News and Information
Readers’ Choice Programs Banned in Illinois’ Millburn School District
AISLE is aware of the recent school board vote to ban participation in Readers’ Choice Programs in the Millburn School District in Wadsworth, Illinois. AISLE and RCYRBA have released a joint statement.
Read the full statement here:
https://bit.ly/ILRCAstatement
2024 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Join us for our 2024 AISLE Conference, Thursday – Saturday, November 7-9, 2024, at the Tinley Park Convention Center in Tinley Park, IL.
This year the theme is AISLE L.E.A.D.: Librarians – Educating, Advocating, making a Difference.
Movers and Shakers
Congratulations to Library Journal’s Illinois Movers and Shakers!
Heather McCarthy in the Change Agent category – Illinois school librarian at Oak Lawn Hometown Middle School. Heather’s program is a 2022 AISLE Exemplary School Library award winner.
Kelly Jensen in the Ban Battlers category. Kelly Spoke at the 2023 AISLE conference and is a vocal advocate for students’ freedom to read. She is an Editor at Book Riot, the largest independent book website in North America and covers all things young adult literature. Kelly has written about censorship for nearly ten years. She is the author of three critically-acclaimed and award-winning anthologies for young adults. She was named a person of the year in 2022 by Publishers Weekly and a Chicagoan of the year in 2022 by the Chicago Tribune for her anti-censorship work. Prior to her work at Book Riot, she was a public librarian for children, teens, and adults in several libraries in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin.
New Leadership!
AISLE Members have cast their ballots and we are proud to announce our newest leaders:
President-Elect: Amy Williams
Treasurer: Lauren Ochs
Board Members at Large: Leah Gregory & Monica Caldicott
AISLE is also excited to announce Patti Fleser as our Registrar-in-training and Mary Jo Matousek as our Financial Secretary-in-training. They will be starting July 1 and we look forward to having them as part of our team.
2022 AISLE Award Winners
Scholarships
Awarded annually, AISLE scholarships are specifically designed to support those who are taking school library coursework leading to Illinois licensure. Please review the individual scholarship pages for specific terms, criteria, and eligibility requirements. Scholarship applications are accepted between November 15 and February 1.
Grants
AISLE grants support current Illinois school librarians, those working to become school librarians, or Illinois school library programs. Please review the individual grant pages for specific terms, criteria, and eligibility requirements.
Awards
AISLE awards are presented annually at the association’s fall conference to recognize excellence in librarianship, service to the organization, or meritorious support of school library programs. Applications for the four standard awards may be filled out by any AISLE member. Nominations for the five honor awards are generated by the AISLE board, however the general membership may contact any board member to recommend nomination. Please see the individual award pages for specific terms, criteria, and eligibility requirements. The nomination/application window is open annually between May 1 and September 15.
Standard Awards
Honor Awards
Quick Links
Social Connect
AISLE & Member Library Highlights
Salt Creek Primary School: This amazing “The Hat” display was created by our former librarian Bobbie Kocim. Our students love it!
Woodland Middle School: Have you completed your Wordle today? Maybe these 5-letter titles from the Woodland Middle School collection can help?