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LBPD Marketing and Outreach Librarian Named 2026 Mover & Shaker
Ashley Biggs is one of nearly 50 library professionals honored this spring by Library Journal
BALTIMORE — The Maryland State Library Agency is pleased to announce that Ashley Biggs, Marketing and Outreach Librarian at the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Print Disabled (LBPD), has been named a 2026 Library Journal Mover & Shaker. Biggs joins nearly 50 other library professionals from across the country to earn this prestigious annual award.
The 2026 class is being recognized for its work getting children excited about reading, safeguarding government data, providing options for justice-impacted individuals, ensuring diversity in collections, standing up to censorship, helping people find their roots, organizing clubs to bring people together, welcoming new Americans and more.
“Ashley cares about the community we serve, and it shows in each connection she makes with a patron, a caregiver or a professional,” said LBPD Director John Owen III. “She brings a real joy to her work and to the people around her."
Biggs, recognized as a “change agent” among the honorees, began her library career at St. Tammany Parish Library System in Covington, Louisiana, where she served as the Genealogy and Louisiana History Librarian. She later served as a branch manager for the Central Mississippi Regional Library System’s Flowood Branch.
In 2017, Biggs joined LBPD, a division of the Maryland State Library Agency that serves thousands of customers across the state. With a focus on creating community partnerships and engagement, Biggs works closely with organizations to provide training, answer questions and highlight the services LBPD offers to people with low vision, physical limitations in holding a book, or reading disabilities such as dyslexia.
“To me, they’re reciprocal relationships, not just a pipeline for new patrons,” Biggs said of her outreach efforts. “We can share resources, programs and events, and contribute to each other’s growth.”
In 2025, Biggs organized and led LBPD’s inaugural Dyslexia Summit, which brought together dyslexia experts, educators and parents for important conversations, information and resource sharing. More than 160 people attended the daylong virtual event. Registrants hailed from 29 states and seven countries.
Each of the past three years, Biggs organized LBPD’s popular Virtual Hike series, which took participants on virtual journeys along the Appalachian Trail (2024), through Winnie the Pooh’s Hundred Acre Wood (2025), and to Mexico (2026). The events drew participants from across North America.
Biggs’ creative programming for patrons has included tactile tours of the Goddard Space Flight Center and the Natural History Society Museum of Maryland. She also developed the LBPD Guest Hour podcast, which provides listeners with information about topics that aren’t always accessible to library users.
“Ashley’s innovative thinking and approach have helped the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Print Disabled become the award-winning, one-of-a-kind resource that it is today,” said Maryland State Librarian Morgan Lehr Miller.
With Biggs’ Library Journal recognition, the Maryland State Library Agency is proud to have among its ranks four Movers & Shakers. Previously, Carrie Sanders (2025), LaShawn Myles (2024) and Nini Beegan (2021) were named Movers & Shakers for supporting and leading Maryland’s libraries with innovative services, training opportunities and statewide initiatives. The 2026 class of Movers & Shakers is showcased in Library Journal’s May 2026 issue.
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