Enter the Sara Jaffarian School Library Program Award to Win $4,000
RSSBy SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 09/26/2007
If you’ve got a great media center program, then apply for the Sara Jaffarian School Library Program Award for Exemplary Humanities Programming. You could end up winning $4,000 for your library.
Applications from any public or private elementary or middle school serving grades K-8 are now being accepted for the second annual award, sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA), in cooperation with the American Association of School Librarians (AASL).
Eligible applicants must have conducted a humanities program or program series during the 2006-2007 school year in subject areas that include social studies, poetry, drama, art, music, language arts, foreign language, and culture. The programs should focus on broadening perspectives and helping students understand the world and their place in it.
The humanities program must be initiated and coordinated by a school librarian and exemplify the role of the library program in advancing the overall educational goals of the school.
The Sara Jaffarian Award is an annual award recognizing a school library that has conducted an exemplary program or program series in the humanities. The winner receives $4,000 in cash and a plaque. Sara Jaffarian is a retired school librarian, who has been an ALA member 63 years. She began her career as a librarian in the public school system of Quincy, MA, and later served as the director of libraries for the Greensboro Public Schools in North Carolina and the supervisor of libraries for the Seattle Public Schools in Washington.
To encourage other school libraries interested in developing outstanding humanities programs, the winning librarian must also participate in a professional development presentation, focusing her school program as a model for inspiration and adaptation by other school library media programs.
Award guidelines and the application are available online www.ala.org/jaffarianaward, and the deadline is December 3, 2007. The winning library will be notified in April 2008 and announced in June 2008 as part of ALA's 2008 Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA.
