School libraries are invited to apply for a $5,000 award recognizing outstanding humanities programming in kindergarten through eighth grade, the ALA Public Programs Office announced.
Nominations for the 2017 Sara Jaffarian School Library Program Award for Exemplary Humanities Programming will be accepted until May 5, 2017. Applications, award guidelines and a list of previous winners are available at www.ala.org/jaffarian.
School libraries, public or private, that serve K-8 students are eligible. Nominated programs must have taken place during the current school year (2016-17). Programs that are still in progress as of the award deadline are eligible, and libraries are encouraged to self-nominate.
View a webinar with the winner of the 2016 Sara Jaffarian Award.
Eligible humanities programs may be focused in many subject areas, including social studies, poetry, drama, art, music, language arts, foreign language and culture. Programs should focus on broadening perspectives and helping students understand the world and their place in it. They should be initiated and coordinated by the school librarian and exemplify the role of the library program in advancing the overall educational goals of the school.
Recent Jaffarian Award-winners have included:
- Greensboro Sit-In Exhibit, an exhibition about a well-known protest of the civil rights movement developed by students at Friends Seminary (New York, N.Y.)
- The R.O.A.D. (Research, Observe, Analyze, Discover) I Travel, a genealogy program for eighth-graders at Perry Meridian Middle School (Indianapolis, Ind.)
- Transforming Tales, a program that used fairy tales from around the world to serve as a creative introduction to global studies for third-graders at the Meadowbrook School of Weston (Weston, Mass.).
Named after the late Sara Jaffarian, a school librarian and longtime ALA member, ALA’s Jaffarian Award was established in 2006 to recognize and promote excellence in humanities programming in elementary and middle-school libraries. It is presented annually by the ALA Public Programs Office in cooperation with the American Association of School Librarians (AASL). The award is selected annually by a committee comprising members of the ALA Public and Cultural Programs Advisory Committee (PCPAC), AASL and the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC).
Funding for the Jaffarian Award is provided by ALA’s Cultural Communities Fund (CCF). In 2003, a challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities kick-started a campaign to secure the future of libraries as cultural destinations within the community. Since then, CCF has grown to more than $1.9 million, serving libraries as they serve their communities through the highest quality arts and humanities programs. To contribute to CCF, visit www.ala.org/ccf.
