The Maine State Library is pleased to announce that Marijke Visser has accepted the position of Library Section Supervisor in the Library Development Division.  Marijke will be managing a newly reorganized section, Consulting and Specialist Services and will be the Continuing Education Coordinator.  Marijke will lead MSL's team of six specialists in our mission to make Maine libraries stronger. The focus of this section will be on professional development and continuing education for Maine's librarians. She will work primarily with all our specialists to provide information, knowledge, and training opportunities for all Maine library staff. Marijke will also represent the Maine State Library in the State Library Agencies' Continuing Education Coordinator national cohort.

Marijke has spent the last 12 years in the American Library Association's Washington Office, most recently as a Senior Policy Advocate. She is known nationally for her work on broadband and E-rate as well as for her work on national projects and grants, including "Libraries Ready to Code" and Google's Grow with Google initiative. She served as an Advisory Board Member for YALSA's project on connected learning and computational thinking as well as an Advisory Committee member for the "Smart Rural Communities," initiative of NTCA- The Rural Broadband Association.
At a national policy level, Marijke has worked to ensure libraries are included in national initiatives and remembered in public policy agendas. This is evidenced by her work with the FCC, other federal departments and with Maine's congressional delegation. We are thrilled that Marijke brings with her an incredible depth and ability to communicate the value and vision of libraries of all types to local community organizations, businesses, and potential partners or volunteers.

Marijke will start at the Maine State Library on October 25, 2021. She is more than prepared to meet the challenge of working and managing MSL's highly effective remote staff while the Maine State Library's building repair project continues into 2023.    We will introduce Marijke once she comes on board next month at our next Statewide Zoom meeting on October 26 and hopefully as COVID wanes you can all meet her in person!
Marijke is no stranger to Maine and has spent many a vacation Downeast using some of Maine's smallest and rural libraries.
The primary focus of her work, along with all the specialists, will be determining the CE needs of Maine libraries and developing a Continuing Education Plan for the coming year.




Janet McKenney
Director, Library Development
Maine State Library
SHS 64
230 State Street
Augusta, ME 04333

207-287-5603
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@janetmckenney (Twitter)
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