affiliate organization. The delegates meet twice a year - at ALA Midwinter Meeting in January and ALA Annual Conference in the early summer - to discuss the activities of affiliate organizations and bring the concerns of their members to the AASL Board, including recruitment of librarians, state certification and continuing education. The Affiliate Assembly also has been a training ground for past and present AASL leaders, including current AASL president Helen Adams, who began her service with AASL as an Affiliate Assembly delegate from the Wisconsin Educational Media Association and served for eight years.

"For 25 years Affiliate Assembly has been the voice of the grassroots, bringing the concerns and interests of the state associations -- which are attuned to the issues of building level library media specialists -- to AASL," said Chair Hilda Weisburg. "We look forward to the next 25 years as our technology-driven society recognizes the increasing importance of active library media programs in preparing students to be lifelong learners."

Information on the Affiliate Assembly, including a directory of state and regional organizations and Assembly officers, is available on the AASL Web site at
http://www.ala.org/aasl/aa_menu.html.

AASL is a division of ALA. AASL promotes the improvement and extension of library media 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 media field.