PRINCE FREDERICK — The best school librarian in Maryland works in a Calvert County elementary school.
Dr. Melaney Sanchez, the librarian at Mt. Harmony Elementary School, has been named the 2026 Maryland School Librarian of the Year by the Maryland Association of School Librarians. The association announced the honor Oct. 16 at its conference in Berlin and released it publicly Oct. 19. Calvert County Public Schools shared the news the same day.
The award, given for the 2025-26 school year, recognizes a school librarian for exemplary service and outstanding achievement in school library media. For Calvert families, it is a statewide stamp of approval on a library program that students in the county’s elementary schools use every week, and it caps a year in which Sanchez also drew national fellowships for her history and civics teaching.
Sanchez was one of three finalists the association announced in July, a selection the Chronicle reported at the time. The other two were Theresa Bruce of KIPP Harmony Academy in Baltimore City and Heather Green of Elkridge Elementary School in Howard County.
Calvert placed two in the top 10
Calvert’s showing went beyond the winner. Of the 10 librarians the association named as top finalists statewide, two work in Calvert schools: Sanchez and Lauren Lynn. Only Montgomery and Carroll counties, each with two, matched that number, and both are far larger school systems. The rest of the top 10 were Stacey Blum of Anne Arundel County, Ashley Brewer and Stefanie Goldsmith of Carroll County, Santina Jannotti of Baltimore County, and Alexandra Moses and Daria Taylor of Montgomery County.
‘Teaching is heart work’
The association described Sanchez as a civic-minded librarian who builds lessons around student questions rather than rote assignments, blending reading, history, science and art with student voice. She works to make sure every student has equal access to information, the association said, with the goal of turning children into curious researchers, critical thinkers and engaged citizens. The association cited her belief that “teaching is heart work.”
The state honor adds to a long list. According to the association, Sanchez has received:
- The Jack Miller Center’s Teaching America250 Award
- SMECO’s STEM Teacher recognition
- The American Association of School Librarians’ National School Library Program of the Year
- The Washington Post Teacher of the Year
- Calvert County Teacher of the Year
She is currently a We the Teachers Fellow and a National Geographic Grosvenor Fellow. In April, she was one of 100 educators nationwide picked for the inaugural We the Teachers fellowship at William & Mary, a history and civics program.
Sanchez has also taken her teaching beyond Mt. Harmony. She has presented to the National Council for the Social Studies, the National Park Service at the National Mall, the National Mall Trust, Common Ground on the Hill and the Maryland Association of School Librarians, and appeared on Future Ready Schools’ “Leading from the Library” podcast.
Beth Knudsen, the association’s awards chair, presented the award at the conference. Photos the association released show Sanchez accepting it and posing with a group of Calvert County colleagues.
Marcy Gruver, Calvert County Public Schools’ director of communications, said in a note sharing the announcement that the school system is celebrating “our own” Sanchez. More on the award is on the Maryland Association of School Librarians website.
