Libraries Unlimited to sponsor General Session at the 2006 AASL Fall Forum
Contact: Kathy Agarwal
Communications Specialist
312-280-4381
kagarwal@ala.org
For Immediate Release
February 21, 2006
Libraries Unlimited to sponsor General Session at the 2006 AASL Fall Forum
CHICAGO - The American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is pleased to announce that Libraries Unlimited will sponsor the general session at the 2006 Fall Forum, "Assessing Student Learning in the School Library Media Center."
The Fall Forum will be held at the Crowne Plaza at the Crossings in Warwick, Rhode Island on October 13-15, 2006, and feature a panel of nationally recognized speakers on the subject of school library media professional’s role in student assessment.
The General Session "What is Assessment and Why Should the School Librarian be Involved?" will feature keynote speaker Violet Harada, professor of library and information science at the University of Hawaii, who will pose critical questions about what school librarians teach and how they can determine the impact of their teaching on demonstrated student performance. She will incorporate examples of practice as she discusses how assessment: (1) involves students in critical self and peer discoveries; (2) informs and shapes teaching; and (3) becomes a powerful tool for library advocacy. Harada’s keynote presentation will serve as a framework for the rest of the institute’s sessions, which expand on assessment with concrete ideas and tools enabling participants to build their own assessment components in alignment with standards and school goals.
Harada presently coordinates the specialization for school library media preparation at the University of Hawaii. She also has been a secondary English teacher, a curriculum designer, an elementary school library media specialist, and a state-level administrator.
For more information about the 2006 AASL Fall Forum and to register, see the AASL web site at (
http://www.ala.org/aasl/fallforum ). Online registration will be available starting February 21, 2006. Registration prices are as follows: AASL Member, $199; ALA Member, $239; Non-Member, $289.
The American Association of School Librarians (
www.aasl.org ), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), 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.