MASL now offers Professional Development Activities (PD Activities) and official transcripts to support your professional growth and Educator Licensure needs! While professional development has always been an important part of MASL’s mission, changes at MSDE and within our membership platform are allowing us to issue PD Activity transcripts that can be uploaded to The Educator Application and Credentialing Hub (TEACH) and may be approved by your LEA for Educator Licensure. This exciting new benefit makes it easier than ever to maintain your license and showcase your commitment to excellence in school librarianship.

This is a call to action for you to support your fellow school librarians who will be losing their jobs in Carroll County. Under the guise of balancing the budget middle and high school librarians are being eliminated. They are having a meeting today at 3:30 to find out their fate for next year.  In addition, they are eliminating library clerks in the elementary schools.  While elementary librarians will retain their jobs this year, there are no guarantees for the following years.  Middle and high school librarians are crucial and these positions should not be eliminated.

Call for nominations

for the 2024-2026 Executive Board and various standing committees

Leadership service is a chance to gain skills, grow personally and professionally, and to connect with school library professionals across Maryland. Consider how you can get involved! All nominees must be a MASL member in good standing.

Windsor Mill, MD (October 18, 2024) - Maryland Association of School Librarians (MASL) is pleased to announce Kathryn Berling (Taneytown Elementary, Carroll County Public Schools) as the winner for the 2024 Maryland School Librarian of the Year award which honors a school librarian for exemplary service and outstanding achievements in the field of school library media. Berling was recognized at the 2024 MASL Conference: Up for the Challenge.

Announcing the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award Winners

And the winner is…

Ocean Pines, MD (February 25, 2024) - Maryland Association of School Librarians (MASL) is pleased to announce the 11 finalists, for the 2024 Maryland School Librarian of the Year award which honors a school librarian for exemplary service and outstanding achievements in the field of school library media. The recipient of the award will be announced in May.

# FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE # Ocean Pines, MD (January 26, 2024) - Maryland Association of School Librarians (MASL) is pleased to announce the 44 nominees for the 2024 Maryland School Librarian of the Year award which honors a school librarian for exemplary service and outstanding achievements in the field of school library media. These nominees represent 20 public school districts and one private school. The recipient of the award will be announced in May 2024.

An Elementary School Librarian’s Book Selection Process

By Melissa King, School Library Media Specialist

Book Selection: A Middle School Library Perspective from a School Library Coordinator

by Dr. Jennifer Sturge

I am Brittany Tignor, Treasurer of MASL. As a high school librarian, I am constantly working to balance the needs and wants of students, teachers, and curriculum. The process that I follow is based on the Worcester County Library Procedure Manual and includes ways to ensure that I am purchasing the highest quality titles that meet the needs of my school community and my budget. The goal of this blog post is to educate library stakeholders about the steps that are taken before a book is placed on a School Library shelf.

Ocean Pines, MD (February 8, 2023) - Maryland Association of School Librarians (MASL) is pleased to announce the 44 nominees, and 14 finalists, for the 2023 Maryland School Librarian of the Year award which honors a school librarian for exemplary service and outstanding achievements in the field of school library media. The recipient of the award will be announced at the Maryland Association of School Librarians Conference in Linthicum, Maryland (April 15, 2023).

Supporting Pre-Service School Librarians

Maryland is fortunate to have several colleges and universities who offer programs in school librarianship and librarianship.  As school librarians, we have the ability to support pre-service school librarians by sharing our collective knowledge for the good of all school librarians in the state, including those who are not quite practicing yet!

Back to School 2022

by Casey Grenier

Introduction

For the past several years, I have been teaching the course LBSC 741 on school librarianship for the University of Maryland iSchool.  Each term, I have the great pleasure of meeting and working with future school librarians and educators who are working on their MLIS.  This spring, while a spring like no other, did not disappoint. The students in my class were incredible.  I enjoyed working with them so much that I asked them if it would be okay to put together a blog post for the MASL site using some of their work.  What follows is an amazing set of highlights from one of the final projects in the course: The Five Roles of the School Librarian. 

I sponsor a girl’s club at my school, Keeping It REAL (Respectable, Exceptional, Accountable, Limitless).  The club covers topics like peer pressure, body image, role models, self-defense, and nutrition.  In past years, our club has met in person with speakers, yoga, and self-defense instruction. There has always been lots of social interaction.  Of course, with COVID, we had to make it virtual.  We had to get creative. 

A friend of mine uses the adage that states, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Though I giggled when first hearing this advice, I’ve come to realize that when faced with daunting tasks, it is helpful advice. By starting with small, necessary tasks, I can move forward to conquer the seemingly impossible.