UNK School Librarian Endorsement Program Nationally Recognized by the American Library Association/American Association of School Librarians and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education

February 25, 2013 Dr. Ed Scantling UNK College of Education Dean, 308.865.8502 The University of Nebraska Kearney announced today that the School Librarian Endorsement Program (housed in the College of Education, Department of Teacher Education) has been nationally recognized by the American Library Association/American Association of School Librarians (ALA/AASL) and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). This national recognition signifies that UNK’s School Librarian Endorsement Program fully meets all five of the ALA/AASL standards for initial preparation of school librarians: Teaching for Learning, Literacy and Reading, Information and Knowledge, Advocacy and Leadership, and Program Management. UNK’s School Librarian Endorsement Program, one of only a handful of university school librarian/media specialist preparation programs recognized this year, becomes part of an elite group of just 45 programs nationwide currently recognized for achieving this level of excellence. Only graduate-level programs are eligible. “We are honored to have been recognized by ALA/AASL and NCATE. This distinction provides great motivation to continue our work,” said Dr. Sherry Crow, coordinator and primary professor of the program, which draws students from a wide national and international arena. “Well-prepared school librarians are essential to creating information-literate P-12 students able to access, evaluate, and use information intelligently, empowering them to succeed educationally. Our mission is to foster lifelong learners who grow to become informed, technologically savvy 21^st century citizens.” For more information on the UNK School Librarian Endorsement program, visit http://www.unk.edu/academics/ecampus.aspx?id=6216. For more information on the recognition of school librarian preparation programs, visit the ALA/AASL website at http://www.ala.org/aasl/aasleducation/schoollibrary/ncateaaslreviewed or the NCATE website at http://www.ncate.org/tabid/165/Default.aspx.