New AASL Standards publications focus on leadership, lessons, and collection development

CHICAGO – New publications from the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and ALA Editions expand on AASL’s “National School Library Standards” to build practitioners’ leadership skills, provide compelling and authentic lessons, and introduce key components that influence collection development. 

Books in the AASL Standards-Based Learning Series include: 

• “Lessons Inspired by Picture Books for Primary Grades” by Maureen Schlosser and Rebecca Granatini. Drawing on compelling picture books that can be used to directly support the AASL Standards, this ready-to-go toolkit of lessons, worksheets, anchor charts, assessments, and rubrics is specifically designed to build learner competencies while examining big ideas. Available now.
• “Content-Area Collaborations for Secondary Grades” by Liz Deskins. Using the “AASL Standards Framework for Learners,” this book supports secondary school librarians and content-area educators working together to design and deliver creative, personalized, and authentic learning experiences. Available fall 2019.
• “STEAM in 30 Minutes for Elementary Learners” by Deborah Rinio. This publication contains 14 scaffolded STEAM activities enabling collaboration and allowing elementary school librarians to easily shift the same lesson between classes and grade levels. Each lesson is designed to be completed in 30-minute class periods. Available spring 2020.

Also in the AASL/ALA Editions collection:

• “Leadership: Strategic Thinking, Decision Making, Communication & Relationship Building” by Ann M. Martin and Kathleen Riopelle Roberts. Guiding school librarians to new levels of leadership, this book breaks down the AASL Standards into authentic, easily accessible components school librarians can apply to develop their leadership style and skills. Available fall 2019.
• “An Introduction to Collection Development for School Librarians” by Mona Kerby. Supported by the AASL Standards and ALA/AASL/Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) standards for university preparation programs, this publication applies an informal and practical approach to collection development.

“Many times I’ve found I need to go deep in a particular topic to deepen my own practice or to identify concepts to help school librarians in my district. These stand-alone books fill that need,” said Mary Keeling, AASL President. “These authors are practitioners who are known and respected for their expertise, and their books offer instructional procedures, assessments, and technology recommendations; a systematic approach to curating their resources; and tools to activate the leader within ourselves!”

All titles are available for order or pre-order at the links above. Books marked available in fall 2019 will ship to pre-order purchasers upon publication.

ALA Editions | ALA Neal-Schuman publishes resources used worldwide by tens of thousands of library and information professionals to improve programs, build on best practices, develop leadership, and for personal professional development.

The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), empowers leaders to transform teaching and learning.