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Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2006 11:26:34 -0500 It is with a heavy heart that I notify you that Frances D. Aley, library media specialist at Boothbay Region High School, passed away last Friday at her daughter's home in Pennsylvania. She had taken a leave of absence from BRHS after she was diagnosed with cancer in September. I have not located an obituary, but want to share with Maine librarians a little of what I will remember about her. Frances was someone who over and over gave back to the library community. She believed that school librarians make a difference - effective school library programs impact student achievement - and she continuously worked to ensure that students and staff were successful. She had a Master of Science in Library Science from Simmons College and more than 35 years of experience which she willingly and enthusiastically shared. Early on, as the web changed our format for information, the BRHS library website was a frequently cited model on LM-NET, an international listserv of school librarians. She taught online courses for the next generation of librarians. She was a regular presenter at Maine Libraries Conference and the MainEducation Conference. She presented at the AASL 2005 National Conference in Pittsburgh. Francie left a legacy that will benefit many of us in our future work. She served on the board of the Maine Association of School Libraries, was an early advocate for the Maine School and Library Network and worked to develop and write the MASL facilities standards for school libraries. When a call went out last year for library media specialists to serve on content panels for the revision of Maine Learning Results, she made the 18 month commitment to the social studies panel and left her information literacy mark. In 2002, I had the honor of presenting her with the Walter J. Taranko Library Media Specialist of the Year award. I could count on Francie to be a strong advocate for librarians - and she was a remarkable one who had presence and could articulate the issues. More than once I've had an a DOE colleague or other educator positively comment on her as the librarian in the audience of a presentation who reminded them to include librarians or as a committee member who demonstrated to them the critical role library media specialists have for teaching research and information literacy and integrating technology in their schools. I will miss her wry observations, her phone calls notifying me of a concern and her overall encouragement to continue to fight for school libraries as doing what benefits for our students, teachers, and community. Maine libraries will miss her. Sylvia K. Norton |
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