Jaffarian Award to be presented on LIVE! Stage at annual conference

Contact: Angela Thullen


Program Officer, Communications, PPO


(312) 280-5286


athullen@ala.org

NEWS


For Immediate Release


June 3, 2008

Jaffarian Award to be presented on LIVE! Stage at annual conference

CHICAGO - The American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office (PPO) will present the 2008 Sara Jaffarian School Library Program Award for Exemplary Humanities Programming to the Woodsdale Elementary School of Wheeling, W.Va., at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 29, during the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif. The presentation will take place on the LIVE! @ your library Reading Stage, in the 2500 aisle of the exhibition hall.

Following the award presentation, conference attendees are invited to join the award winner and library colleagues for refreshments during an informal reception in the PPO booth, #2591.

Sandra Wiseman, school library media specialist at Woodsdale Elementary, developed and submitted the winning program, “History Hits the Road to Woodsdale.” Partnering with local historians, the West Virginia Humanities Council, the PTA, parents and community volunteers, “History Hits the Road” allowed students to experience life in the 19th century through hands-on learning. Teachers of all grade levels built classroom activities around the theme, using reading, research, role playing, crafts and music to actively engage students in understanding the pioneer life. The Woodsdale Elementary School library will receive a plaque recognizing the achievement, a cash award of $4,000 and inclusion of the winning program in a national training session.

The Sara Jaffarian Award was established in 2006 to recognize and promote excellence in humanities programming in elementary and middle school (K-8) libraries. It is presented annually by the Public Programs Office, in cooperation with the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), and named for Sara Jaffarian, whose donation to ALA’s Cultural Communities Fund established the award. Jaffarian, a retired school librarian and long-time ALA member, spent her career passionately advocating for school libraries in every school. The award winner is selected annually by a committee comprising members of the ALA Public and Cultural Programs Advisory Committee (PCPAC) and AASL.

Established in 1992, the ALA Public Programs Office provides leadership, resources, training and networking opportunities that help all types of libraries develop and host cultural programs for adults, young adults, children and families. For more information about the Public Programs Office, the ALA Cultural Communities Fund and its Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Sara Jaffarian Award, please visit the Public Programs Office Web site at
www.ala.org/publicprograms.