Wowsers is right, the ALA Annual meeting was an action-packed few days for the YALSA Board. Several Board members will be sharing background and information on select proposals that were brought forth over the course of the next few weeks, so please stay tuned. Obviously I’m a bit of a governance nerd myself, but I hope you’ll find that the processes and paths that the Board follows to come to these decisions are almost as thoughtful and interesting as the results themselves. I said it once and I’ll say it again: your YALSA Board volunteers are awesomesauce.
Part of my follow-up over the course of the next few months will be to madly appoint to some amazing new taskforces. Either as a newer member looking for a way to get more involved or as a seasoned vet ready to share your expertise, this could be you! Check out the taskforce descriptions below and if interested, please fill out a volunteer form.’ ‘ The more information you can give me related to the group(s) that you’re interested in serving on, the easier it will be for me to place you. And remember, if you aren’t selected in this round of taskforce appointments, President-Elect Chris Shoemaker will soon be perusing selection committee volunteer forms which are due September 30th.’ ‘ Thanks for considering!
Library Administrator Resources Taskforce
Coordinate the development of new content, including case studies that illustrate the value of teen services, aimed at library administrators and work with staff to disseminate the content. Use existing data to create new resources aimed at an administrator audience, which illustrate the value of teen services, including tip sheets, position papers, infographics, canned presentations, articles and blog posts. Identify and prioritize communication channels for distribution of messages and materials. Taskforce size: 5-7 virtual members. Term: September 1, 2013 through June 30, 2015. Taskforce members should be comprised of members who are managers or administrators.
Makerspace Resources Taskforce
The taskforce will create a variety of resources to help members learn about the maker movement and how libraries can be a part of it in order to increase their value in their community. Activities include: creating a “Making in Libraries” toolkit to be released in conjunction with 2014 ‘s Teen Tech Week; implementing a maker programming contest during summer 2014 for members to highlight best practices; maintaining the maker page on YALSA’s public wiki on an ongoing basis and encouraging members to contribute to the content there; as requested by the YALSAblog Manager, identify bloggers to regularly create maker related posts; as requested by the YALS Editor, identify authors to write maker related articles. Taskforce size: 5-7 virtual members, including the chair. Term of appointment: September 1, 2013 through August 31, 2014.
Professional Values and Career Development Taskforce
Investigate best practices in associations and professionalism, then identify core professionalism values of a librarian or library worker serving teens, and use it for a basis for creating guidelines for professionalism for librarians and library workers who work with and for teens. Submit a draft of the values to the Board by Dec. 23, 2013. Incorporate feedback received from the board and present a refined draft to the YALSA Board by Mar. 1, 2014. Make further edits based on board feedback, then begin work on the guidelines, submitting an initial draft for board consideration by Aug. 1, 2014 and a final draft by Dec. 22, 2014. Taskforce size: 5-7 virtual members. Term: Sept. 1, 2013 through January 31, 2015.
Student Member Engagement Taskforce
Work with YALSA staff to:1) Inventory YALSA’s online presence to identify content of specific interest to LIS students and promote this content via the student listserv, YALSA E-news, and other communication channels. Determine missing content and make recommendations for creating it; 2) Identify what LIS students learn in library school and where the gaps are that YALSA might address; 3) Compile a list of resume building resources, sample resumes, resume writing tips, FAQs, job search tips, etc. and post on YALSA’s wiki; 4) Recommend additional special programming or resources YALSA might provide for LIS students by evaluating existing and conducting new surveys as needed to determine student needs; 5) Determine what additional ways beyond the mentoring program that YALSA can provide access to leadership development and experienced members. Task force term: 2-year term starting in Sept. 2013 and ending June
30, 2015. Taskforce Size: 5-7 members including at least one Youth Services Faculty member from an ALA or NCATE accredited school, one LIS student specializing in teen services, and at least one current or recent Board member.
