Sara Frey Wins Scholastic Library Publishing Award

CHICAGO — Sara Frey, the instructional media specialist and technology integration coach at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, has been selected as the 2017 recipient of the American Library Association’s Scholastic Library Publishing Award. This special recognition is given annually to the librarian whose “unusual contribution to the stimulation and guidance of reading by children and young people” exemplifies achievement in the profession.

“It is with pleasure that the 2017 Award Jury recognizes Sara Frey for her important and creative achievements in the field of Library and Information Science,” said Ellen Ruffin, chair of the Scholastic Library Publishing Award Committee. “Sara deserves this honor for her dedication to the English Language Learners in her school district. The ELL students rely on her for academic assistance as well as a friendly face offering a comfortable place to work. Sara Frey has also worked tirelessly on collaborating with special education teachers in creating opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities to acquire job skills by volunteering in the school library. Frey has also started a book club especially for these students based on the model generated by the national organization, Next Chapter Book Club. She seems to possess a bottomless source of energy.”

Frey received her Masters of Library and Information Science from University of Kentucky and is now pursuing an additional degree and certificate in Instructional Technology at St. Joseph’s University. A member of the American Library Association, Frey is also a member of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) divisions. Frey served on the AASL 2017 Annual Conference Proposals Review Committee, and is as a member of the Association of American University Presses Book Selection Committee. She served served on the Collaborative School Library Award Committee 2014-2016 and the 2016 Library of Congress “The Book that Shaped Me” Essay Committee. Frey also received the 2015 Pennsylvania Library Association Best Practices Award.

Sara Frey was nominated by her colleagues in Pennsylvania for the work she continues to do at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School making the library a welcoming environment for ALL students. Her work goes above and beyond the “expected.” The book club she began for students with intellectual disabilities not only read Chasing Vermeer, but they also visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where Frey coordinated a unique VIP tour through the museum’s office of accessibility. Parents of club participants express their appreciation of Sara Frey’s program, citing a “new confidence in reading and socializing” as a result of their participation.

Members of the 2017 ALA Scholastic Library Publishing Award Jury are: Edith Ching, Linda Weatherspoon, Lisa Castellano, Susan Hess, and Ellen Ruffin (Chair).

The award will be presented at the American Library Association Annual Meeting, June 25, 2017 in Chicago.

The deadline for submission of applications for the 2018 Scholastic Library Publishing Award December 1. Guidelines and applications are available on the ALA website.