MSLA Podcast

MSLA Podcast

The official podcast of the Massachusetts School Library Asssociation.

  1. 2025-12-26

    “If you don’t have a relationship with them, start one”: Outreach Director Debbie Froggatt

    Former library director, school librarian, and current Director of Outreach for the MSLA, Deborah Froggatt, visits with ideas for advocacy, big and small! Lots of details are below, but Debbie's work reaches into areas beyond the school walls to bring to light and improve the work we do. Boston Arts Academy, https://bostonartsacademy.org/ MA Association of Libraries Legislative committee, https://mla.wildapricot.org/committees/legislative/ H.3595 EBook Bill, https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H3595.Html S.2696 An Act regarding free expression, passed in senate, https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S2696 Milton Public Library, https://miltonlibrary.org/  Ipswich Public Library, https://www.ipswichlibrary.org/  S.428 / H.4207, An Act Relative to Effective School Library Programs, https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4207/BillHistory  NE Commission of Higher Ed. standards, https://www.neche.org/standards-for-accreditation/  MSLA Standards One Pager, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jNhq19tK5YEAww-tTy8rxaH7BIBFX6mh/view Nov. 12th Hearing Video: https://malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/5459  MA Teacher Assocation Boston Teacher Union, https://btu.org/  MASS Cue Northeast Regional Library System (Now MLS) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Library_System  Media Literacy Now!, Media Literacy in Massachusetts: A Landscape Scan and Policy Recommendations Samantha Harvey, Orbital, https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/orbital  Patrick Ryan, Buckeye, https://patrickryanbooks.com/books/buckeye/

    48 min
  2. Checking In with Laura D'Elia

    2025-12-07

    Checking In with Laura D'Elia

    Westborough Elementary School Librarian Teacher Laura D’Elia joins us for a feast of topics for the holidays. In the conversation: introverts at library conferences, a report from AASL featuring strategies to network and not go mad with a huge schedule; a screening of The Librarians, special education in the library, digital literacy, and AASL standards to plan around. Also, DESE’s new Specialized Instructional Support Personnel (SISP) Rubrics and the stigmas associated with elementary libraries. For desert: romantasy. Thanks for listening. MA Library System: https://masslibsystem.org/ The Librarians https://thelibrariansfilm.com/  Diverse Book Finder https://diversebookfinder.org/  Ashley Scotto, We are All Readers: Story Immersion and Creative Techniques to Engage Elementary Special Education: https://aasl.secure-platform.com/2025/solicitations/102001/sessiongallery/94101 Marie Langevin, Using the AASL Standards in Elementary School Library Instruction https://aasl.secure-platform.com/2025/solicitations/102001/sessiongallery/94266 Think / Create / Share / Grow, AASL standards: https://standards.aasl.org/  Kristen Mattson, Hacking Digital Citizenship into Your Read Aloud https://aasl.secure-platform.com/2025/solicitations/102001/sessiongallery/94151  https://www.teachdigcit.com/  https://ischool.illinois.edu/people/kristen-mattson  Night Owl, https://www.toniyuly.com/night-owl  Common Sense Media, https://www.commonsensemedia.org/what-we-stand-for/digital-literacy-and-citizenship  Digger and the Flower, https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-digger-and-the-flower-joseph-kuefler?variant=32130863530018  SSIP — https://www.doe.mass.edu/edeval/rubrics/updates/ Librarians SSIP–  Romantasy, https://www.penguin.co.uk/discover/articles/best-romantasy-books The Hobbit Fourth Wing Throne of Glass Ender’s Game Ready Player One Quicksilver by Callie Hart, https://calliehart.com/elementor-3349/ Seth Ring, https://sethring.com/

    53 min
  3. 2025-09-23

    Friend of MSLA: Aaryn Silva

    MSLA Forum Editor Laura Gardner talks with friend Aaryn Silva, the cataloging middle school librarian from the Kinkaid School, an independent K-12 campus in Houston, Texas. Laura dubs her friend a fellow “monster reader,” and they discuss connecting on Bookstagram, the experience of being a librarian in Texas, the power of faculty book clubs, Labubus, censorship, social media habits, and what they’ve been reading.  Thanks for listening, and if you’d like to get involved or have an idea for the podcast reach out at podcast@maschoolibraries.org. Ideas discussed: @Librarianaaryn Insta Unstoppable Ambassador: Laura Gardner, 2016 School Librarian of the Year Finalist  SB 13 Implementation, Texas Library Association HB 900 Implementation, Texas Library Association The Kinkaid School, Libraries Go On A Whimsy Adventure And I'll Tell You Which Labubu You're Most Like, Buzzfeed  2026 Alex Award Committee Houston Area Independent Schools Library Network  MA Teen Choice Book Award  Children and YA Book Lovers Awards John Newbery Medal Busted, Dan Gemeinhart    The Road to Tender Hearts, Annie Hartnett Run for the Hills, Kevin Wilson Nothing to See Here, Kevin Wilson Candle Island, Lauren Wolk Wild Dark Shore, Charlotte McConaghy Impossible Creatures, Katherine Rundell The Poisoned King, Katherine Rundell Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures, Katherine Rundell Unwind, Neal Shusterman Blood in the Water, Tiffany Jackson April Henry The Scammer, Tiffany Jackson Please Pay Attention, Jamie Sumner False Prince, Jennifer Nielsen I Survived series Magnitude, Jennifer Nielsen The Strongest Heart, Saadia Faruqi Here I Am, I Am Me: An Illustrated Guide to Mental Health, Cara Bean Susan Hood Blue Willow Book Shop, Houston TX Tommy Greenwald Dinged, Tommy Greenwald Select, Christie Matheson Shaken, James Preller Jazz Owls: A Novel of the Zoot Suit Riots, Margarita Engle Gordon Korman The Remarkable Jounrey of Coyote Sunrise, Dan Gemeinhart Forget Me Not, Ellie Terry

    45 min
  4. 2024-07-20

    Assistive Tech with John O'Sullivan

    Librarian, assistive technology specialist, and author John O’Sullivan has written several books, has worked as a special education teacher, and joins us for this episode. As an avid reader of technology press, an integration specialist, and computer teacher, he brings skills honed at his job at Chelmsford High School to volunteer efforts for the MSLA and MassCUE. In the 1970s John was among the first special needs students to enter school under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This experience influrnece his career path to becoming a provider of these services. Technology has evolved to such a point, John says, where assistive technology is a part of our everyday lives, but understanding how and why it can be integrated into a curriculum is a step librarians can take to become better community assets. His latest book Technology for English Language Learners opens with some of his own story followed by a run through of tech basics for teachers with ELL students in their classrooms. Relevant links are below: Technology for English Language Learners  Apple Books – https://books.apple.com/us/book/technology-for-english-language-learners/id6503222438  Google Books – https://books.google.com/books/about/Technology_for_English_Language_Learners.html?id=gUYKEQAAQBAJ  John’s UDL Technology website: https://udltechnology.com/  Teachers Awesome App Guide: Apple Books - https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-teachers-awesome-app-guide/id854086263  Google Books - https://books.google.com/books?id=UoVFAwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false  How-to-Fix Chromebooks class: https://chs.chelmsfordschools.org/about-chelmsford-high-school/library/chromebook-repairs/  Learning Ally: https://learningally.org/solutions-for-home/college-adults  The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE): https://iste.org/  MassCUE: https://www.masscue.org/  James Tynion IV: https://imagecomics.com/creators/james-tynion-iv Frank Miller: https://frankmillerink.com/

    42 min
  5. International Children's Books w/ Bindy Fleischman

    2024-06-25

    International Children's Books w/ Bindy Fleischman

    Bindy Fleischman, Massachusetts State Ambassador for the International Board on Books for Young People (iBBy) spoke with us this spring about her involvement with international children’s books. We discuss areas of translation, statelessness, illustration reading differently in different places, the publishing industry, and universal design for reading. Thanks for listening! Links, resources and topics below: International Children’s Library, Hamburg https://www.ijb.de/en/about-us/the-international-youth-library  Jella Lepman https://www.ibby.org/about/jella-lepman-medal  Bridges ed. by Bindy https://www.usbby.org/bridges-newsletter/representation-visibility-and-opportunities  The Silent Books Project  https://www.ibby.org/awards-activities/activities/silent-books  Dutch Foundation for Literature https://www.letterenfonds.nl/en  USBBY / REFORMA https://www.usbby.org/uploads/1/0/7/0/107064867/aldana_report_on_usbby_ibby_support_in_central_america_.pdf  Leigh Turina, https://www.ibby-canada.org/newsletters/qa-with-leigh-turina/  IBBY Collection for Young People with Disabilities, Toronto PL, https://www.ibby.org/awards-activities/activities/ibby-collection-for-young-people-with-disabilities  Leandra Elion, Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study & Human Development, https://as.tufts.edu/epcshd/  IBBY Honor List, https://www.ibby.org/awards-activities/activities/ibby-collection-for-young-people-with-disabilities/2023-ibby-selection-of-outstanding-books-for-young-people-with-disabilities Bologna Book Fair, https://www.bolognachildrensbookfair.com/en/home/878.html Mem Fox, https://memfox.com/  Ibby Calendar of events, https://www.ibby.org/news-calendar/ibby-calendar-2024

    56 min

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The official podcast of the Massachusetts School Library Asssociation.