CURRENT POSITION Library Media Specialist, Robidoux Middle School, MO DEGREE MLIS, 2009; Ed.S., Educational Technology, 2010; both University of Missouri–Columbia FAST FACT During her year as MASL president, Corey saved her completed jigsaw puzzles, including those of heroes like Wonder Woman and Maya Angelou. FOLLOW X: @melissacorey; TikTok: @melissacoreylibrary; linktr.ee/melissacoreylibrary Photo by Brent M. Corey

Preserving Access

In August 2022, Missouri’s Senate Bill 775 (SB 775) became law, calling for criminal penalties on educators who provide students with materials containing “explicit sexual material,” imposing misdemeanor charges, a $2,000 fine, and a year in prison. Advised by legal counsel, several school districts removed graphic novels, books authored by or about people of color or LGBTQIA+ people, and resources on slavery and the Holocaust.

Melissa Corey, past president of the Missouri Association of School Librarians (MASL), is a champion of students’ intellectual freedom. She recognized the severe implications of SB 775 for collection development and spearheaded a swift response to preserve compliant books in school libraries. She also crafted statements and press releases, organized SB 775 listening sessions and office hours with MASL members, and collaborated with the Missouri Library Association and the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri to legally challenge the bill, resulting in attempted retaliation by the Missouri House Budget Committee to pull state public library funding. The suit is currently in litigation.

Corey and task force chairs Dr. Jenna Kammer, Jenni George, and Andrea Sumy were instrumental in launching three MASL initiatives: introducing a new Lesson Plan Database, establishing the Denny O’Neil Graphic Novel category for MASL’s Readers Awards, and forming the Standards Task Force to develop instructional school library standards for Missouri.

Passionate about eliminating barriers to book access for economically disadvantaged students, Corey’s library hosts free book fairs, distributing 5,000 books to the community.

“This is my mission,” Corey says, “because even when we may not have had enough money, my parents always ensured we had enough books.”