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.
In the past few years, it has become popular to question book purchases in school libraries during school board meetings and on social media. Some of these questions come from a place of curiosity or knowledge seeking, but others seem to suggest that school librarians are randomly choosing books without thought or process. There are few if any areas of library science that are done without thorough review of best practices, research, and users in mind. Selecting books for a school library is no different. While each county may have slightly different policies and procedures, best practice dictates that purchasing books includes collection analysis, list generation and purchase recommendation, administrative approval, purchase, and addition to the collection. Over the next few weeks, MASL will be publishing a blog series that explores Maryland School Librarians’ book purchasing processes and procedures. There will be three blog posts in this series; one will focus on high school, another on middle school, and a third on elementary school. These posts are written to be shared with your school community, so please distribute widely!
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).
Since Maryland schools shut down on March 16, my email inbox has exploded with offers of FREE resources for me, my teachers, and my students. While I appreciate the support that so many of them have shown, I am hesitant to throw caution to the wind and sign up for everything just because… well… it’s FREE!
MASL is currently seeking nominations for Executive Board positions including Elected positions, Appointed Committee Chairs, and Recommended Committee Members. We are in search of school librarians, school library supervisors, and school library assistants who are looking for leadership opportunities that have an impact on school libraries throughout the state. Positions are all one-year unless otherwise stated. Board meetings are held monthly and most meetings are virtual.
Ocean City, MD (March 8, 2020) - Maryland Association of School Librarians (MASL) is pleased to announce the 21 nominees for the 2020 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. Of these nominees, 11 have been chosen to submit artifacts for round 2 scoring. The recipient of the award will be announced at the Maryland School Librarian of the Year Award Breakfast which is held in conjunction with Common Ground Conference in Ocean City, Maryland (May 1, 2020).
