K-8 School Libraries Invited to Apply for $5,000 Award

The American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office announced applications are now open for the 2020 Sara Jaffarian School Library Program Award for Exemplary Humanities Programming. The $5,000 award recognizes outstanding school programming in libraries that serve kindergarten to 8th grade students. Applications for the award will be accepted until May 4, 2020.

Nominated humanities program can be focused on a wide range of subject areas including social studies, poetry, drama, art, music, language arts, foreign language, and culture. Nominated programs must have taken place during the current 2019-2020 school year. The programs should be led and coordinated by the school librarian and should be focused on broadening student perspectives.

The award, established in 2006, is named after the late Sara Jaffarian, a school librarian and longtime member of ALA. It is presented annually by the ALA Public Programs Office in cooperation with the American Association of School Librarians (AASL).

For more information on award guidelines and a list of previous winners, visit www.ala.org/jaffarian.

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Can AI Help Build Stronger Communities in Student Housing?

    Student housing success is shifting from operational performance to student experience, with belonging now at the center. A recent 2025 report underscores a growing emphasis on student well-being, community, and engagement, signaling that expectations now extend beyond logistics to ensure students feel supported in their living environments. AI is enabling that shift by reducing administrative workload and giving teams more time to focus on meaningful student engagement.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Compton High School

    Compton High School

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. Compton High School has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • Campus Safety Requires Using Every Resource Available

    Across the U.S., school and campus leaders are facing a security landscape that has changed dramatically over the past decade. Incidents on school property have increased in recent years, with several consecutive years setting record totals. According to analysis of data by CNN, dozens of shootings now occur on school grounds annually across K-12 and higher education environments.