02.+Professional+Websites

"ALA." **//American Library Association//.** American Library Association, 2012. Web. .

The American Library Association is a networking organization that promotes libraries. It may be the best known organization for librarians and according to their website is the oldest and biggest. I have known about the ALA throughout my life, but really began using it as a resource as I was looking for accredited Library Science programs. ALA’s website promotes industry news, events, networking opportunities, jobs, and other professional tools. I often use it as a starting point when looking for any information about the field of library science.

"AASL." **//American Association of School Librarians//.** American Library Association, 1997-2012. Web. .

AASL is the American Library Association’s division for school librarians. I knew about this division through exploring the ALA website, but I really began to learn about it as I familiarized myself with their standards. Because AASL has put the realities of 21st century learning into clear standards, I think they are among the most important and visionary organizations in the school media field. Like ALA, AASL also helps members to network and keep up with the news. I don’t know that this organization has any weaknesses.

"ISTE Welcome." **//International Society for Technology in Education//**. ISTE, 2011. Web. .

I first heard about ISTE, an organization for technology educators, through use of their standards in S574: Information Inquiry for School Teachers. Their standards, which are outlined in this site, are important to my career because I will be working to teach students to be technologically literate. Other content on their site is directly related to professional development, such as membership information, recommended reading on technology, conference information, and online networking tools.


 * Indiana Department of Education**. "IDOE: Home." //IDOE: Indiana Department of Education//. Indiana Department of Education, 2012. Web. .

This website will be key in my work as a school media specialist working in Indiana because I will need to be familiar with the state standards if I’m truly going to support the classroom teachers in their curriculum. I have already begun familiarizing myself with these standards, but I will continue to do so. The DOE also provides demographic information about each school, which, along with curriculum standards, might come in handy when doing collection development. The website also includes information about licensing, of which I’ll need to be aware. The weakness of this website is that there’s no clearly marked resource page for teachers (there is for students and schools) and I’ve been able to find my way around, but it could be organized better.


 * Indiana State Library.** "ISL: Indiana State Library." //IN.gov//. Web. .

Though I had known about the existence of State Libraries, the Indiana State Library was really brought to my attention through Megan Maurer’s visit to S671. The State Library provides amazing resources, such as Inspire (inspire.IN.gov), the state’s collection of databases, book club kits, and resources for writing grant proposals. The state library works hard to support all of the regional libraries, and the best part is the resources are free. The weakness of the ISL is that, until recently, they had mostly been focused on public libraries. They are currently working on being more involved with school libraries.


 * "Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)."** //Ala.org/alsc//. American Library Association. .

The Association for Library Service to Children is a division of the American Library Association, which is how I became aware of it. This association is probably the most prestigious of its kind, and it works to support the industry by providing news on current trends and issues, facilitating book awards (Newbery and Caldecott!), providing book lists, and providing professional development opportunities through conferences and competency information. Their website has a section specifically devoted to students, so it’s already been a helpful tool for me. I can access educational information and scholarship opportunities! I don’t know if the association or the website has much of a weakness.


 * "Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)."** //YASLA//. American Library Association, 1997-2012. .

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is a division of the ALA and I learned about it through ALA’s website. YALSA, according to their website, promotes young adult materials, provides professional education materials and grants, and generally advocates for young adults’ access to materials through libraries. This website will certainly help me with professional development and keep me atop of the news, but a downside to this organization is that content may only pertain to older students if I work in a K-12 environment.


 * //International Reading Association//.** International Reading Association, 1996-2012. Web. .

I learned about this site when browsing online for content pertaining to readers’ advocacy. This organization is a networking organization dedicated to helping literacy professionals. Since a portion of my job will be promoting literacy and reading, I think this site could provide professional development opportunities with this specific focus.


 * //Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki //****.** Web. .

This wiki is a place for librarians to share their resources. I found it on Leslie Preddy’s website. What I like about it is it’s well organized and full of resources and regularly updated. However, since it’s for general libraries, so not all of the content will be relevant to a school library. Also, unlike an in-person interaction or even a listserv, a user can’t talk directly with the contributor to better understand why something is a best practice.

Preddy, Leslie B. **"Virtual School Library Media Specialist Resource Center."** //lesliepreddy.com//. 2001-2011. Web. .

Leslie Preddy is a school media specialist in Indianapolis, IN and her website provides all sorts of valuable information. This page has resources broken down by all of the specific tasks a school librarian will be asked to do, including marketing, facility upkeep, and professional development. This compilation of content makes it easy to find answers to questions I’ll likely have while on the job. A downside of this site is that some of the areas are weak or nonexistent, such as budgeting.

//Note: In addition to these sites, several of the links associated with the professionals in section 4 will also provide valuable information about and for school media specialists. //