The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and Follett today announced that applications are now being accepted for the 2014 National School Library Program of the Year (NSLPY) Award.  The competition is open to K–12 programs that are "fully integrated into the school’s curriculum and meet the needs of the changing library environment." The deadline to submit an application is January 1, 2014. Guided by AASL’s “Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs," the NSLPY award seeks to reward and promote exemplary programs that empower learners to be critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers, and ethical users of information, AASL says. Each winning school library program will receive $10,000 and a crystal statue. The award is co-sponsored by AASL and Follett, the largest provider of educational materials and technology solutions to PreK–12 libraries, classrooms, learning centers, and school districts in the United States. At this year’s American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago, the 2013 NSLPY Award winners were honored: Swan Valley High School (Saginaw, MI), Pennsylvania Avenue School (Atlantic City, NJ), and New Augusta South Elementary School (Indianapolis). “The process of applying for the NSLPY Award provided us with a valuable self-assessment tool,” says Kay Wejrowski, library media specialist at Swan Valley High, in the announcement calling for new applicants. “The AASL visitation gave us the opportunity to reflect on our strengths as well as our challenges, while affording us the chance to learn from experts from around the country.” Wejrowski also says that she applauds the award’s sponsors for their continued partnership to promote literacy and help transform school libraries to meet the ever-changing needs of the communities they serve. “We are grateful to Follett and AASL," she says, "who have challenged us to create a culture of readers who are responsible and embrace a love of learning, and then developed a model for us to achieve that goal.”