Marcia Mardis, Associate Professor in the School of Information and CCI Assistant Dean has long been a player in school librarianship and digital learning. In her research she explores digital learning resource collection, description, and use. Her unique research not only yielded two recent books, numerous grants and the popular Web2MARC cataloging software, but also it led to her recent keynote the Michigan Association for Media in Education (MAME) conference, November 3, 2016.
Mardis’ talk was titled STEM, STEAM, Common Standards, and Entrepreneurship: School Librarians Tugging on the Common Thread. In it, she addressed the current zeitgeist influencing education and information research and practice, college and career readiness, and popular culture. While each concept is vast and complex, a common thread of best practices, beliefs, personal meaning, and future implications nonetheless unites them. In her talk, she located each of these areas in teaching and learning and then explored how their connections can be leveraged to energize school librarians’ professional vision, practical engagement, and community impact.
Also during MAME, Mardis conducted a roundtable on open education resource (OER) curation. Because Michigan is a #GoOpen State, they are committed to integrating OER into classrooms and libraries.
Dr. Mardis also participated in a reverse testimony with the Michigan Department of Education. This testimony focused on school librarians’ role in the new federal K-12 education bill Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and potentially includes discretionary funds for school libraries.
A native Michigander, Mardis attended the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University. Since joining the iSchool faculty in 2009, Mardis has continued to work to support school librarians in her home state as well as in Florida. For her work and dedication, MAME President Lisa Brakel awarded Mardis the 2016 Presidents Award, commemorating tireless commitment to Michigan’s school librarians.
“I could not be more honored,” Mardis said, “Michigan is in my heart as well as home to numerous dynamic, resilient school librarians.”
The recognition complements Mardis’ past MAME awards including the Margaret Hayes Grazier Award for Contribution to the Profession (2006) and the MAME President’s Special Citation in 2008. More on Marcia Mardis’ research and her Web2MARC project can be found here.