The ABC-CLIO Leadership Grant is given to school library media associations that are affiliated with AASL for the purpose of planning and implementing leadership programs at the state, regional, or local level. The Colorado Association of School Librarians (CASL) will use the grant money to implement their program entitled Leaders @ Your School Library. The goal of this project is to develop and expand leadership within the association and increase professional development through the acquisition of additional leadership skills.

CASL has a 35-year history of providing leadership opportunities for school librarians. In the past this has included library training programs in state and college universities, training offered in collaboration with the regional library systems in the state of Colorado, and coordinated activities with the Colorado State Library in the Colorado Department of Education. CASL hopes their Leaders @ Your School Library project will enable them to elevate the skills of Colorado’s teacher-librarians to a higher level.

"ABC-CLIO is proud to be involved in the @ Your School Library program," said Becky Snyder, vice president and publisher at ABC-CLIO. "Providing this type of funding continues our mission of meeting the needs of schools across the country." The award was presented at the 2004 American Library Association Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida.