UA’s Yates Elected President of American Association of School Librarians

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Steven Yates, an instructor in The University of Alabama School of Library and Information Studies, has been elected as the 2017-2018 American Association of School Librarians president.

Yates will serve as president-elect during 2016-2017 under AASL President Audrey Church.

AASL is the only national professional membership organization focused on school librarians and the school library community. The association has more than 7,000 members and serves school librarians in the United States, Canada and around the world.

“Access to trained school librarians who develop dynamic physical and virtual spaces for students of all ages is something all students deserve,” said Yates. “I plan to work with AASL’s proactive leadership and staff to make sure school libraries remain at the center of student achievement efforts across the country. I’m excited to represent SLIS, C&IS and the state of Alabama in this role.”

Yates serves as acting coordinator of UA’s school library media certification program and is a member-at-large on the AASL board of directors. He previously served as virtual conference chair of the 2013 AASL national conference committee, chair of the 2014 national institute committee, and as a member of both the Knowledge Quest editorial board and professional development advisory committee.

Yates is a member of the 2010 class of ALA Emerging Leaders and has served on both the Emerging Leaders program subcommittee and the ALA committee on diversity.

Prior to his position at The University of Alabama, Yates was school librarian at Spain Park and Mountain Brook high schools.