One of the decisions made by the Board of the American Association of School Librarians at Midwinter was to return the organization-endorsed job title to school librarian. I admit that although I’m very glad to see the term “media specialist” go, it is a bit weird to actually see a press release to that fact. To the outsider, it feels a bit like a visit from Obviousman.

From AASL:

AASL leadership reviewed the data [from a member study] and identified the advantages and disadvantages of the various titles. After a focused and extensive discussion, the AASL Board of Directors voted to adopt school librarian as the title which reflects the roles of the 21st-century school library professional as a leader, instructional partner, information specialist, teacher, and program administrator.

As the overarching strategic goal of AASL is to achieve universal recognition of school librarians as indispensable educational leaders, AASL will work to advance and promote the title school librarian, and will open dialog concerning stakeholders’ needs, wants, and preferences; the current realities and evolving dynamics of the professional environment; the capacity and strategic position of the association; and the ethical implications relevant to this decision.

So there you go. Official confirmation that the American Association of School Librarians calls its members …. school librarians.

All joking aside (OK, I am admitting that it is hard to let this one go), the AASL Board is charged with deliberating on the issues brought forth by its membership.  AASL’s Board and staff work on your behalf.

What do you see as the key issues that the AASL Board should be looking at?

This entry was posted on Monday, January 18th, 2010 at 6:21 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.