Mary Ann Harlan received her Masters in Library and Information Science in 1999 from San José State, and her doctorate from the Gateway program in 2012. She has worked in California public schools for 20 years, 11 of those years in middle and high school libraries. She also has served in leadership positions for both the California School Library Association and American Association of School Libraries.

Her current research focus is on information practices in relation to reading fiction, with an emphasis on girlhood.