Two visionary school librarians and three innovative school library programs will be honored today at the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) Awards Luncheon. The awards ceremony will take place during the 2013 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference.
The recipients of the National School Library Program of the Year Award, presented annually to the schools that meet the needs of the changing school and library environment, each will receive $10,000 toward its school library program and a crystal statue. The 2013 winners are:
*Swan Valley High School; Swan Valley School District; Saginaw, Mich. Kay Wejrowski is the school’s library media specialist.
*Pennsylvania Avenue School; Atlantic City School District; Atlantic City, N.J. Jennifer Jamison is the school’s library media specialist.
*New Augusta South Elementary School; Metropolitan School District of Pike Township; Indianapolis, Ind. Lauren Kniola is the school’s library media specialist.
The recipients of the Information Technology Pathfinder Award, presented annually to one elementary and one secondary school librarian who both have demonstrated vision and leadership through the use of information technology to build lifelong learners, each will receive a $1,500 award. The 2013 winners are:
*Joseph Landor, library information specialist, Germanshire Elementary School, Memphis, Tenn. As a first-year school librarian, Landor took the initiative to revitalize Germanshire’s school library program and turn it into a hub for teaching and learning. program.
*Judy Russell, district teacher-librarian, Saydel Community School District in Des Moines, Iowa. At Russell’s district, each of the 500 students in grades 7-12 is issued a laptop and the library provides all Internet-based resources for 24/7 access.
The AASL’s 2013 National School Library Program of the Year Award and the Information Technology Pathfinder Award are both sponsored by Follett.
