Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff Webinar: Continuous Learning

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cover of YALSA's Teen Services Competencies for Library StaffThe final webinar in our series related to the Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff took place on December 13. The theme was continuous learning and it was facilitated by Casey Rawson and Ness Shortley. Casey and Ness are two of the authors of the book Instruction and Pedagogy for Youth in Public Libraries.

In the webinar Casey and Ness discussed how through co-learning with teens and through a focus on outcomes library staff can continue their own learning while providing meaningful services for and with teens.

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New in 2019: Subscribe to YALSA Webinars!

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subscribe image with subscribe text in red and whiteStarting in January 2019, non-YALSA members will be able to attend YALSA’s live monthly webinars via a paid yearly subscription. Webinar subscribers will be able to attend live sessions and access recordings. This is a new opportunity as previously non-members were only able to purchase webinar recordings.

Subscription prices are:

$59 for individuals for 12 months of webinars
$129 for group subscriptions for 12 months of webinars

State library agencies should contact Linda W. Braun, YALSA CE Consultant, for subscription pricing for your state.

YALSA members will continue to have full access to live webinar sessions and all recordings as a part of association membership.

Non-YALSA members interested in purchasing individual webinars on an a la carte basis can still do so. January through April 2019 individual webinar purchase and registration is available on the ALA website. A la carte webinar purchase is $29 for individuals and $99 for groups.

For more information on subscriptions and subscription pricing contact Linda W. Braun, YALSA CE Consultant.

Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff: Develop the Relationships and the Behavior Will Take Care of Itself (Mostly)

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The Interactions with Teens content area of the Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff centers on this main idea:

cover of the Teen Services Competencies for Library StaffRecognizes the importance of relationships and communication in the development and implementation of quality teen library services, and implements techniques and strategies to support teens individually and in group experiences to develop self-concept, identity, coping mechanisms, and positive interactions with peers and adults.

As I’ve talked with library staff over the past several months I’ve become more and more aware of how important it is to connect this Competency content area to what library staff often label as teen behavior management issues. The reason why these go hand-in-hand is that if library staff build relationships with teens, then the teens will trust that staff and feel respected by them. And, when trust and respect exist a majority of behavioral issues are likely to go out the door.

Consider these two scenarios.
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Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff Webinar: Outcomes and Assessment

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cover of the teen services competencies for library staffEach month, through December, YALSA is sponsoring free webinars (for members and non-members) on topics related to the Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff.

The November webinar (the full video recording is available after the break) on the topic of Outcomes & Assessment. The session featured two speakers, Samantha Lopez who discussed the Public Library Association’s Project Outcome initiative and Jason Gonzales from the Muskogee Public Library (OK) who discussed the value of logic models when developing outcomes and assessments.
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Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff: Equity of Access Webinar

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Each month, through December, YALSA is sponsoring free webinars (for members and non-members) on topics related to the Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff.

The October webinar (the full video recording is available after the break) focused on the topic of Equity of Access. The three webinar facilitators discussed why and how library fines and fees need to be re-considered in order to provide equitable access to all youth.

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YALSA Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff: It’s Not a Competition!

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cover of the YALSA Teen Services Competencies Do you ever say to yourself or others, “We are in competition with <insert name of an out of school time or school-based program>?” If you do, it’s time to stop. To serve teens successfully we have to stop thinking we are in competition with others and instead focus on what others are already providing, where there are gaps in what’s available, and what libraries can do with others in the community to fill those gaps.

Frequently I hear staff saying they can’t get anyone to come to this or that program because so and so is also doing it. So, that should be a clue to several things:

  • First the program may very well not be needed if someone else is already doing it.
  • Second, it could be really useful to meet with those that are already providing that program or service and find out what they would like to be able to do but can’t, and/or how the library can provide support for that program or service.
  • Third, it’s time to look at where the gaps are in serving teens in the community and focus on working with community to fill in those gaps instead of doing something someone else is already doing, simply because it seems like a topic or activity the library should be focused on..

I think a lot about Josie Watanabe, the Student Success Program Manager at the Seattle Public Library.   Josie manages an afterschool homework help program. A few years ago she discovered that at one library branch, which was a homework help site, numbers were going down. Josie did some investigating and discovered that a nearby elementary school received funding to start a school-based homework help program. What did Josie do? She said to herself, and others, “OK in that neighborhood the need for afterschool homework help is now being taken care of by another community organization, that means the public library can stop this service in this neighborhood, the library can support the school-based program by providing training to tutors, and hey let me see what other needs there are in this neighborhood that we can help fill without competing or duplicating.”
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Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff Webinar: Cultural Competence and Responsiveness

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cover of the teen services competencies for library staffEach month, through December, YALSA is sponsoring free webinars (for members and non-members) on topics related to the Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff.

The September webinar (the full video recording is available after the break) on the topic of Cultural Competence and Responsiveness. The focus of the session was on creating inclusive computer science opportunities for youth and was by Lecia Barker from the National Center for Women and Informational Technology (NCWIT) and Cheryl Eberly from the Santa Ana Public Library.
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Future Ready with the Library: Making Time for Partnerships

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Each month members of the second cohort of the YALSA and ARSL IMLS-funded Future Ready with the Library project meet virtually to talk about what they are working on, ask questions of each other, and build skills and knowledge related to middle school college career readiness. In an August live session a portion of the conversation focused on how staff working on the Future Ready project are able to manage time for partnerships and for working with community. This 5 minute video clip presents highlights from that conversation.

Learn more about the Future Ready project on the YALSA website.

Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff: A Progressive Library?

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cover of the teen services competencies for library staffA colleague and I recently had a debate. She said she thought a specific library was progressive and I disagreed. Why? Because as I see it the library she was talking about isn’t progressive as a system. There are a couple of staff that manage programs that are certainly progressive, but the library overall, not so much.

I think this distinction is important to consider. Think about it, if we want teen services to be future and teens first focused – as defined by YALSA in recent reports, blog posts, and books – then we can’t simply assume that if a library has a few good programs led by awesome people that the whole institution is progressive, future focused, and teens first focused. Thinking about this I asked my colleague, “What happens if the people facilitating the progressive activities leave the library system? Would the library still be progressive in your mind?”
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Teen Competencies for Library Staff: Community & Family Engagement Webinar

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cover of the teen services competencies for library staffEach month, through December, YALSA is sponsoring free webinars (for members and non-members) on topics related to the Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff.

The August webinar (the full video recording is available after the break) on the topic of Community and Family Engagement was moderated by Bernie Farrell, Youth Programs and Family Services Coordinator at the Hennepin County Library (HCPL). Bernie was joined by staff from the public library and from Learning Dreams one of HCPL’s community partners. In their presentation the panelists discussed how library staff and community members work together to help emerging adults build self-advocacy skills, particularly those young people who are experiencing homelessness.
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