Job Opening: YALSA Blog Manager: Deadline Extended May 5, 2023

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YALSA is seeking a Member Manager for the YALSA blog. The deadline has been extended to submit an application by May 5, 2023. The Member Manager will be responsible for the content and look of the blog and will work closely to recruit and oversee designated bloggers. The mission of the YALSA Blog is to provide a virtual space for publishing information about time-sensitive issues and to provide a forum for members and the library community to discuss matters relating to serving teens through libraries.

List of Qualifications:

  1. Excellent verbal and written communications skills
  2. Experience in web publishing, either in editing or writing, sufficient to enable the individual to recruit and manage bloggers, with responsibilities including but not limited to identifying timely topics, maintaining a high standard of writing, and ensuring compliance with YALSA’s Blog Policy
  3. HTML proficiency
  4. Familiarity with content management software including WordPress for the administration of blog sites
  5. Dynamic, self-motivated individual
  6. Ability to delegate.
  7. Strong organizational skills
  8. Ability to set and meet deadlines.
  9. Experience in library services to young adults
  10. Membership in YALSA

General Responsibilities:

  • Communicate with bloggers and the YALSA Office on a regular basis in order to generate ideas for content, assign posting topics, and discuss blog management.
  • Review and edit audio and video content submitted to the blog to make sure the quality is acceptable and that it includes YALSA branding prior to posting.
  • Manage blog postings daily to guarantee the quality of content and appropriate tagging and category identification.
  • Manage comments and spam daily in order to guarantee that the blog content is appropriate.
  • Recruit bloggers on a regular basis
  • Meet with and provide any necessary training to bloggers via Zoom or another online meeting tool
  • Attend the YA Symposium and Annual to recruit bloggers and inform committees about the blog
  • Write reports prior to the Summer and Winter virtual meetings for submission to the YALSA Board.
  • Work with YALSA and ALA Office staff as appropriate to update and manage blog software.
  • Keep track of add-ons and plug-ins to blog software to make sure they are up to date and to add to the blog as necessary.
  • Work with the YALS, JRYLA editors, and The HUB Blog manager as appropriate to coordinate the dissemination of information to members and the library community.
  • Co-Chair the YALS and YALSA Blog Advisory Board
  • Answer questions and inquiries about the blog.
  • Follow all established blog policies and guidelines, enforce them as necessary, and periodically conduct a review of them to ensure currency.

The Member Manager will be selected by the YALSA Executive Committee by May 26, 2023. The year term will begin in June 2023, with an option to renew in May 2024. The Member Manager will receive an honorarium of $500 per year plus $500 towards travel to each Annual Conference and YA Symposium while serving as Member Manager. Candidates should send a cover letter and resume, which includes writing and web publishing experiences to:

LaMoya Burks, Interim Executive Director at lburks@ala.org

and cc, Franklin Escobedo, YALSA President at franklin.yalsa@gmail.com

All resumes, etc. must be submitted via email. For further information contact Franklin Escobedo, YALSA President at franklin.yalsa@gmail.com.  The deadline for submission is May 5, 2023.

Under Scrutiny: Helping Staff Feel Safe and Empowered in the Face of Book Challenges Webinar April 11, 2 PM CDT

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Image: Flyer for Under Scrutiny: Helping Staff Feel Safe and Empowered in the Face of Book Challenges Presenter: Darcy Lipp-Acord April 11, 2023 2 PM CDT
Under Scrutiny April 11 2 PM CDT

This YALSA webinar is co-sponsored by AASL (American Association of School Librarians), PLA (Public Library Association), and ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children).

All around the country, politically motivated challenges to library patrons’ freedom to read and library staff members’ ability to do their jobs are increasing. Many of these challenges have moved from simple complaints and removal requests to abusive, sometimes dangerous behavior.

In this new webinar, you’ll hear from Darcy Lipp-Acord, the Youth Services Librarian at Campbell County Public Library in Gillette, WY. As someone who has been on the front lines of this harassment, she will present information linking strategies of book challenging groups with abusive behaviors typically found in domestic relationships and offer strategies for dealing with those behaviors as front-facing library staff.

You’ll learn about common strategies used by political groups in their efforts to censor youth materials, how to identify and name these behaviors, and how doing so can empower library staff to develop proactive strategies for responding in ways that protect their safety and integrity.

After participating in this event, learners will:

  • Be able to identify common abusive behaviors being used by book challenging groups
  • Be able to recognize the patterns utilized by these groups
  • Understand how to adapt strategies taught to domestic abuse victims to library situations, and to utilize these strategies to help staff cope with abusive behaviors

Darcy Lipp-Acord is the Youth Services Librarian at Campbell County Public Library in Gillette, WY. Since July 2021, she has been directly involved in dealing with a local group attempting to move youth materials out of children’s and teen areas of her library. The group, like many such challengers nationwide, has resorted to abusive techniques that demoralize staff. Lipp-Acord has researched the links between these techniques and abusive strategies often used in domestic situations and presented her findings at the 2022 YALSA Symposium in Baltimore.

This event will be hosted in Zoom. Registration is limited to 1000 individuals. Automatic captions will be enabled for this event. This event will be recorded, and the recording will be freely available to all, including those who did not register for the live event or were not able to attend.

Register today space is limited. Register by clicking here.

2023 YALSA ELECTION: AN INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE CANDIDATE RACHEL MILBURN

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Get ready to vote in this year’s YALSA election! To help you make informed decisions, we’re sharing interviews with each of the 2022 YALSA Governance candidates. Voting will take place from March 13 through April 5, 2022.

Serving three-year terms, YALSA Board members are responsible for jointly determining YALSA’s current and future programs, policies, and serving as liaisons to YALSA’s committees, juries, taskforces, and advisory boards. Members work year-round and attend in-person meetings at ALA’s LibLearnX and Annual Conferences. A full description of Board duties and responsibilities can be found here. You can learn more about ALA elections here.

Photo of YALSA Board of Director candidate Rachel Milburn, Candidate for Director at Large.
Rachel Milburn, Candidate for Director-At Large

Name and current position:  Rachel Milburn, Youth Services Manager, Frankfort Community Public Library, Frankfort, IN

  1. What best qualifies you for being on the Board of Directors?

I have loads of experience working with young adults/teens/tweens even before becoming a librarian. Previously, I worked in schools, youth programming, and literature clubs. I originally went back to school to become a teacher. However, I switched my major to English with a plan of becoming a librarian. I chose this path after working in the schools in order to share my love of learning in a more creative manner. As the Teen Services Manager at the Frankfort Community Public Library, I created several new programs including Adulting 101, Self-Care Programming, Homework Help, and a Teen Advisory Board to name a few. I am always instituting new ideas that allow young adults to explore information and learning in unique and creative ways. Also, I am an extremely hard-working person with a passion for library services, specifically library services for young people. They are, arguably, our most important patrons and bridging their library usage from children’s programming to adult programming ensures we create life-long learners. My passion, determination, and hard work would be a wonderful asset to YALSA, with me on the Board of the Directors.

2. How do you envision furthering YALSA’s mission if elected to this position?

I would promote the need for outreach. More than ever, I believe that since Covid restrictions are lifting it is time for Y.A. Librarians to reach outside our walls. We need to find and serve the young people that are not yet experiencing the library. 

3. What would be the most exciting aspect of this position? The most challenging?

The most exciting aspect of this position would be meeting and learning from librarians from all over the country. I greatly hope to increase my network and continue to learn from the wonderful and diverse individuals that serve in this profession. The most challenging aspect would be planning travel and arranging my schedule for conferences. However, I believe that going to these conferences is important in achieving my goal of increasing my network. That is why I am committed to making travel and conference attendance happen.

4.  Please share a recent example(s) where you made a shift to better focus on the current needs of teens in the wake of the pandemic.

I was the first librarian in my library system to begin virtual programming. The minute that we closed our doors, I went straight into virtual mode. I shared blog posts and press releases with online resources and advice for young people working on e-learning. I also completed a course on well-being and began virtual self-care programming for our youth.  The previous fall, I had “inducted” the first Teen Advisory Board at our library. Then without having met often, the library closed. I did not allow that to prevent us from communicating. I regularly reached out to our T.A.B. members and their families throughout the stay-at-home order and while the library was closed. Each of our T.A.B. members agreed to do four hours of volunteer service at the library a year. When the library reopened following the pandemic, all of our T.A.B. members returned to their volunteering. Some of these young people eventually took jobs working in our library system. Retaining these members is evidence of the success of our service to them thru the pandemic.

Following the pandemic, I have been working to get young people back in the library. As the head of our Summer Reading program, I planned our program with the goal of getting people back in our building. This includes weekly incentives, collaborations with several community organizations, and a hefty social media marketing campaign. Likewise, one of my roles is the head of our county’s Youth Theatre. For our 2022 Summer Musical, our first back on the stage, I generated promotions that led to 5 sold out performances (we only planned on 4). Our Winter Show, saw all our social media numbers increase to the highest they had ever been, which led to the highest sponsorships. Finally, as we plan for our Summer Musical we were able to conduct over 80 youth auditioning for our the show. This success is a result of continued work on outreach, disseminating the information that these programs are here, and harnessing the power of social media.

5. What is the most pressing issue facing YALSA today?

The threat of censorship is a huge issue facing YALSA and all areas of librarianship. The fact that so many librarians must fear criminal prosecution when sharing books with young people is terrifying. I believe our only hope is to work together to develop new ideas on how to protect the freedom to read.

2023 YALSA ELECTION: AN INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE CANDIDATE KATRINA ORTEGA

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Get ready to vote in this year’s YALSA election! To help you make informed decisions, we’re sharing interviews with each of the 2022 YALSA Governance candidates. Voting will take place from March 13 through April 5, 2022.

Serving three-year terms, YALSA Board members are responsible for jointly determining YALSA’s current and future programs, policies, and serving as liaisons to YALSA’s committees, juries, taskforces, and advisory boards. Members work year-round and attend in-person meetings at ALA’s LibLearnX and Annual Conferences. A full description of Board duties and responsibilities can be found here. You can learn more about ALA elections here.

Photo of YALSA Board Candidate Katrina Ortega for the 2023 YALSA Election for Director at Large.
Katrina Ortega, Candidate for Director-at-Large

Name and current position: Katrina Ortega, Manager, College and Career Pathways, The New York Public Library, New York, NY

What best qualifies you for being on the Board of Directors?

My experiences as a Young Adult Librarian and program manager have allowed me to acquire a breadth of knowledge, skills, and capabilities that would make me an excellent addition to the YALSA Board. I have learned how to cooperate and compromise with others in order to effectively move forward with a task. I have learned how to be an efficient arbitrator among colleagues and patrons who are having difficulty with others. In the past, I actively mentored other YA staff members around the Library system, and I regularly act as a sounding board for others to discuss ideas or hurdles in their work. I have assisted many of my colleagues in developing new, system-wide initiatives and best practices, and I regularly encourage collaboration among my colleagues when putting together conference presentations and papers. Finally, I have had the opportunity to implement strategic plans for an annually growing program. I’ve learned to budget a branch budget, as well as a multi-million dollar program budget. I have learned how to measure the effectiveness of programs and events across multiple branches to establish best practices and strategies. All in all, I feel that I am an incredibly well-rounded candidate for this board and that I can effectively address the YALSA community’s comprehensive needs.

How do you envision furthering YALSA’s mission if elected to this position?

I have been fortunate enough to work in two different aspects of librarianship – on the front lines, assisting teens in what was, at the time, the largest teen space in the New York Public Library system, and also on the administrative side, offering support and assistance in the forms of budget, materials, and curricula to those who are serving teens in the branches. I plan on bringing the expertise gained through my experience to this organization, with the intention of looking to the professionals who belong to YALSA to determine ways in which we can best support them in their everyday professions. I intend to implement methods of communication and feedback between YALSA and its constituents that will help us gain a better understanding of where the organization can improve its support systems.

What would be the most exciting aspect of this position? The most challenging?

I am most looking forward to helping form the strategic plan to accomplish YALSA’s mission. I hope that the organization can re-focus its efforts as an organization to supporting the professionals who provide equitable, diverse, and inclusive team services to all of the young adult communities (and adults that support them) that we serve. I also believe that this might be the most challenging aspect of this position. The constituents that YALSA serves come from vastly different areas, and the needs of their patrons can vary immensely. My goal in serving on this board is to strive to establish an open and accessible method of communicating with professionals from around the country to hear what their concerns are and where they feel they could best use the support, and then to work with other members of the organization to determine how we can best offer that support.

Please share a recent example(s) where you made a shift to better focus on the current needs of teens in the wake of the pandemic.

As the manager of NYPL’s College and Career Pathways program, I have focused a lot of my efforts over the past few years trying to best support teens who are preparing to exit high school and enter whatever pathway they’ve decided fits them best. This has been especially challenging with all of the complexities that the pandemic introduced to the postsecondary landscape. Supporting teens who had suddenly lost access to their school guidance or college counselor, who could no longer take the in-person test prep course, who could not do the internship or the volunteering that they’d planned to do because of the pandemic was an enormous set of hurdles (particularly because we were also navigating our own unforeseen challenges). My goal was to try and meet teens in any way that we could to get their college and career readiness needs met, and this inevitably meant turning to virtual programs and services. I put together a plan where teens from all over NYC could request a 1-on-1 session with one of our trained librarians to discuss their college/career readiness needs (a service that is still being used today!). Under my direction, branch staff recorded dozens of different workshops that live on the College and Career Pathways webpage, so that teens can access these program-style workshops at any time it is convenient for them. Lastly, I’ve advocated for the continuation of virtual or hybrid programs even as we’ve returned to nearly entirely in-person programs, because it has been made clear by both YA patrons and the staff who serve them that virtual programs are often the most accessible to teens, and allow them the freedom to access support from the Library that they simply wouldn’t have if the programs were no longer held virtually.

What is the most pressing issue facing YALSA today?

Staff burnout – not only are patron-facing staff still faced with the possibility of getting sick at work; but they must also contend with the never-ending staff shortages, and the toll that providing social services can take. Add to that the recent wars being waged on library collections and programs that many communities across the country have taken up, and it’s a perfect storm. Library staff deserves as much appreciation and support as we can give them, and right now we simply cannot give them enough. I am aware that my inclusion on this board will not be a solution to all of the ills that plague YA-serving staff at our libraries, but I certainly intend to try my best to do all that I can!

2023 YALSA ELECTION: AN INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE CANDIDATE KIM DARE

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Get ready to vote in this year’s YALSA election! To help you make informed decisions, we’re sharing interviews with each of the 2023 YALSA Governance candidates. Voting will take place from March 13 through April 5, 2022.

Serving three-year terms, YALSA Board members are responsible for jointly determining YALSA’s current and future programs, policies, and serving as liaisons to YALSA’s committees, juries, taskforces and advisory boards. Members work year-round, and attend in-person meetings at ALA’s LibLearnX and Annual Conferences. A full description of Board duties and responsibilities can be found here. You can learn more about ALA elections here.

Photograph of Kim Dare, Candidate for YALSA Director at Large in the 2023 YALSA Election.
Kim Dare, Candidate for YALSA Director at Large

Name and current position:  Kim Dare, Teacher-Librarian, Herndon High School, Herndon, VA

What best qualifies you for being on the Board of Directors?

I have been a member of YALSA throughout my library career, and have served in various capacities, including book award committees, selection committees, and process committees. I had just begun chairing the YALSA Book Awards Oversight Committee when the pandemic shut things down. I worked closely with the Board that year to support award committee chairs in their new world of virtual meetings and to help plan YALSA’s part in the annual Youth Media Awards. I am excited to support YALSA members—and the teens we all serve—in this new capacity.

How do you envision furthering YALSA’s mission if elected to this position?

I love that YALSA’s mission statement is all about empowerment—empowering all in our profession to provide equitable, diverse, and inclusive teen services. There are challenges to that empowerment these days, as various groups seek to limit the work we do to support teen learning and enrichment and to foster healthy communities. As a high school librarian, I work closely with teens on a daily basis, and the library is a safe haven for so many of them. I am passionate about ensuring that every teen can see themselves—and discover more about themselves—in libraries, and will work to implement practical support for librarians in all parts of the country who are facing roadblocks to YALSA’s mission.

What would be the most exciting aspect of this position? The most challenging?

I am most excited about the opportunity to work collaboratively with a group of professionals who are committed to providing practical support for librarians as they meet their teens’ needs. I have learned so much from each of my past YALSA appointments and look forward to gaining a deeper understanding of the issues our profession faces, and ways we can continue to thrive.

I anticipate that one of the most challenging aspects will be to encourage more of our members to take the next step in their membership journey. I think that the pandemic left us all with such a sense of fatigue, and I have seen a decline in volunteerism in other organizations to which I belong. We can do so much together and need to figure out a more effective way to bring members in from the sidelines of the organization to the committees, juries, task forces, and advisory boards that will further YALSA’s mission of equitable, diverse, and inclusive teen services. 

Please share a recent example(s) where you made a shift to better focus on the current needs of teens in the wake of the pandemic.

Our high school library has tried to meet students where they are over these past several years. While students were learning remotely, we offered curbside book checkouts and drove books to students’ homes if they couldn’t make it to school. We offered a virtual student book club and (since snacks were always a popular part of the book club), delivered a brown bag of snacks on book club days. The return to in-person learning has been wonderful in a lot of ways, but we are all changed, and the ways that we teach and interact with students have changed, too. Recently, we implemented a Student Library Advisory Board, which meets monthly. The student members reflect our very diverse school, and we have been so appreciative of their suggestions for little things we can put in place to increase accessibility and use.

What is the most pressing issue facing YALSA today?

Membership, and member involvement, are our most pressing issues right now. It is essential that librarians who serve youth are able to see YALSA’s relevance and value. YALSA can be a strong advocate for librarians who are committed to teen services, but we are only as strong as our members and our member involvement. There are so many exciting ways to get involved—committees, juries, task forces, advisory boards—and members have the option of participating in many of these opportunities virtually rather than in person. I have made friends from all over the country through my YALSA work and am a better librarian for it.

Guest Bloggers Needed for ALA Annual!

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Are you planning on going to ALA Annual in June 2022? Would you like to write about your experience for YALSAblog? We’d love to feature you as a guest blogger! 

As a reminder, YALSAblog posts are typically 500-750 words. We ask that bloggers link to YALSA information when relevant – there are some guidelines on the blog that might help you out here, here, and here. 

And here’s an example of what these ALA Annual recap posts look like: https://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2018/07/05/ala-2018-annual-recap-from-a-first-time-attendee/ 

Feel free to reach out to Kelly Czarnecki l if you’d like to write a post about ALA Annual, or if you have any questions about deadlines.

Get Ready for Summer!

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This is a guest blog post from the 2021-2022 AASL/ALSC/YALSA School & Public Library Cooperation Committee.

It’s that magical time of year. Flowers are blooming, the sun is shining, and Summer Reading planning is in full swing! This is the time of year when I get to work most closely with my school librarian colleagues. I am a Family Services librarian in a suburban public library. I’m lucky to be in a town that really loves its libraries, both public and school. We get to see kids after school all year, and we hear a lot about the fabulous author visits and book recs that their school librarians bring to them. We plan programs and recommend reading to build on the learning that happens at school, and the school librarians likewise guide students to further develop learning they’ve started in public library programs. Summer, of course, is different. That daily exchange of learning changes shape, as school days transform into summer camp days and engagement in our public library’s Summer Reading program. Still, even without physically entering their schools, families’ connections to their school libraries remain strong. The biggest question that we get over the summer is, “What do the schools say that we should read?”

What a child should read is always a tricky question to answer. Our school librarians and reading specialists fully agree with my Family Services team that children should read books that interest them, not simply books that fall at a particular reading level. Yet “What do the schools say that we should read?” expresses a lot of valid concerns, which should not be brushed off with a simple, “Read whatever you like!” There’s the question, “What should we read to be ready for class next year?” of course. There’s also, “I miss my fabulous school librarian. What would they recommend?” School, and the school library, is so central to students’ lives all year—it’s only logical that we should do what we can to celebrate that connection and keep it strong over the summer!

To make the transition to Summer Reading as seamless as possible this year, my school librarian colleagues and I started meeting in March to plan a joint Summer Reading list. We’re working together to create online and print book lists, centered around a guide to text complexities that the schools share with parents. We’ll all throw in the books that we know our students love, along with new favorites. We will ensure that the public library owns every book on the recommended reading lists so that access will be easy for families. We will also build information about our public library’s Summer Reading activities and theme—and even some thematic recs!—into the Summer Reading guide that the schools distribute. The schools will provide guidance for parents to create thematic text sets for their kids over the summer, and all of our Family Services team will be ready to help families in this endeavor. Our Family Services team will visit every school for a Summer Reading kickoff assembly in June. All of the schools’ Summer Reading info will include links to our public library’s webpage, and our webpage will link to the schools’ lists. We’ll bring a little of the schools into the public library for the summer (including the best-loved books of all the kids’ favorite school librarians!), and the schools will welcome us into their classrooms as the year winds down. “What do the schools say that we should read?” Exactly what your public library says you should! And a marvelous variety it is! 

Rebecca Fox is the Assistant Manager of Family Services at New Canaan Library. When she’s not at the library, you can find her curled up with a book or a crossword, or crafting goofy bead animals. You can reach Rebecca at rfox@newcanaanlibrary.org. 

The ‘School-Pub’ Update

Last year, the AASL/ALSC/YALSA School & Public Library Cooperation Committee was charged with developing an informational list of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) resources and brainstorming ways to ensure the resources remain relevant and up to date. The committee is pleased to announce it has presented the ‘Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Resource Exchange for ALA Youth Divisions (AASL, ALSC, YALSA)’ to the three divisional presidents and now await guidance on where it will be hosted. On behalf of last year’s committee chair and myself, I thank all of our committee members for their hard work and insight in developing this document. 

Our committee now looks forward to working on our next charge: constructing some strategies for how our youth services libraries can all work together in the face of the current climate of book challenges. 

Jodi Silverman is the Youth Services Department Supervisor of the North Plainfield branch of the Somerset County Library System of New Jersey. She is a 2020-2021 ALA Emerging Leader and the 2021-2022 Chair of the AASL/ALSC/YALSA School & Public Library Cooperation Committee. When not designing escape rooms for teens, you can find her playing MMOs and running virtual karaoke get-togethers. You can reach Jodi at jsilverman@sclibnj.org.

We need you!  Volunteer for YALSA’s Strategic Committees & Task Forces

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We’re currently looking for volunteers to serve on YALSA strategic committees and task forces.  What’s a strategic committee?  These are all the committees that help move our association forward. They include both a year commitment or less.  This is a list of the current volunteer opportunities:  

AASL/ALSC/YALSA Committee on School & Public Library Cooperation: This joint committee will identify, develop, promote and disseminate information on effective cooperative or collaborative projects that link schools and public libraries.

Division & Membership Promotion: Help spread the word about YALSA and welcome our new members! 

Editorial Advisory Board (for YALS & the YALSAblog): To serve as advisor to the co-chairs of the Advisory Board, the editor of YALS and the YALSAblog Member Manager, on the overall content of the journal and blog. To take an active role in determining content for both publications and an annual editorial calendar that identifies timely topics as well as authors for articles and blog posts.

Education Advisory Committee/Board :  The role of the Education Advisory Committee is to assist with providing appropriate and timely topics for continuing education offerings to the Executive Director and Program Officer for Continuing Education and Development and to identify qualified individuals to facilitate continuing education sessions.

Financial Advancement: This is the committee that helps supports YALSA mission by fundraising.  The part of the work is writing thank you notes to members who have donated.  They also help raise money through silent auctions at conference and at the symposium.  One year we had shot glasses!  

Hub Advisory Board: The Hub Advisory Board participates in the development and maintenance of the Hub and follows the guidelines for the site as set out by the YALSA Board of Directors. The Advisory Board also serves in an advisory capacity to the Member Manager of the site and assists with the collection of content for the site, generates ideas for content, works on getting teen and library staff input and feedback, facilitates marketing and PR as needed, and writes for the site as needed.  

Organization & Bylaws: To periodically review the Bylaws and, when necessary, to recommend revision and amendment to improve them for the effective management of the Division, for the achievement of its stated objectives, and to keep them in harmony with ALA Constitution and Bylaws; to study and review committee functions, recommending changes in committee structure; to regularly review and when necessary recommend and draft revision of content for the YALSA Handbook; and to make recommendations on other appropriate policy and process matters.  The O&B Committee will be instrumental in the coming year as we begin to implement our new strategic plan.

Research:  To stimulate, encourage, guide, and direct the research needs of the field of young adult library services, and to regularly compile abstracts, disseminate research findings, update YALSA’s National Research Agenda as needed.

Research Journal Advisory Board: Oversee the peer reviewing process as outlined in the Refereeing Process Guidelines as approved by the YALSA Board of Directors.  The JRLYA Board also serves in an advisory capacity to the Member Editor of the journal by assisting with the solicitation of contributors and articles as well as generating ideas for topical articles or themes, when requested from the Member Editor

Teens’ Top Ten: To facilitate the exchange of information and galleys of books published within the current and previous publishing years among the voting teen group members as well as the non-voting members; to annually prepare the “Teens’ Top 10” list for Teen Read Week; and to coordinate the public electronic vote. To assist with the collection and vetting of applications from libraries who wish to host an official reading group.

Teen Programming HQ Taskforce: This is a new taskforce that will assist the Teen Programming HQ manager find and assist with putting teen programs into the HQ. 

Social Media Marketing Committee:  I chaired the taskforce prior to this became a committee, if you are a social media maverick at your library this is the committee for you!  The mission is to help promote and share the work of our selection lists and awards though various social media platforms, i.e., twitter, Instagram, Facebook.  

Teen Civic Engagement Committee:  To create resources, training, and events that support members in centering engaging diverse teen voices and elevating the issues that are important to them; to highlight all aspects of civic engagement programming, with a special focus on teens being heard, counted, and active during elections; explore partnership opportunities with other ALA divisions or groups to develop trainings, toolkits, or other resources.

CALA YALSA Joint Taskforce:  This is a very exciting new task force: To determine a booklist to highlight and promote Chinese American creators and characters to commemorate the 50th anniversary of CALA. To select titles for the list in conjunction with ALSC (to begin work in February 2022). To provide recommendations to the board for review. To make changes as necessary depending on feedback from the YALSA Board. 

President’s Program Planning Taskforce:  This last one is for me.  When I go from President-Elect to President, this task force will help me shape my theme and eventual program for Annual 2023 in Chicago.  This is from the charge of the task force: To provide support, guidance and advice to the YALSA President in the implementation of their theme.  Activities may include working with the President to review Organizational and Implementation Plans to develop and coordinate appropriate theme-related goals, activities, and initiatives.

If you have questions about the committees or task forces feel free to email the chair of each group, you can find their contact info here. 

Any other questions don’t hesitate to email me.  You can fill out the volunteer form here.  

I look forward to working with you! 

Franklin Escobedo
President-Elect 2021-2022
fescobedo@cityoflarkspur.org
Follow me on twitter: @adrithian

Call for Participation – Accessibility Assembly

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Do you have in-depth knowledge of a disability related topic?  Are you the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) expert at your library?  Are you a person with a disability or a disability rights ally who wants to share your knowledge?  Let’s talk!

The Accessibility Assembly is looking for volunteers to help us update the Library Accessibility Toolkits: What You Need to Know, ALA’s seminal resource on library access for patrons and staff with disabilities.  These toolkits are the front line resource for libraries on accessibility issues.  They provide information and resources for both patrons and staff.

If you are interested or just want to find out more, please respond directly to Lauren Kehoe at lsk221@nyu.edu

2022 YALSA ELECTION: AN INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE CANDIDATE MELANIE WACHSMANN

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Get ready to vote in this year’s YALSA election! To help you make informed decisions, we’re sharing interviews with each of the 2022 YALSA Governance candidates. Voting will take place from March 14 through April 6, 2022.

Serving three-year terms, YALSA Board members are responsible for jointly determining YALSA’s current and future programs, policies, and serving as liaisons to YALSA’s committees, juries, taskforces and advisory boards. Members work year-round, and attend in-person meetings at ALA’s Midwinter and Annual Conferences. A full description of Board duties and responsibilities can be found here. You can learn more about ALA elections here.

Name and current position: Melanie Wachsmann, Library Director, Lone Star College – CyFair Library

How has your experience prepared you to address issues within YALSA related to equity, diversity and inclusion?
I began my career in education as a high school ESL teacher over 20 years ago. Those years instilled in me how important it is to listen to all voices and that they all have their own, different stories to tell. Those students taught me so many lessons, and I was often their advocate when they didn’t have one. Those experiences have carried on into my library career as a school librarian and now as the library director of a joint use community college and public library. I strive to ensure that the voices of my community are welcomed and represented in our collection and programming. Most of all I’ve learned how to listen. By listening to other’s ideas and experiences, I am better able to ensure that equity, diversity, and inclusion is not simply an acronym, but a part of everything. 

What are your ideas on how YALSA can collaborate with our Affiliate organizations like AILA, APALA, BCALA, REFORMA?
There are many avenues available for collaboration, from booklists or author spotlights that can be shared via a blog or fleshed out to more of an official selection committee list. Also, conversing with the leaders of the groups to learn more about their missions and goals and find ways that those align with YALSA and teen services in general. 

In your opinion, what do you feel is the biggest challenge ahead for YALSA?
I feel that the biggest challenge is finances. First, YALSA needs to have the full and complete financial picture and make plans for retaining the members we have, recruiting new members, and inviting back members who have left for various reasons. YALSA needs to show librarians what the organization has to offer them and the benefits of joining. 

How will you make YALSA’s mission, vision, and intended impact meaningful for current and potential members and supporters?
Communication is the key. Finding ways to tell and show stakeholders more about YALSA and its benefits, speaking with current and potential members about what they need and want from a professional organization, providing members with ways to collaborate at the state, local, and national levels. Lastly, in this era of book challenges and banning, providing librarians with resources and support is a way to make the work that the organization does meaningful.