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Contact: Kathy Agarwal
Communications Specialist
312-280-4381

kagarwal@ala.org

For Immediate Release
October 26, 2006

"Friends of AASL" to support school library media profession's interests

CHICAGO - The American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is pleased to announce the launch of "Friends of AASL," a new funding initiative to support the work of the association.
"Friends of AASL" is a donor program for individuals and institutions whose interests include supporting the school library media profession and advocating for its place in education.

"Donations made through "Friends of AASL" will supply additional funding for AASL programming that goes above and beyond traditional membership services of the association," said AASL President Cyndi Phillip.
"With the goals set forth by the new strategic plan, AASL has been working to significantly improve its services to members.
The Board of Directors decided to allocate the "Friends of AASL" funds to special initiatives and services that address the strategic plan."

"Friends of AASL" donations will help fund such areas as guidelines and standards for school library media programs, advocacy efforts, professional development and conference programming, and community building and networking initiatives.
Each donor is able to choose an area to support, and donations will be accepted at any level: Friend (up to $99), Supporter (up to $249), Contributor (up to $499), Advocate (up to $999) and Visionary ($1,000 and over).
Donations are tax deductible and donors will be recognized with a mention in AASL publications and on its Web site.

More information and donation instructions are available at the Friends of AASL web pages at
http://www.ala.org/aasl/friends.

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.