Happy End of Summer and Back-to-School!
I’m so excited to be sharing my first YALSA President’s Report!
It’s been a whirlwind since ALA Annual, and here’s what I’ve been working on since then:
Done & Done!
- Appointments to Edwards, Printz & Nonfiction Committees
- Assigning Board liaisons to Strategic, Selection & Award Committees
- Assign Board Members to Standing Board Committees
- Column for Fall 2015 issue of YALS
- Virtual training for New YALSA Board members
- YALSA blog post on Presidential Initiative: 3-2-1 Impact! Inclusive & Impactful Teen Services
- Worked with YALSA Board to appoint Renee McGrath to fill Krista McKenzie’s vacancy on the YALSA Board
- Had first call with the Whole Mind Group, who YALSA is working with on Strategic Planning
- With Chris Shoemaker, hosted first monthly chat with the YALSA Board, where we discussed YALSA’s Standing Board Committees
- Interviewed candidates for Member Managers for the Hub blog and Teen Programming HQ; appointed Molly Wetta as new Hub Member Manager and Jessi Snow as new Teen Programming HQ Member Manager
Works in Progress
- Filling Strategic Committee vacancies
- Filling Rachel McDonald’s Board vacancy
- Appointing YALSA representatives to ALA groups
- Strategic Planning
- Preparing for YALSA’s YA Services Symposium & Fall Executive Committee meetings
- Seeking content experts for Teen Programming HQ
- Seeking out partnerships with ALA ethnic caucuses, ALA LGBT Round Table, ASCLA, Wattpad, National Writing Project, Connected Learning Alliance, DeviantArt and more
Media & Outreach
- Expressed YALSA’s support of the establishment of the Joint Caucus of Librarians of Color, Inc. in Library Journal
- Interviewed by the Chicago Tribune for an article on Summer Learning programs
- Interviewed by School Library Journal for an upcoming article on tweens and tween library services
Stats & Data
- Friends of YALSA raised $1,155 in June 2015
- Friends of YALSA raised $436 in July 2015
- Membership: 5,113 (down -0.3% over this time last year)
Important Deadlines
- Oct. 1 – Deadline to submit a volunteer form to be on YALSA’s upcoming award, selection and strategic committees! More information here
Last, but certainly not least –
THANK YOU
- All of our members for all that you do to support teens and teen library services in your communities, every day!
- Chris Shoemaker, YALSA’s immediate Past President, for passing the torch and mentoring current President-Elect Sarah Hill
- YALSA’s ALA Annual 2015 Local Arrangements Committee, for a terrific job coordinating travel tips & info and local YALSA events in San Francisco
- YALSA Board, for your hard work, leadership and enthusiasm – I know it’s going to be a great year!
- YALSA Staff, especially Beth Yoke, Letitia Smith & Nichole O’Connor, for your assistance and support with association logistics
Until next time!
Respectfully submitted,
