Professional Awards Committee Information and Applications

Function: The Awards Committee promotes public awareness of the profession and its services and administers the awarding of the SCASL professional awards.  The committee disseminates to the membership relevant information concerning these awards, criteria, and deadlines.

ALL APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE POSTED ON GOOGLE DOCS AND SHARED WITH [email protected] 

SLOY regional nominations are due by the last Friday in October and other award nominations are due by the 1st Friday of December.  Questions can be emailed to [email protected].

2023-2024 Committee Members: Charlene Zehner, Jill Tyner, Jill Williams, Jenny Cox, Tenley Middleton, Jamie Gregory, Lessie Bernshouse, Jennifer Thrift, Katherine Freligh

Chair:  Charlene Zehner

[email protected]

Co-Chair:  Jill Tyner

Professional Awards:

Is your school library an integral part of your school? If so we would like to honor those who have helped make it happen! The SCASL Awards Program includes these awards and honors:

Outstanding School Library Program of the Year - honors an exemplary program demonstrating strength in the areas of Foundations, Building the Learning Environment, Teaching and Learning, Building Collaborative Partnerships, Advocacy and Outreach, and Leadership.  

School Librarian of the Year – The School Librarian of the Year awards program honors one full-time librarian from each of the four regions (Lowcountry, Midlands, PeeDee, and Upstate) and one state winner who will serve as the SCASL School Librarian of the Year (SLOY). The four regional winners are recognized as finalists for the state award.

Distinguished Service Award – recognizes an individual or an organization for contributions to SCASL and school library programs throughout the state of South Carolina. 

Administrator of the Year – recognizes and thanks an exemplary administrator. 

Nancy Jane Day Scholarship – provides a SCASL member with reimbursement for the cost of one successfully completed college course taken to improve job performance or complete a graduate degree in library science. 

Library Paraprofessional of the Year – The Paraprofessional Award recognizes the exemplary performance of a paraprofessional who directly supports the school library profession either at the building or district level.

SCASL Collegiate Scholarship – provides a scholarship to a graduating school library volunteer who has made an outstanding contribution to South Carolina school librarianship, school library services, and/or SCASL. 

SCASL Honor Roll nominees are recognized in the SCASL Messenger and the conference program. They will receive a certificate of merit, a monetary award, and a letter of commendation will be sent to their supervisor, superintendent or school board.

Composition: The Awards Committee is composed of a committee chair and members chosen by the chair.

Chairperson: The Awards Committee Chair is the School Librarian from one year previous to the calendar year.

Duties:

- Promotes public awareness of the profession and its services.

- Handles the following recognitions that are presented by SCASL: School Librarian of the Year, SCASL Collegiate Scholarship Award, Distinguished Service Award, Administrator of the Year Award, Nancy Jane Day Scholarship, Outstanding Library Program of the Year, and the Library Paraprofessional of the Year Award.

- Distributes relevant information concerning the awards of the membership and school administrators.

Updated: 5 September 2023