In less than a week I’ll be in Boston, sort of hard for me to believe, but it’s true. I’m going a bit early in order to attend the ALISE Conference. At ALISE I’ll attend some sessions and meetings as well as host a YALSA Happy Hour for Conference attendees and staff the YALSA booth for a few hours during the week. (If you will be at ALISE be sure to stop by.)
Right after ALISE is Midwinter and there are quite a few things that I’m gearing up for at the Meeting. One of the activities that is very much on my mind are the meetings of the YALSA Board. As mentioned in my December President’s Report, anyone is welcome to attend YALSA’s Board meetings. (The full agenda and documentation is now available on the YALSA Members Only Web Site.)
If you are going to be in Boston, think about spending some time with the Board. These Board meetings are a very good way to learn about the work of the organization, find out what it’s like to serve as a Board member, and get updates on YALSA projects and activities. Even if a new YALSA member you might want to stop in at a Board meeting in order to find out what the Association is doing for you, and find out how YALSA governance works.
The Board meets three times during Midwinter:
- Sat 1:30 – 5:30 in the Convention Center, room 161
- Sun 4:00 – 5:30 in the Convention Center, room 160B
- Mon 1:30 – 3:30 in the Convention Center, room 160B
If you’ve never attended a Board meeting, take a look at the agenda and documentation and think about the topics you would like to hear discussion on. You’ll see that the agenda includes a timeframe for each item. You can use those estimates to determine when the topics you are interested in will be discussed. (As a note, the YALSA agenda is adopted with flexibility by the Board, that means that times are only estimates and sometimes items are moved around to fit the schedules of presenters and members.)
It’s likely that the YALSA Board meeting room door will be closed when you get to the Convention Center, but that doesn’t mean you can’t come in. Just open the door and walk in. There will be chairs along the sides of the room, have a seat and start listening.
The Board agenda for Midwinter is full of important topics that members will discuss. In my December President’s Report I mentioned a few of these topics – proposals on YALSA selected lists, reader’s choice, virtual committee membership, and revision to Young Adults Deserve the Best – but when you look at the agenda you’ll see there is a lot more that we’ll discuss including:
- Ways to support members during a recession
- How to recognize members for the work they do
- Revisions to YALSA’s Bylaws
- A virtual component to the next YALSA YA Literature Symposium
You’ll also see that the candidates for ALA President will visit the Board meeting to talk about their candidacies and answer questions. This could be a good time for you to hear what each candidate has to say related to service to teens in school and public libraries.
If you aren’t able to be in Boston, I’ll post Board updates on the blog and on Twitter. By the way, the Twitter hashtags we are using for Midwinter are #alamw10 and #yalsa.
Feel free to contact me with questions about Board meetings and how they work.
