Last night YALSA sponsored a chat on how the economy is affecting YA librarians and libraries and how YALSA can support librarians in tough economic times. Those who participated had a lot of stories to tell, questions to ask, and ideas for YALSA to consider. Including:

• Looking at ways to provide mentoring for librarians moving up the leadership ladder. A teen librarian might be very skilled at how to run a teen department, but maybe needs some advice on how to move into management positions and how to be a successful manager.
• Continuing to consider virtual opportunities for members to participate in YALSA projects. As it’s getting harder and harder to attend conferences and meetings, virtual participation is key to staying involved and engaged.
• Helping librarians to become better advocates for their libraries and their services as well as for themselves as professionals.

A full transcript of the chat is available in .pdf.

If you weren’t able to attend (or even if you did attend) the chat and have follow-up ideas or questions feel free to add them to the comments.