Ruth Toor has been a member of the American Library Association (ALA) for 27 years. During her career as a librarian, she has been active in the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), serving on numerous committees and as President of AASL in 1992-1993. She is a library media consultant, author and editor and resides in Basking Ridge New Jersey with her husband, Jay, also an ALA and AASL member. Jay is President of Library Learning Resources, Inc. which presents the AASL School Librarian’s Workshop Scholarship annually to someone who plans to become a school library media specialist.
Ruth earned her MLS from the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Rutgers University, after completing her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Delaware. For nearly 30 years, she served as library media specialist at Southern Boulevard School in Chatham, New Jersey. She retired in 2001 to become a library media consultant and has served as an adjunct professor at both Rutgers University and Montclair State University in New Jersey. She writes and co-edits the monthly journal The School Librarian’s Workshop and is the author of 11 professional books for school librarians. In 2001, she received a Lifetime Membership Award from the Educational Media Association of New Jersey (of which she was a past president). In 2003, she was inducted into the University of Delaware Alumni Wall of Fame, in recognition of her outstanding professional and public service achievements.