AASL observes 25th anniversary of School Library Month

Contact: Stephanie Book
AASL Manager, Communication
(312) 280-4389
sbook@ala.org

NEWS
For Immediate Release
March 2, 2010

CHICAGO – This April, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) will observe the 25th Anniversary of School Library Month (SLM).
School Library Month, 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."

AASL officials, local and national dignitaries held a proclamation ceremony April 1, 1985, on the west steps of the U.S. Capitol, where a senator from New York delivered the keynote address. National proclamation efforts for the first School Library Month, then called School Library Media Month, were spearheaded by Lucille Thomas. Thomas and the AASL committee gathered ideas from previous state and local celebrations for school libraries and compiled a 52-page handbook for the first national observance. Read more about the history of School Library Month and this year’s activities on the AASL Web site at 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 and 30 days of activities based on the theme "Communities thrive @ your library" are available to download. Watch for updates about the AASL official SLM spokesperson, award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson. Member voting begins in March on submissions to the AASL-sponsored SLM video contest for members and their students to share how their school library program helps their community thrive. In addition, every Wednesday, starting April 7, AASL will offer webinars for school librarians focusing on the implementation of AASL's program guidelines. School librarians are encouraged to take part in AASL’s social communities on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and ALA Connect, using the tag slm2010 during the month of April, when 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.

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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