Executive Director

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of The American Library Association, is seeking an Executive Director. AASL’s mission is to advocate excellence, facilitate change, and develop leaders in the school library field. AASL provides continuing education (including a biennial national conference, biennial forum and electronic courses), publications (including a regular journal, Knowledge Quest, and an online research journal, School Library Research, as well as books and other resources), advocacy, research, service awards and a wide array of leadership opportunities. AASL also developed and administers a major grant to the ALA/AASL – the Beyond Words grant from the Dollar General Foundation.

The AASL Executive Director is responsible for day-to-day management of the division, including supervising a staff of seven and administering an operating budget of over $1M, plus a biennial national conference budget of $1.5M. The AASL Executive Director is a strong advocate for school libraries and the AASL mission both within ALA and externally.

The AASL Executive Director reports to the ALA Senior Associate Executive Director and an elected Board of Directors. S/he works collaboratively with staff and members in all areas of the Association. The AASL Executive Director is part of the ALA Member Programs and Services Team, which includes executive directors of eleven ALA divisions, as well as directors of ALA program offices, ALA Conference Services and ALA Information Technology and Telecommunications, and the ALA-APA Director.

Qualifications: MLS/MLIS from an ALA-accredited LIS program or M.Ed. from an AASL/NCATE (CAEP) nationally recognized program with a specialization in school library media is strongly preferred. Preference will be given to candidates who also possess school library and K-12 education-related experience, proven management experience, experience in professional association leadership, strong communication and inter-personal skills, and visibility within the school library and education communities. A successful candidate is visionary and would be able to build and leverage partnerships, work collaboratively with both staff and members, understand technology and its uses, and be an entrepreneurial risk-taker. Experience working with volunteer boards and revenue-based budgets is highly desirable. There is a need to travel on a fairly regular basis.

Starting Salary: Negotiable from $95,000, based on experience.

Closing Date: Consideration of candidates will begin in May 2013 and continue until position is filled. For consideration, send a letter of application, resume and names of three references to:

American Library Association
Human Resources Department
AASL/EXEC
50 E. Huron St.
Chicago, IL 60611
FAX: 312.280-5270
Email: cvivian@ala.org

The American Library Association is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applications are invited from women, minorities, veterans, and people with disabilities.