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AASL Books & Products | American Association of School Librarians (AASL)

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AASL Books & Products | American Association of School Librarians (AASL)

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American Association of School Librarians (AASL)

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Two ways to order:

1. Order from the online store or email alastore@ala.org

2. Order by mail, fax, or phone from:

American Library Association
PO Box 117219
Atlanta, GA 30368-7219

P: 866-SHOP ALA (1-866-746-7252)
F: 312-280-5860
Prices listed do not include shipping and handling.
National School Library Standards | Non-Serial Publications | Advocacy Tools | Products

National School Library Standards

National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries

The new National School Library Standards reflect an evolution of AASL learning standards and program guidelines, now referred to as "Standards" and framed within a single text. These standards feature a new streamlined and integrated standards framework, ensuring that standards-related activities are mutually reinforcing for learners, school librarians, and school libraries.

ISBN 978-0-8389-1579-0
2018 | 320 p | 7" x 10" softcover

$199
ALA Members: $149
AASL Members: $99

AASL Standards Framework for Learners

The AASL Standards Framework for Learners pamphlet is the ideal collaborative and advocacy piece to introduce your stakeholders to this student-focused segment at the heart of AASL's standards. In addition to the framework for learners, this convenient pamphlet includes Common Beliefs reflecting current learning environments and professional best practices that form the foundation of the standards.

ISBN 978-0-8389-1654-4
2018 | 8 p | 8.5" x 11" pamphlet

Sold in packs of 10
Price: $16.95

AASL Standards Mobile App

The AASL Standards mobile app is powerful tool that will help you quickly search, compare, record, and share the National School Library Standards you need anytime, anywhere. Always have the standards at hand-during curriculum meetings, teacher collaborations, professional development or instructional opportunities. Impress your stakeholders and maximize your collaborative opportunities as you showcase the standards that define your profession.

Item Number: AASLapp
Price: $19.99
Buy now at the $12.99 introductory rate through February 15, 2018!
This app can be purchased from the Apple App Store and Google Play.

AASL Standards Graphics Products

Decorate your school library spaces with this set of AASL Standards products! AASL Standards Clings promote the Shared Foundations (Inquire, Include, Collaborate, Curate, Explore, and Engage) and the Domains (Think, Create, Share and Grow) from AASL's National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries. The poster and bookmark feature AASL's Shared Foundations and Key Commitments. Remind learners and stakeholders of the core values and competencies being advanced through their work in the school library.

AASL Standards Poster | $18.00
Item Number: 5190-1811

AASL Standards Bookmark | $9.00
Item Number: 5192-1811

AASL Standards: Foundations Clings | $36.00
Item Number: 5193-1812

AASL Standards: Domains Clings | $24.00
Item Number: 5193-1811

AASL Standards: 10-Cling Set | $51.00
Item Number: 5193-1813

AASL Standards Complete Set | $69.00
Item Number: 5193-1814

Non-Serial Publications

A 21st-Century Approach to School Librarian Evaluation
Patricia Owen

A 21st-Century Approach to School Librarian Evaluation uses the AASL Empowering Learners program guidelines as a basis for a school librarian evaluation rubric-one that can be adapted or duplicated by school librarians and shared with school administrators.

Workbook style prompts walk school librarians through suggested readings, action tips, and evidence collection to help gauge their current levels of achievement, set goals for progress, and form plans for future professional development. This book provides school librarians an opportunity to engage in rigorous self-evaluation and to shape school administrator evaluations.

2012 | 146 p | ISBN 978-0-8389-8618-9 | $36.00 | ALA Members $32.40

e-book | ALA Store item 9400-6189 | $18.00 | ALA Members $16.20

bundle | ALA Store item 9700-6189 | $45.00 | ALA members $40.50

Library Spaces for 21st-Century Learners: A Planning Guide for Creating New School Library Concepts
Margaret Sullivan

Library Spaces for 21st-Century Learners: A Planning Guide for Creating New School Library Concepts focuses on planning contemporary school library spaces with user-based design strategies. The book walks school librarians and administrators through the process of gathering information from students and other stakeholders involved in planning a resource rich learning space. Information includes how to create needs assessment documents that compliment AASL's Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs. Suggestions for adding meaningful aesthetic components and colorful renderings of sample environments are also provided.

2013 | 100p | ISBN 978-0-8389-8630-1 | $36.00 | ALA members $32.40

e-book | ALA Store item 9400-6301 | $18.00 | ALA members $16.20

bundle | ALA Store item 9700-6301 | $45.00 | ALA members $40.50

Empowering Leadership: Developing Behaviors for Success
Ann M. Martin

This book takes the mystery out of leadership by illustrating the visible and invisible components of leadership. Essential questions, reflective strategies, and practical tips within each chapter will bring school librarians to their next level in leadership while they recognize the hidden leadership opportunities in daily tasks that are already central to the profession. Empowering Leadership offers lessons and examples to improve the leader within and encourage development of each librarian's unique leadership style.

2013 | 214p | ISBN 978-0-8389-8657-8 | $36.00 | ALA members $32.40

e-book | ALA Store item 9400-6578 | $18.00 | ALA members $16.20

bundle | ALA Store item 9700-6578 | $45.00 | ALA members $40.50

Developing Collections to Empower Learners
Sue C. Kimmel

Developing Collections to Empower Learners examines collection development in the context of today's shifts toward digital resources while emphasizing the foundational beliefs of the school library profession. Writer Sue Kimmel includes practical advice about needs assessment, planning, selection, acquisitions, evaluation, and continuous improvement for collections to support 21st-century standards. Questions are raised about shifting roles of the school librarian and the place of the school library. What should school libraries collect and how can we support the creation and dissemination of knowledge in our communities? Particular emphasis is given to questions about access, equity, and learning in order to ensure that all students will be effective consumers and producers of information and ideas heading into the 22nd-century.

2014 | 126p | ISBN 978-0-8389-8728-5 | $36.00 | ALA members $32.40

e-book | ALA Store item 9400-7285 | $18.00 | ALA members $16.20

bundle | ALA Store item 9700-7285 | $45.00 | ALA members $40.50

School library media specialists have a crucial role to play in the assessment of student learning. This volume, featuring contributions from participants in AASL's sold-out 2006 Fall Forum, provides answers to this important question on many levels.

2007 | 80p | ISBN-13: 978-0-8389-8446-8 | $22.95 | ALA members $20.65

Whether you have an interest in starting an ebook collection for your school library program or are working on enhancing an ebook collection you've already established, this handbook is for you. The world of ebooks is both vast and intricate. Exploring the many articles concerning ebook publication, vendors, devices, and copyright laws can be overwhelming. The writers of Ebooks and the School Library Program have organized their learning to share with their peers from several years of building ebook collections for their individual school library programs. This guide will help familiarize school librarians with ebooks and facilitate decision-making about their ebook collections in a rapidly changing landscape.

2013 | 222p | ISBN 978-0-8389-8672-1 | $36.00 | ALA members $32.40

e-book | ALA Store item 9400-6721 | $18.00 | ALA members $16.20

bundle | ALA Store item 9700-6721 | $45.00 | ALA members $40.50

This concise guide features reading strategies geared for elementary and secondary students as well as a hearty nod to free and voluntary reading programs supported by school library programs. Includes contributions from leading reading experts who were presenters at the 2004 AASL Fall Forum.

2005 | 56p | ISBN 978-0-8389-8358-8 | $20.00 | ALA members $18.00

Valuable for novices and seasoned school librarians, this Best of Knowledge Quest monograph, is a collection of seminal articles to support pre-service and in-service school librarians in developing and strengthening the instructional partner role. Instructional Partnerships: A Pathway to Leadership provides readers with background knowledge, research-based evidence, and examples of instructional partnerships in action. Serving in this role positions school librarians as key faculty in improving student learning outcomes through building collaborative partnerships for instruction.

2013 | 214p | ISBN 978-0-8389-8638-7 | $36.00 | ALA members $32.40

e-book | ALA Store item 9400-6387 | $18.00 | ALA members $16.20

bundle | ALA Store item 9700-6387 | $45.00 | ALA members $40.50

How do the most successful school library media specialists play a leading role in student achievement in their schools? Jo Ann Carr and AASL share behind-the-scenes details and best practices, including how and why top programs succeed, get funding, and become integral contributors in their school communities.

2008 | 120p | ISBN 978-0-8389-0961-4 | $45.00 | ALA members $40.50

This book discusses the use of data sets to establish benchmarking goals for school library programs, focusing on both the data available from the national level and how that data can influence decisions at the local level. Most importantly this book will help school librarians increase their ability to effectively use existing data and to articulate the analysis of that data to the people who need the information, including principals, superintendents, school boards, parents, teachers and students.

2012 | 82p | ISBN 978-0-8389-8617-2 | $36.00 | ALA members $32.40

e-book | ALA Store item 9400-6172 | $18.00 | ALA members $16.20

bundle | ALA Store item 9700-6172 | $45.00 | ALA members $40.50

The publication is a compilation of articles from Knowledge Quest, AASL's official, highly respected journal on school library media programs. The purpose here is not to set in stone principles and practices to be followed blindly but to present a disposition toward intellectual behaviors that seriously consider the responsibilities and actions as educators in a democratic society. Readers will find topics addressing the big picture of civic engagement, equity, democracy, and social justice, and of course best practices.

2009 | 85 p | ISBN 978-0-8389-8515-1 | $22.95 | ALA Members $20.65

School Library Services in a Multicultural Society (Best of KQ)

Edited by Patricia Montiel-Overall and Donald C. Adcock

For years AASL has been addressing cultural issues in its official journal, Knowledge Quest. This collection brings together articles that touch on a wide variety of issues related to culture, including cultural literacy, ethnicity, gender, family, language, and technology.

2009 | 60 p | ISBN 978-0-8389-8496-3 | $22.95 | ALA Members $20.65

Advocacy Tools

These advocacy packs are intended to be used as tools to spread the word about the many ways school librarians are transforming teaching and learning. Generously sponsored by Bound to Stay Bound Books (BTSB), School Library Advocacy Packs are available free of charge while supplies last. Valued at $29.99, school library advocates/customers pay only for shipping.

This pack includes:

25 copies of a limited print edition of "School Libraries Transform Learning," an American Libraries Digital Supplement

Assorted brochures from the "School Library Programs Improve Student Learning" series, also sponsored by BTSB

2015 | Item # 9200-2015 | Free. Pay for shipping only (minimum $9.00). Order additional products from the ALA Online Store and combine your shipping for additional savings.

School Library Programs Create Lifelong Learners: A Student's and Parent's Guide to Evaluating Independent School Libraries | Independent School Section of AASL

Developed by AASL's Independent School Section (ISS), School Library Programs Create Lifelong Learners is a guide to help students and parents evaluate independent school libraries. Choosing the independent school your child will attend is an important decision, and this guide presents learning standards and critical questions to help a family identify the important characteristics of a strong school library program. For more information, visit www.ala.org/aasl/advocacy/tools/brochures/iss.

2011 | Pamphlet | ISBN 978-0-8389-8594-6 | Available in packs of 25 for $7.00/pack

School Library Programs Improve Student Learning (Brochure series)

School Library Programs Improve Student Learning is a series of advocacy brochures each designed to speak to a specific stakeholder audience within the school library community, including administrators, policymakers, parents, and teachers. The brochure series unfolds AASL's Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs in a way that allows each stakeholder group to visualize a model school library program from their perspective. Each brochure outlines goals and key questions specific and important to each audience. This format will help school librarians generate and guide unique discussions with each stakeholder group, set goals and expectations for the program and the stakeholder, and maximize the potential of the school library program. To download PDFs, visit www.ala.org/aasl/advocacybrochures or purchase packs of the full-color brochures.

2011 | Brochure | Available in packs of 25 for $9.00/pack

ISBN 978-0-8389-8581-6 | Administrators
ISBN 978-0-8389-8583-0 | Parents
ISBN 978-0-8389-8613-4 | Parents (Spanish)
ISBN 978-0-8389-8582-3 | Policymakers
ISBN 978-0-8389-8584-7 | Teachers

Products

21st-Century Learner Poster

Use this poster to reinforce to administrators, faculty, parents, and students of the important skills needed for becoming lifelong learners.

13" x 38"

School Library Month Poster

Developed with AASL, this poster celebrates the special role of a school library in the life of a child. Every April for School Library Month, school librarians 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. Learn more about School Library Month at www.ala.org/aasl/slm.

Celebrate school libraries in April and throughout the year with these posters and bookmarks!

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Order from the online store or email alastore@ala.org Order by mail, fax, or phone from: American Library Association PO Box 117219 Atlanta, GA 30368-7219 P: 866-SHOP ALA (1-866-746-7252) F: 312-280-5860 Prices listed do not include shipping and handling.

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Six Ways To Become More Indispensable

It worries me when I hear that some schools in other states are doing away with their school librarians. This is a time when librarians are needed more than ever in schools since we have training in literacy, research skills, and technology. With these skills at our disposal, how can districts simply choose to eliminate these positions? I think there are many reasons; and among these are reduced school budgets and perhaps a perception that librarians only check out books. I want to make my position indispensable so that stakeholders never want to eliminate it. These six steps are simple and can help you change how your position is viewed. It doesn't happen overnight since it is a process. Please, consider making these six steps a part of your daily best practices, even when you may not feel like it. You WILL see a difference over time! I am not perfect at any of these points, but I try very hard to do each of them. Let's examine some practices that have helped me over the years:

1. Be approachable, and have a consistent good attitude.
If you reach out to others and make yourself approachable, people will be drawn to you. It doesn't cost a bit extra to make people feel comfortable by being nice and welcoming.

I have to work at having a good attitude some days. If you choose to have a good attitude and project this to others, it will make your day much better. People are drawn to positive individuals. Strive to be that person in your building.

2. Be dependable. If you say you will do something, do it.
Don't you love it when a colleague tells you they will have something done, and they come through every time? There is nothing like a dependable person that you can count on. The flip side of this is that individual that says they will do something, but they never do. They only provide excuses. These folks generally frustrate everyone. Don't be this person; if you make a commitment, come through every time!

3. Serve others.
Have you ever gone to a restaurant and had great service? What a great feeling it is to be served by a professional waitress/ waiter that goes the extra mile to make sure you are satisfied. A high level of customer service makes us all happy. If you serve others well, word will get out quickly that you take care of people. This is definitely a crucial step in becoming indispensable.

4. Be a lifelong learner.
One of the reasons I love Twitter is because it is full of educators that are lifelong learners. These people amaze me at how they are constantly looking to learn more so they can impact students in a greater way. Lifelong learners arenever satisfied with where they are are. They have a growth mindset that demands going to the next level. They are constantly forming questions and researching answers. A school librarian with this mindset will most likely be a leader in their building! Train your brain to ask questions, and then research the answers. Read education magazines, library journals, and blogs. Learn about the latest technologies. Take part in Twitter education chats. Attend conferences and bring back new ideas to your building. Hangout with other motivated educators. Develop your growth mindset, and thirst for lifelong learning. If you project this passion, you will spread this interest throughout your building and personal learning network! Passionate learning is contagious.

5. Go above and beyond in your job.
If you make a regular practice of going the extra mile in your job and for others, it will get noticed. When my wife and I are out eating in a restaurant, I love it when we get a server that makes sure our food requirements are met. Occasionally, we will get a server that goes over the top with their service. This always makes us feel like the server cares about us and our needs. Don't you love that feeling too? Going above and beyond in a job is a sign of a true professional that loves their work! In school librarianship, this could be a follow up visit or email when we are helping troubleshoot technology. It could be ordering a book that a student or teacher has requested, then tracking them down to make the delivery when it arrives... I love doing this! When you put forth extra effort, it shows people you care about them and love what you do. This type of action draws people into your program. Everyone wants to be served with a high level of professionalism and care!

6. Promote what you do in the school and on social media.
Many educators have told me they don't feel comfortable using social media or they feel like sharing happenings might seem like bragging. If we keep our social media posts positive and student focused, it is certainly not bragging. We should enjoy celebrating strong moments with our friends and colleagues. Social media will allow others to see examples of our best practices and programs. This can change how your audience perceives what you do in the school library! One of my favorite questions to ask to other teacher librarians when they express concern about sharing on social media is, "If you don't tell them, how will they know what you are doing?" Promote, share, email, post, display pictures, blog, make posters, and shout from hallways and the roof if necessary! You never know how your celebrations and stories might draw others to partner with you in the school library. What might happen if we all shared our best practices and pictures from the library on social media? It just might transform the perception of our jobs and empower future school librarians!

Closing Thoughts
I hope these six practices will help you better serve others. There are days when these six steps are easy to fulfill. Then, occasionally, the opposite occurs; and it seems like a long shot to do just one well. School librarians have the potential to impact every teacher, student, and administrator in their buildings. What a great opportunity this is to make a difference in so many lives! Let's encourage each other to be our best for those that need our services!

This might help you understand Twitter education chats and hashtags!

Have you ever asked students why they like the school library? We did, and you can click here to see what happened!

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Six Ways To Become More Indispensable It worries me when I hear that some schools in other states are doing away with their school librarians. This is a time when librarians are needed more than ever in schools since we have training in literacy, research skills, and technology.

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A 21st-Century Approach to School Librarian Evaluation | American Association of School Librarians (AASL)

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A 21st-Century Approach to School Librarian Evaluation | American Association of School Librarians (AASL)

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Giving Data Some Soul | Project Advocacy | School Library Journal

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Giving Data Some Soul | Project Advocacy | School Library Journal

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At the 2014 Internet Librarian Conference, held in Monterey, CA (October 27-29), EBSCO user experience researcher Deirdre Costello shared the company's efforts to delve into the research habits of teens. EBSCO researchers conducted one-on-one interviews, and they also sent video cameras to students so they could create their own research video diaries.

The shared results could have been interesting, but dry. However, the EBSCO team chose to capture their results in the jargon of "Harry Potter." It was so memorable that without consulting my notes, I can recall the three types of teen researchers they identified: Hermiones, who use every research tool well and listen to instructions; Rons, who rely on the Hermiones to help them through the research project; and Nevilles, who only get good at research once they find their true passion in a subject-and then blossom.

Those analogies demonstrated the power of using data persuasively. When we do so, we share our discoveries in a way that sticks.

At the conference, Ken Haycock, research professor of management and organization at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, acknowledged that the way librarians present data often doesn't resonate with decision-makers. Qualitative sorts of stories do. "Data with a soul," as keynote speaker Brendan Howley, chief strategy officer at Yup! media group, called it, quoting University of Houston professor and TED Talk sensation Brené Brown.

Typically, we gather data about how many students or how many classes we serve. How can librarians answer real-world questions and harness data's persuasive potential? I happen to be in the midst of delving into my own curiosity about student reading habits-gathering data about our students' use of ebooks through a variety of methodologies, including surveys, personal interviews, and video interviews. As I do so, I am mindful of transforming the data into a meaningful story about our students that will resonate with administrators.

In a presentation at Internet Librarian, I shared some of our findings. Surveyed seniors claimed a strong preference for print materials. Only six percent prefer ebooks, although they use both formats when necessary. An informal library survey showed that overall, our students prefer print almost 2:1.

Also, despite a great deal of library publicity, students aren't very aware of the ebook collection. In addition to gathering the data, I need to craft it to help school leaders understand the real picture of student ebook preferences versus the perception of "digital natives."

We have so many data-gathering tools at our disposal. Maybe we collect compelling data through video interviews, as my school's librarians did when interviewing students about their learning space preferences. Maybe we gather it through brainstorming exercises. At the conference, school librarians Cheri Dobbs (Detroit Country Day School, Beverly Hills, MI) and Marcia Kochel (Galloway School, Atlanta, GA) suggested rethinking libraries through a blue-sky challenge: "What would the library look like if __ (the Geico gecko, Jimmy Fallon, Ellen DeGeneres, etc.) designed it?" Attendees imagined that Ellen's library would include dancing, guests, and prizes, while the gecko's library would feature low shelving.

Data can also be compiled with collaborative brainstorming tools, such as Coggle.it, as Mary Ann Bell, assistant professor in the department of library science at Texas's Sam Houston State University, suggested at the conference. Perhaps it involves using a tool like Piktochart to craft a compelling infographic.

What are you or your administrators curious about? Let that motivate your research. Whatever your method, don't lose focus on the data's narrative. As Haycock reminded us, this story might be the one thread that decision-makers remember at a critical juncture.

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Giving Data Some Soul | Project Advocacy

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At the 2014 Internet Librarian Conference, held in Monterey, CA (October 27-29), EBSCO user experience researcher Deirdre Costello shared the company's efforts to delve into the research habits of teens. EBSCO researchers conducted one-on-one interviews, and they also sent video cameras to students so they could create their own research video diaries.