“Behind the Scenes” the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association Board of Directors and Committee Co-chairs embrace the bumpy road to make a meaningful and (hopefully) visionary difference for the members of our association. The bumpy road is not easy, but we believe in the future of PSLA and realize we can only be successful if we all work together.

Looking Back 

The PSLA officers and directors value our history, so the Board initiated a small history project. Cathi Fuhrman, President-Elect, worked with Marge Tassia Outstanding Contributor (1995)/Past President; Sharon Nardelli, Past President; and Celeste Nalwasky, Outstanding Contributor (1991)/Past Board Director, to put together a PSLA History Timeline and Narrative to share how the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association began.  Thanks for revealing our roots!

You can also find a few other historical documents on this page:

• PSLA Board and Committee Chair History
• PSLA Annual Conference History

You can also find the Annual Conference History on our Annual Conference page.

Our committees have also been working on capturing our history in other ways. Explore our PSLA Awards history and learn which of our cherished colleagues have been honored. Visit each award page to access the history.

• Distinguished Service (formerly Outstanding Contributor)
• PSLA Presidential Award
• Outstanding Pennsylvania Author and/or Illustrator
• Outstanding School Administrator (Building or District)
• Outstanding Pennsylvania School
• Pennsylvania School Library Innovators
• Outstanding School Library Program – Individual (archived and replaced by PA School Library Innovators)

We also have a rich history of Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Awards. Take a look at the previous winners!

Looking Forward

We look forward to a fantastic year of significant professional learning opportunities, new partnerships, vital challenges, and celebrated successes.

Here’s a sneak peek ahead at just a few of the things we hope to bring to life in the coming year:

• Publication of the newly updated Guidelines for Pennsylvania School Library Programs
• Professional learning opportunities to integrate the AASL National School Library Standards into instruction from our LSTA grant Steering Committee
• Leadership academies supported by our LSTA grant and Project Director, Mary Kay Biagini
• Continued communication from the LSTA grant-funded Communicators Network
• A project to embed the AASL National School Library Standards into the Model Curriculum for Pennsylvania School Libraries
• A partnership with EveryLibrary to enhance communication at the state and local levels to express the critical need for school librarians
• An annual conference to bring our school library community together planned and organized by our Conference Committee
• Awards presented to our members and stakeholders based on the newly revised and AASL-aligned award guidelines and rubrics by our Awards Committee
• Messages and posts that tie us together through social media accounts hosted by the Communications Committee
• Submission of an AASL grant application drafted by our Teaching and Learning Committee, several officers and our Legislative Liaison
• Submission of an AASL award drafted by our Operations Committee, Communications Committee, and several officers
• New contests from our Communications Committee and Operations Committee
• Continued PSLA Pulse blog posts
• And so much more…

I invite each and every one of you to join us on this wild, precious, and bumpy ride.

…the best is yet to come!

Ever Curious,