PSAs from SLM spokesperson Laurie Halse Anderson available for download on AASL Web site
Contact: Stephanie Book
AASL Manager, Communications
(312) 280-4389
sbook@ala.org
NEWS
For Immediate Release
March 16, 2010
CHICAGO – Audio and video public service announcements (PSAs) recorded by School Library Month (SLM) spokesperson and award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson promoting the 2010 celebration are available for download under SLM Resources on the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Web site at
www.ala.org/aasl/slm. Make the PSAs a part of your school’s broadcast system every day in April and upload PSAs to your school Web site or school library Web page. Get tips on the AASL Web site on how to get your local radio and public television stations to play the PSAs during April.
“Being the 25th anniversary of School Library Month, Laurie’s love for history partnered with her passion for great books for kids makes her the perfect spokesperson to record PSAs for the 2010 celebration,” said SLM committee Chair Sue Kowalski. Though Anderson is best known for her award-winning Young Adult novels, she also writes picture books and chapter books for elementary age children. Librarians, teachers and parents love her fun, fact-filled picture books about American History. Her next project is a picture book about her hero, Abigail Adams. American history has been a life-long passion for Anderson, for which her picture books have been recognized. Her passion is also reflected in several of her Young Adult novels. For more information, visit
www.ala.org/aasl/slm.
School librarians should visit the SLM Web pages regularly to find updated resources to help celebrate SLM within their school and local community. Currently, letters for local legislators, SLM logos and 30 days of activities based on the SLM theme are available to download. Registration is now open for AASL’s new Learning4Life webinar series, which will hosted every Wednesday, starting April 7, and focus on the implementation of the AASL program guidelines. School librarians are encouraged to take part in AASL’s social communities on Facebook, Twitter and ALA Connect during the month of April, where library professionals will be sharing information about the activities happening in their school library programs. Visit the AASL Web site (
www.ala.org/aasl/slm) and AASL blog (
www.aasl.ala.org/aaslblog) regularly for more information, new resources and activities.
School Library Month, begun in 1985, is celebrated in conjunction with National Library Week (April 12-18). Every April school librarians are encouraged to create activities to help their school and local community celebrate the essential role that strong school library programs play in a student's educational career. The 2010 theme is "Communities thrive @ your library."
The American Association of School Librarians,
www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), promotes the improvement and extension of library 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 field.
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