Individual Membership
Why Join CAL?
Gwen Giddens
Director, Learning Resource Services, Colorado Springs School District 11, CASL president 2005-06
I moved to Colorado Springs from Florida in 1997 and was delighted to find a community of librarians within the Colorado Springs area. I knew I needed support from outside my district since my position in a small district of four schools with 1300 students was the only library media position in the district that was required to be certified. I found this supportive community of librarians by asking my assistant superintendent where I could get the support. She referred me to CEMA, which is now known as CASL, an association of CAL.
Through the years, CAL’s community of librarians from around the state has connected me with a number of professionals which I respect and admire. Through attending the annual CAL conference, I first met librarians from all types of libraries and expanded my understanding of our different job roles. By attending CAL sessions that were not specifically geared to school librarians, I found that all librarians have a common goal of providing quality services and resources. Through this, I gained knowledge that further helped me meet my goal as a school librarian to provide more quality services and resources to impact student learning. I continue to learn and benefit daily through connections I have made in CAL. Through these CAL connections, other opportunities of service and job opportunities opened. I now have the opportunity to work in a larger school district of 60 schools with 30,000 students and can impact student learning through a wider venue. Working on the CASL and CAL boards, I learned that all librarians can all go further with our CAL goals if we are headed in the same direction. Public, academic, school, and other librarians can meet our goals together through CAL. Join CAL now and help us all to grow our profession. CAL needs all professions of librarians, ones new to the library field and ones with experience. Come join us and find the support you may need through connections you’ll make in CAL.