Activities of IASL

The annual conference of IASL brings together people from all over the world who are interested in school librarianship. Each year, the conference is held in a different location; in the past, it has been held in, among other places, Vancouver, Canada; Ramat-Gan, Israel; Birmingham, Alabama, USA; Malmo, Sweden; Auckland, New Zealand; Petaling Jaya, Malaysia; Durban, South Africa: Dublin, Ireland; Hong Kong, China; Lisbon, Portugal; Taipei, Taiwan; Berkeley, California, USA. Tours are organised in conjunction with most conferences, so that members have an opportunity to learn more about the culture, education system, and school libraries of another country. An International Forum on Research in School Librarianship is held in conjunction with each conference.

The IASL/Jean E. Lowrie Leadership Development Fund and the Ken Haycock Leadership Development Fund assist in bringing leaders in the field of education and libraries from developing countries to the annual conference of IASL.

The Support-a-Member Program provides funds to make it possible for school librarians and others in developing countries to belong to IASL.

The IASL Books for Children Project for books for school libraries in developing countries provides assistance to school libraries in Africa, Asia, the South Pacific, South America, and the Caribbean.

The IASL/SOFTLINK International Excellence Award is given annually by Softlink International to recognise significant contributions to school librarianship by school library specialists, educators, and/or researchers.

The LinksPlus - Library Commendation Award is given annually by LinksPlus/Weblinks Research to recognise outstanding and innovative school library projects, plans, publications or programs that could serve as models for replication by individuals and associations.

The IASL School Library Technology Innovation Award is given annually by KB Enterprises (Aust) Pty Ltd to recognise school library programs or projects that effectively utilise current and emerging technologies for school libraries and information service delivery.

 International School Library Month was declared in January 2008 to coincide with the tenth anniversary of International School Library Day. In 2008 the month of October will be a time to celebrate school libraries across the world. International School Library Day was proclaimed by the President of IASL in 1999. It was celebrated on the fourth Monday of October each year.

The IASL School Librarianship Award is given annual to coincide with International School Library Month. This award recognises an individuals contribution to the national development of school libraries and services within their own country or internationally.

IASL-LINK provides an electronic forum on the Internet for members of IASL throughout the world, to facilitate communication and co-operative projects.

Resources for School Library Development is a project coordinated by the Publication & Information Dissemination Committee to collect documents such as newsletters, policy statements, brochures, and other materials related to school libraries from around the world, for display at the annual conferences, and as a basis for bibliographies and other publications. Other resources are made available through the IASL web site.

The IASL/Murofushi Research Fund provides for grants for research projects related to school librarianship, while the Research Special Interest Group coordinates an ongoing project to list and provide abstracts for Research articles and papers in IASL publications.

The IASL Policy Statement on School Libraries (1993) is designed to promote the development of school libraries worldwide. The Association also supports the wprldwide dissemination of the IFLA/UNESCO School Library Manifesto and IFLA/UNESCO School Library Guidelines, and promotes the translation of these documents into as many languages as possible.

Committees and Special Interest Groups of the Association bring together people who are interested in particular aspects of the work of IASL, such as Publications, Research and Development, and Education for School Librarianship.

Publications of the Association include:

Last updated 1 October 2008 (KSB)