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All materials in this journal subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be used for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. Address FEATURE usage requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions. 44 Knowledge Quest | AASL’s 65th Anniversary All materials in this journal subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be used for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. Address usage requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions. Building t he Strong Foundation J. Linda Williams [email protected] Volume 45, No. 1 | September/October 2016 45 All materials in this journal subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be used for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. Address usage requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions. Looking back on my term as to best carry out the strategic plan. in 2007, shifted the focus from AASL President 2005–2006, With renewed energy, the AASL what school librarians and other I feel that particular year brought Board had the determination and educators should teach and do. many things into focus for AASL road map to address the critical Instead, the focus became the and school library programs and issues facing our association and our students and what they need to know laid the foundation on which AASL profession. and be able to do to be information built for the next ten years. As literate. This fresh approach has school librarians, we have always What were those critical issues, and evolved into the current AASL faced critical issues, and they often did the results of the efforts then standards and guidelines, which can seem to be the same ones; slowly, accomplish a positive change and truly make a school library program very slowly, if at all, did we get lead to future improvements? a model of excellence. anywhere. We had achieved small successes, but not nationally and AASL’s Guidelines and Advocacy not sustainably. Almost twenty years Standards after the publication of Information All stakeholders will understand and Power: Guidelines for School Library Media The school library profession will recognize recognize that [the school librarian] and Programs (ALA 1988) and almost AASL’s guidelines for school library media school library programs are essential to ten years after the second edition, programs and information literacy standards teaching and learning (AASL 2005, 7). Information Power: Building Partnerships for student learning as the model of excellence for Learning (ALA 1998), we were for the profession (AASL 2005, 7). The area of advocacy needed a lot of still dealing with many of the same attention because overcoming some issues, in addition to new ones. Our For several years, the currency stakeholders’ outdated view of the standards and guidelines were not and relevance of our national value of school library programs widely accepted by the educational guidelines, Information Power: Building was a major hurdle for school community, and the role of school Partnerships for Learning and the librarians. How could we change librarians was often misunderstood “Information Literacy Standards the education culture so everyone or given no credibility. for Student Learning,” contained would understand and agree that the within Information Power, had been school library program and school During the previous year, AASL sources of concern. The role of librarian are an essential part of the had stepped back and had taken the school librarian was constantly instructional process? a serious look at the issues then changing. A task force studied facing us as we began working both documents to determine The AASL Advocacy Committee with a consultant to develop a their relevance and whether they addressed this issue by providing strategic plan that would address reflected the current practices and preconference and regional our most-immediate concerns. vocabulary of the profession. No institutes on advocacy, training The strategic plan was approved reference to technology had been members on how to be involved in by the AASL Board of Directors included in those documents. Any national, state, and local advocacy at the 2005 ALA Annual updates, though, would need to efforts and providing additional Conference, just before my term address technology use, as effective educational opportunities in this began. The plan provided focus use of technology was becoming important area. by identifying goals for the next a major part of our evolving role. three to five years. The goals were The need for change also caused An effective, long-lasting strategy in five areas: Guidelines and writers to reflect on new methods for advocacy has been to gather Standards, Advocacy, Professional of instruction and their impact on hard data to support a cause. In Development, Influence within school library programs. response to this need for data ALA, and Community. Objectives about the effectiveness of school within each goal area were The recommendation presented library programs, the AASL Board established, and strategies for to the AASL Board was to approved a longitudinal survey that achieving each objective were rewrite—not just revise—the would create a process to collect, on identified. The AASL Board document. AASL took a completely an ongoing basis, relevant national looked at the association’s current new approach to developing our data points that members could use structure and determined how we standards and guidelines. The new in national, state, and local advocacy needed to restructure committees, standards document, Standards for messages. The survey would be sections, and the Affiliate Assembly the 21st-Century Learner, published completed annually and provide 46 Knowledge Quest | AASL’s 65th Anniversary All materials in this journal subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be used for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. Address usage requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions. continuing data on the same topics. This survey, in addition to specific state surveys done by leaders in the field, gave us the very valuable hard The new standards document, data we needed. The longitudinal survey also provided data for comparison within and between Standards for the 21st-Century states and local districts. While the survey has been discontinued, it did bring to the forefront the need for Learner, published in 2007, data and research in the field and has sparked many of the current AASL research initiatives. shifted the focus from what Legislative issues were also included within the Advocacy goal area in the strategic plan. Immediate and school librarians and other specific attention was needed; a number of issues within the school library community revolved around educators should teach and do. national policy and legislation. These included: Instead, the focus became the • The non-instructional classification of school librarians by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). students and what they need • The “65 percent solution”: regulations that required schools to know and be able to do to be to spend at least 65 percent of their funding on direct classroom instruction, which, under currently prevailing NCES information literate. definitions, did not include spending on school libraries. • No Child Left Behind (NCLB), which did not include school librarians in the “highly qualified” teacher classification. • The need for full funding for the Improving Literacy through School Libraries program. These issues were interdependent. The National Center for Education Statistics classified school librarians as instructional support; therefore, as they were not identified as instructional, no funding for school libraries was available and school librarians were not included in the “highly qualified” teacher category in No Child Left Behind. Volume 45, No. 1 | September/October 2016 47 All materials in this journal subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be used for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. Address usage requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions. Experience has shown that advocacy cannot take place only when an issue arises; advocacy must be constant, so when the issues do arise, we already have an established presence and decision makers already have an understanding of the role school librarians and effective school library programs play in student success. The AASL Task Force on Instruc- librarians as instructional support amendments for the 2007 reauthori- tional Classification was formed to staff, as identified in the NCES zation of No Child Left Behind. The develop a position statement in time financial accounting structure. The recommended changes would include for states to use before the legislative reporting format in use at the time school librarians in the “highly session ended. The statement clearly had required every state to spend qualified” teacher classification. As defined the issues and clarified at least 65 percent of operational the only federal funding specifically AASL’s support for the inclusion budgets on instruction expenses. designated for school libraries was the of school librarians in the NCES But, as libraries were not considered Improving Literacy through School “instructional” classification so that “instructional,” they could receive Libraries program, which was part their purchases of library materials none of the money earmarked for of NCLB, the need for full funding would be considered instructional instruction expenses. A proposed of this program was also included in expenditures. The task force revised reporting format was the AASL draft and discussed. Full also developed a toolkit for use presented by NCES; the revised funding was never achieved. However, by state affiliates to address the format allowed instruction and we continued to work toward higher issue. Additional support for our instruction-related expenses to be funding levels and increasing our concerns was expressed by the ALA in the same category. The proposed advocacy efforts for school libraries Council through the Resolution revised reporting format was and librarians. on the Instructional Classification included in a future edition of the of School Librarians, passed at the financial accounting handbook, and As we all know, the NCLB movement ALA Midwinter Meeting in 2006. school librarians were classified as evolved into the Common Core initia- instruction-related, but not before tive with a separate set of concerns. With help from the ALA Wash- we battled these issues for several Experience has shown that advocacy ington Office, during the 2006 years after 2006. cannot take place only when an issue ALA Legislative Day the AASL arises; advocacy must be constant, so President, the chair of the AASL The ALA Washington Office when the issues do arise, we already Task Force on Instructional Clas- staff and the AASL President also have an established presence and sification, and the chair of the met with the Deputy Secretary decision makers already have an under- AASL Legislation Committee met of Education and staff of the standing of the role school librarians with representatives of NCES and Improving Literacy through School and effective school library programs the Department of Education to Libraries program. An AASL- play in student success. Without all the begin a dialogue regarding the clas- generated draft document was training, knowledge gained, and hard sification and definition of school presented; it identified proposed work, which began with advocacy for 48 Knowledge Quest | AASL’s 65th Anniversary All materials in this journal subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be used for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. Address usage requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions. these issues, and then used again to libraries within ALA. Several very and ALA leaders, gaining their advocate for the 2015 SKILLs Act good strategies were discussed and support and an understanding for and continued for the 2015 ESSA taken back to the AASL Board for our concerns. (Every Student Succeeds Act), ESSA follow-up and implementation. would never have been passed. Main- Looking Forward taining the support and hard work AASL began to track the involve- took a lot of effort, but the effort ment of its members in ALA While these were critical challenges certainly paid off. through appointments to ALA at the time, they do not seem so sig- committees, election to Council, nificant when compared to some of and nominations for office. The the challenges faced today. Twenty- Influence within ALA AASL volunteer form was revised first century students have an ALA will understand and support the issues to include ALA committees to ever-increasing need for the skills important to [school librarians] and school determine members’ interest, and that school librarians bring to the library… programs. a database was developed for the school setting. As always, to ensure AASL President-Elect to use when that the school library remains an Our major concerns were: suggesting people for appointment integral part of the educational • Low voter turnout in ALA to ALA committees by the ALA process, school librarians must work elections President-Elect. collaboratively with teachers and administrators. School librarians • Insufficient involvement of AASL The AASL representative to ALA must also continue to take action to members in ALA Council identified councilors who further stakeholders’ understanding In response to the AASL Board and were school librarians and created of school librarians’ roles, actively Affiliate Assembly’s concern over the an e-mail list to provide support advocate for their profession within low voter turnout in ALA elections, and encourage the number of their school communities, as well as AASL developed a “Get Out the Vote” postings regarding school libraries at the state and national level. campaign, designed in response to on the ALA Council’s electronic the strategic plan to increase the discussion list. These efforts were number of AASL members voting intended to create an awareness and J. Linda Williams and AASL members’ involvement in understanding of school library was coordinator of school ALA leadership. concerns and gain support for issues affecting school librarians and their library services for Anne There was a significant increase students. The efforts succeeded. Arundel County (MD) in the number of AASL members Public Schools prior to voting in the 2006 election: an AASL identified the three most- her retirement. She served as AASL President increase of 39 percent from the influential ALA committees to previous year. Though voting which we wanted an AASL member 2005–2006 and is also a past president of percentages do vary by years, AASL appointed. Within the first year we the Maryland Association of School Librarians. members’ voting rate has remained had a member appointed to two of Active in the University of Maryland Alumni As- better than it was prior to the those committees, and the following sociation, she is currently a member of its Board campaign. Another result of the year a member was appointed to the campaign was that, of the fifteen third committee. It is no longer of Governors, has been president of the iSchool AASL members running for ALA unusual to have an AASL member Alumni Chapter, and continues to serve on the Council in the 2006 election, serve in any ALA capacity: on chapter’s board. She also previously served on eleven were elected. Council, an ALA committee, or the ALA Executive Board and ALA Council. the ALA Executive Board. Several At the 2006 ALA Midwinter times in the past ten years we have Meeting, the AASL President, had three AASL members on the Work Cited: Immediate Past President, and ALA Executive Board at the same President-Elect met with the time, and in the past eight years American Association of School Librarians. 2005. “AASL ALA President-Elect to discuss we have had three AASL members Strategic Plan.” <www.ala.org/ our concerns regarding how ALA nominated to run for president of aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/ committee appointments were made ALA. We have made our presence content/aboutaasl/aaslgovernance/ aasldocuments/aasl_strategic_plan. and the need to have a balanced known and forged partnerships with pdf> (accessed June 11, 2016). representation of all types of the other divisions, roundtables, Volume 45, No. 1 | September/October 2016 49