NSLMPY 2009 application available for members

Contact: Melissa B. Jones
AASL Communications
Specialist
(312) 280-4381
mjones@ala.org

NEWS
For Immediate Release
July 22, 2008

NSLMPY
2009 application available for members

CHICAGO
– The 2009 application for the American Association of School Librarians'
(AASL) National School Library Media Program of the Year (NSLMPY) Award is now
available online for member download and submission. The application can be
downloaded at http://www.ala.org/aasl/awards.
The deadline is Jan. 2, 2009.

Established in 1963, the NSLMPY award honors school library
media programs, at both a school and district level, that ensure students and staff are effective users of
ideas and information. It particularly recognizes programs that are fully
integrated into the school's curriculum. Each winning program receives a
$10,000 prize ($30,000 total) donated by Follett Library Resources. Information on past winners, including 2008
winners, Luella Elementary
School in Locust Grove, Ga., and Simsbury
High School in Simsbury, Conn.
can be found at http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslawards/natlslmprogram/aaslnational.cfm.

Ann M. Martin, AASL president, said, "This award is one
of the most gratifying benefits provided to school library media specialists by
AASL and its sponsor Follett Library Resources. As a former NSLMPY award
winner, I urge all AASL members to apply for this prestigious award. Any AASL
member applying for this award will experience library program growth as they
strive to be named the best school library media program in the nation. In
keeping with my beliefs about the significance of leadership to the success of
our profession, NSLMPY award identifies school library programs that serve as
exemplar models to our AASL membership in the entire school library profession."

For more information about schools that have received the NSLMPY award,
as well as best practices for developing an award-winning school library media
program, read "Leadership for
Excellence," edited by Jo Ann Carr. The publication is available at http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteSolution.taf?_sn=catalog2&_pn=product_detail&_op=2581.

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.