Melissa Thom, MA, (she/her) is a teacher librarian at Bristow Middle School in West Hartford, CT. She earned her bachelor’s in elementary education from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, a master’s in elementary education from Northern Arizona University and a master’s in educational psychology/gifted and talented education from the University of Connecticut. She spent 12 years teaching grades four to six as a classroom teacher, and in 2015 she earned her library media specialist certification from the ARCLMS program. She is a past president of the Connecticut Association of School Librarians (CASL) and was a 2019 AASL Social Media Superstar Reader Leader finalist. She has been honored by CASL for the Follett Creativity Award in 2018  and the Carlton W.H. Erickson Award in 2020, and the Irene Kwidzinski Service Award in 2024.  She was awarded the 2021 Outstanding Professional Award by the University of Connecticut’s NEAG School of Education Alumni Board, and was named a Library Journal Mover and Shaker in 2022.  Her publications include an article in the School Library Journal about Makerspace and NGSS (Next Generation Science standards), as well as articles in the October 2019 and May 2023 issues of School Library Connection entitled, Create a Culture of Reading and Finding Joy and Making Connections Through Podcasting. Additionally, Melissa has hosted multiple webinars on topics such as Developing Inclusive Collections, Making the Most of Your Digital Collection, and Building a Culture of Reading, as well as moderated author and panel discussions for School Library Journal and, Bloomsburg Publishing, and her Joyful Learning Podcast.  

Find Melissa on Instagram and BlueSky @MsThomBookitis and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/melissathomjoyfullearning, or visit her website at http://melissathom.com.