Libraries Stepping In: How Libraries Support Structured Literacy Through Decoding

Liz McChesney is a career-long children’s librarian and administrator and under her leadership numerous national initiatives have been spearheaded including the move to broaden summer offerings for youth. Liz serves as a Senior Advisor in Educational Equity at The Urban Libraries Council, she is a Fellow at the National Summer Learning Association and is the Community Partnerships Director for the Laundry Literacy Coalition. A frequent author and speaker, Liz has earned numerous national awards including the 2024 David M. Rubenstein Award for Literacy Excellence from the Library of Congress and the ALA Library Service to Children Distinguished Service Award. Her book, The Path Forward, was published in 2023 by ALA Editions. 

Beth Bevars is the Founder of the Lodi Literacy Hub located within the Lodi Whittier Library in upstate NY. A national advocate for equitable access to effective reading resources, Beth’s work is grounded in her experience raising a child with severe dyslexia and her commitment to ensuring every family - regardless of zip code or circumstance - can find clear, evidencebased support. She champions the essential role of librarians and library staff in helping readers of all ages and abilities thrive. Since partnering with Teach My Kid to Read, Beth has collaborated with public and school libraries across the United States and internationally to develop Literacy Hubs that equip communities with inclusive, researchaligned tools for early and developing readers.  

Marion Waldman is the Founder and Executive Director of Teach My Kid to Read, a national nonprofit that works with public libraries to ensure families have free, equitable access to evidence-based literacy resources. A former educational publisher, Waldman founded the organization in response to her own challenges in navigating reading support for her child and has since led its growth into a multi-state initiative that supports librarians as literacy leaders and libraries as community literacy hubs. Teach My Kid to Read partners with publishers, library systems, and the Science of Reading Center at SUNY New Paltz to provide professional learning, decodable books, and sustained implementation support through a national community of practice. She is currently working on a forthcoming professional title focused on libraries and the Science of Reading.

Sue Marasciulo is a retired elementary special education teacher and certified Wilson reading system instructor, specializing in evidence-based, structured literacy. Frustrated by the lack of decodable books featuring mature, high-interest storylines for her readers with dyslexia, she began crafting her own stories. She quickly noticed her students' enthusiasm for the graphic novel format and leaned into it, creating engaging tales that made decoding practice feel like an adventure. 

The spark never faded. In retirement, Sue channeled her classroom-honed creativity into Pat & Pals Decodable Graphic Novels - a series designed for all ages to build confident, joyful readers with stories that respect both literacy science and child's imagination.