TASL and TSLAC jointly hosted a booth in the exhibits hall of the Texas Association of School Boards and Texas Association of School Administrators joint conference in Dallas this fall. TASL volunteers, including Lea Bailey from Irving ISD, Donna Kearley from Denton ISD, and Jennifer LaBoon and Cyd Sheffy, both of Fort Worth ISD, discussed the importance of strong libraries on student achievement, while Mike Avila from TSLAC provided information on the K-12 databases with school leaders from around the state.

The TASB/TASA conference is annual event and has become a regular part of TASL’s efforts to increase our visibility, advocate for the important role of libraries in schools, and reach out to other members of the school community. Next year’s conference will be held in Houston October 2-4, 2009. If you live in the Houston area and would like to volunteer, please let us know.

We are also looking for other opportunities to advocate for school libraries. If you know of any upcoming events or conferences where TASL could promote our vital role as educators, please post a comment to this blog or contact Jennifer LaBoon at jennifer.laboon@fwisd.org.