Push Technology: Marcia Mardis, Wayne State University

Robert Holley, professor at Wayne State University's LIS program, calls colleague Marcia Mardis “an unstoppable force, inspiring others to try new things and undertake new challenges.”

As assistant professor in Wayne State's school library media program, Mardis constantly encourages school librarians to show teachers how new technologies—even personal entertainment devices—can enhance student learning. She's worked with the Michigan Education Resources Digital Library and National Science Digital Library to disseminate high-quality digital resources among school librarians and teachers.

As cochair and coauthor of the American Association of School Librarians Standards for 21st Century Learners, Mardis helped negotiate a consensus aligning standards and benchmarks from numerous disciplines. The harder work, she says, is convincing school librarians that the new standards won't threaten school libraries but, instead, will “revitalize them as places of innovation and creative learning.” Mardis thinks personalization and push technologies help librarians “honor different learning styles.”

For current and aspiring school librarians, Mardis may be the ultimate push forward.