AASL Unveils New Learning Standards for School Library Media Programs

By SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 10/28/2007 12:39:00 PM

The wait is over. The America Association of School Librarians (AASL) officially unveiled its "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner" on October 25 during its 13th National Conference and Exhibition in Reno, NV.

AASL President Sara Kelly Johns says the highly awaited publication was “developed by some of the best minds in the school library field," and that she hopes the new standards will provide a foundation for a strong library media program in every school, “where our students will research expertly, think critically, problem-solve well, read enthusiastically and use information ethically. They really define how your library media program makes a difference for students.”

The AASL Learning Standards Rewrite Task Force had been hard at work since last year to develop new standards for student learning in the 21st Century. The task force—which included co-chairs Cassandra Barnett and Gail Dickinson, Eugene Hainer, Melissa Johnston, Marcia Mardis, and Barbara Stripling presented two drafts—in November 2006 and at the American Library Association midwinter meeting in Seattle last January. And they made it a point to get input from the school library community by asking librarians to e-mail their comments and suggestions to AASL. The organization also launched a wiki in March to ask members to make changes to the document.

“The new AASL 'Standards for the 21st-Century Learner' are both a reflection of the current landscape and a vision for the future," says Dickinson. "Good standards have to be practical enough to teach today but flexible enough to be able to teach tomorrow.”

Attendees at the Reno conference received a complimentary PDF version of the standards, which are now available on theAASL Web site. For those wishing to purchase multiple copies of the standards, they will be available through the ALA Online Store starting on Friday, Oct. 26.