Follett’s Project Connect Introduces Professional Development Courses for Librarians

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MCHENRY, IL, Nov 7, 2016 – Project Connect, formed by Follett to advocate for librarians to serve as leaders in their district and schools, will be debuting a set of professional development online courses this month. Designed for school and district librarians, these courses give librarians tangible skills needed in a future-ready world and help promote innovative models of school libraries.

According to Nader Qaimari, President of Follett School Solutions, the courses are an example of Project Connect continuing to "advocate for strong, empowered librarians and educators in their quest to become more future ready and recognized as respected leaders in their libraries, classrooms, and schools. These courses, coupled with our exclusive sponsorship of the Future Ready Librarians’ initiative, illustrate our commitment to transforming the role of the librarian."

The first two PD courses have been announced – Educational Leadership and Digital Citizenship – and will be taught by Mark Ray, nationally recognized for transforming the role of the school librarian into a technological innovator in schools. A closer look:

• Educational Leadership: The course explores the challenges and opportunities of how to lead beyond the library, and how to develop future-ready learners. Participants will discover new concepts and techniques to stretch their professional skills in unique ways. Through individualized inquiry and work, they will develop strategies and insights to help them lead in their library and beyond. The course, inspired by the Future Ready Framework, is free for all participants.


• Digital Citizenship: Librarians must ensure schools are cultivating productive, safe and responsible members of a digital world. Aimed at educators who currently teach or plan to teach digital citizenship, the course will assess what librarians, their students and peers currently think about digital citizenship, evaluate current practices and create a plan for success in the digital age. The course is $125 per participant, with an opportunity to earn a micro-credential badge.

"As someone who went from teaching in a library to leading a district-wide digital implementation as Chief Digital Officer, I have learned many lessons about leadership," says course instructor Ray, 2012 Washington State Teacher of the Year. "The Educational Leadership course will explore how to work and think differently so that librarians can effectively lead beyond the library. The Digital Citizenship course is a great opportunity for librarians to apply their leadership to a shared strategic challenge – how can librarians help ensure schools are cultivating productive, safe, and responsible members of our digital world?"

For more information about:

• Project Connect, visit www2.follettlearning.com/projectconnect/
• PD courses, visit www.follettlearning.com/microcreds or send an email to fss-professionaldevelopment@follett.com
• Follett, visit www.FollettLearning.com.

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About Follett's PreK-12 Business  | FollettLearning.com

Follett is the largest provider of educational materials and technology solutions to PreK-12 libraries, classrooms, learning centers and school districts in the United States, and a major supplier to educational institutions worldwide. Follett distributes books, reference materials, digital resources, ebooks and audiovisual materials, as well as pre-owned textbooks. Follett also is one of the leading providers of integrated educational technology for the management of physical and digital assets, the tracking, storing and analyzing of academic data, and digital learning environment tools for the classroom focusing on student achievement.

About Follett Corporation | Follett.com

For more than 140 years, Follett has been a trusted partner to preK-12 schools, colleges and campus stores, taking care of the critical details that make it easier for schools to run, teachers to teach, students to learn and fans to celebrate. A leading provider of education technology, services and physical and digital content, Follett currently works with 70,000 schools and operates more than 1,250 local campus stores and 1,600 virtual stores. With the 2016 acquisition of Baker & Taylor, LLC, Follett's reach also extends into the public library and global retail markets. Today Follett Corporation is the world's largest single source of books, entertainment products, digital content and multi-media for libraries, schools and retailers. Follett is a $3.6 billion privately held company headquartered in Westchester, Illinois.