MSLA President Laura Luker is the library teacher at Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School in Hadley, MA 

Margaret Kane Schoen is a Library Teacher at Newton South High School.

Pat Fontes is a retired school librarian and the co-chair of MSLA Awards Committee.

After recovering from the shock of losing Judi Paradis, former MSLA President, dynamite school librarian, passionate advocate, mentor, warrior for social justice and all-around nice human being, there was a groundswell among MSLA members to develop a fitting program to honor her memory and legacy. To that end, MSLA is excited to announce that the Judi Paradis Action Fund has been established.

After a lengthy and very productive discussion at MSLA Executive Board Retreat on September 14th, eBoard members agreed that the goal of the Fund will be to honor the legacy of Judi Paradis by encouraging school librarians to develop programs that focus on social justice, literacy and collaboration. The eBoard has envisioned that up to $500 will be given each year from donations to MSLA in Judi’s memory.

While we have not yet worked out the details of the application and grant process, we are hoping to be able to make the first grant round available in November, 2019 with the first grant awarded at the 2020 MSLA Annual Conference. Stay tuned for details about the grant process in the MSLA Forum and through MSLA’s social media outlets.

We would like to encourage you to donate to this exciting new program. As of mid-September, we have received more than 52 contributions in Judi’s memory that have brought us within range of our goal of $5,000. Contribute through PayPal or by check payable to MSLA with a note or memo "in memory of Judi Paradis" mailed to MSLA, PO Box 336, Wayland MA, 01778.

If you have questions about this new program, feel free to contact a co-chair of the Awards Committee, Wendy Garland, Ingrid Mayyasi or Pat Fontes.

Jennifer Dimmick is a Library Teacher at Newton South High School
and the recipient of the 2019 MSLA Service Award.

Pamela Vallée is the library media specialist at Lunenburg Middle-High School
​and a recipient of a 2019 Web Seal of Excellence Award. 

Wendy Garland is the librarian at Avery Elementary School in Dedham, MA 

Cathy Collins is the library media specialist at Sharon High School 

Kelly Depin is the head librarian at Derby Academy in Hingham, MA 

Patsy Divver is the School Librarian at Millis Middle/High School
​  and the originator of this new column. 

​In this column, we’d like to hear from YOU about the many hats you wear… not just during the day (with library, tech, homeroom, lunch duty, advisor, coordinator), but before your turn as a librarian - or even now, when it’s ‘after-hours’! Let’s hear what our colleagues have been up to!
​

Valerie Diggs is the Graduate Program Coordinator MEd Library Media Studies at Salem State University, and a former MSLA president

Sheila Packard is the Library Teacher at Ward Elementary in Newton and
a recipient of a 2019 MA Super Librarian Award. 

Many of us are sole practitioners so there is nobody in the building to share the "can you believe this" moments. When something wacky, embarrassing or just plain jaw-dropping happens in your library, submit it here and we'll share it in the next Forum. 
​

From Kim Keith, Library Media Specialist at M. E. Small Elementary:

A second grader returned her library books today after checking them out yesterday.

Me:

Aaron Noll is the Library Teacher at Winship Elementary in Brighton
and a recipient of a 2019 MA Super Librarian Award.

In the summer of 2019, I began to build a new website intended to inspire and facilitate inquiry and project-based, student-centered digital learning in the Boston Public Schools (BPS). The BPS Virtual Learning Commons (BPS VLC) was conceived by BPS Director of Library Services, Deborah Froggatt, and I as a district-level expansion of the VLC idea originally proposed by David V. Loertscher, Carol Koechlin, and Esther Rosenfeld in 2012. Loertscher et al. intended the VLC to be paired with a physical Learning Commons, a 21st century update of school libraries. The VLC concept is grounded in the building “of a greater level of engagement through exploration, experimentation, and collaboration”(“Virtual Learning”). Our challenge in creating the district-level VLC was to provide the BPS with a powerful digital tool with which to engage students’ curiosity and creativity in constructing their own learning experiences.