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CHICAGO – Hannah Luce, library media specialist at Madison Area Memorial High School in Madison, Maine, is one of five school librarians from across the country receiving a 2022 American Association of School Librarians' (AASL) Inspire Special Event Grant. Made possible by the generosity of AASL member Marina “Marney” Welmers, the grant program provides funds for public middle or high school libraries to plan a special event to enhance student learning.

The Inspire Special Event Grant will be used at Madison Area Memorial High School (MAMHS) to support a new “All-School Summer Reading” initiative. The goal for the All-School Summer Read is to provide every student entering grades 9-12, along with all faculty, support staff, administrators, and school board members, with a copy of the same book as they depart for summer vacation in June 2022. When students return to school in late August 2022, all teachers, support staff, and administrators will be able to share their common reading experience and be prepared to incorporate that into classes.

“The committee was excited that this event will impact 250 students and will be used as a way to lessen the negative impact of summer slide,” said committee chair Zandra Lopez. “We were impressed with the ambition of the proposal, particularly the planning time for staff during teacher in-service days, and the inclusion of stakeholders.”

AASL President Jennisen Lucas noted, “AASL purposefully chose the term ‘learner’ in our national standards to reflect that every person in the school community is a learner served by the school library and school librarian. This event directly reinforces this view, and advances MAMHS’s mission ‘to prepare students and staff to become effective users of information and foster an interest in reading and lifelong learning.’ Congratulations on receiving this grant and extending your learner community.”

The AASL award winners will be recognized during the 2023 AASL National Conference taking place October 19-21 in Tampa, Florida.

The American Association of School Librarians, , a division of the ������ý (ALA), empowers leaders to transform teaching and learning.