YALSA 301 at Annual 2019

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It is almost time for ALA Annual! I am looking forward to seeing many of you in Washington, DC, at the great YALSA events and programs that are scheduled!

Here is an important one to add to your schedule:

YALSA 301
Saturday, June 22nd from 9-10 am
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Room 159A-B

At YALSA 301, you can learn about YALSA leadership opportunities and ask questions of members of the YALSA Board Development Committee – all current or former YALSA leaders. It is a great time to meet other YALSA members who are also interested in leadership positions! Many of us volunteer our time to take on leadership roles within YALSA. Serving on the Board or chairing a committee is a win-win! YALSA benefits from your experiences and passion for teens, and you gain leadership, team building, and career building skills.

Not able to make it to conference? I encourage you to contact me or the other members of the Board Development Committee to learn more. Even if you are not ready to run for Board right now, we would love to talk with you about the exciting leadership opportunities that are available in YALSA!

The Board Development Committee is:

Sandra Hughes-Hassell, smhughes@email.unc.edu

Sarah Hill, gsarahthelibrarian@gmail.com

Carla Land, landc@lvccld.org

Melissa Malanuk, mmalanuk@gmail.com

Ritchie Momon, rmomon@mymcpl.org

Gail Tobin, gtobin@stdl.org

YALSA Leaders Needed

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YALSA Members,

YALSA needs your leadership. The 2020 YALSA Board Development Committee is looking for candidates for next year’s slate for the following Governance positions: President-Elect, 2 Board Directors-at-Large, and Fiscal Officer. Successful candidates will stand for election in the spring of 2020 and begin their term at the conclusion of the 2020 Annual Conference in Chicago.

For more information on the responsibilities of each role on the Board, please visit the Governance page and explore the links under Get Involved in Governance & Leadership.

Are you ready to put your name forward or to suggest one of your colleagues? Please submit the online nomination form by April 30, 2019 and a Board Development Committee member will be in touch. Pease note that completing the form does not automatically place an individual’s name on the ballot.

Have questions?  Please feel free to contact me at smhughes@email.unc.edu.

The Board Development Committee will also be hosting YALSA 301 at Annual 2019 in Washington, DC Saturday, June 22, from 9-10 am. Pencil it in and hope to see you there!

The work YALSA does depends on our members stepping up and volunteering for leadership positions. We hope you’ll take that step.

Sincerely,
Sandra Hughes-Hassell, Immediate Past President
Chair 2020 Board Development Committee

YALSA’s Virtual Candidates’ Forum: 2019 Election

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Save the date for March 7, 2019, for the virtual YALSA Candidates’ Forum, which will be moderated by Immediate Past President, Sandra Hughes-Hassell.  Drop in any time between 5:00 and 6:00pm, eastern, to meet the candidates for YALSA’s 2019 slate and hear them talk about YALSA initiatives. ALA candidates will also be joining us to share their vision for ALA.

Can’t make it?  The session will be recorded and distributed via YALSA’s weekly member eNews.  And be on the look-out for Candidate Interviews right here on the YALSAblog, which are coming in March. 

You can participate in the Forum via Zoom, a video conferencing platform, through one of two ways:

Video
https://zoom.us/j/392247429

or

Telephone
Dial by your location
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
Meeting ID: 392 247 429
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/acZm753VdS

Voting for YALSA and ALA elections opens on March 11 and runs through April 3.  A link to your ballot will be emailed to you from ALA.  Learn more on ALA’s web site.

Strategic Planning: Exciting Things Happening in Seattle

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Last Friday, the YALSA Board held its monthly informal call, and we were joined by Jonny Stax and Annette Rizzo from AdaptNation. AdaptNation is helping us create a new strategic plan to guide YALSA’s work for the next three-years. One of AdaptNation’s strengths is helping organizations integrate the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) into their work which is a priority of the Board. The goal of our call was to clarify scope and intent, identify processes and protocols, and answer any follow-up concerns or questions. We are all looking forward to engaging and thought-provoking conversations in Seattle!

In Seattle, the Board will participate in discussions and activities that will lead to the development of draft documents, and ultimately a finalized strategic plan. Board members will spend Friday afternoon in a two-hour Board EDI training session to learn EDI-infused practices. On Saturday, Board I will be devoted to a strategic session that will include a generative discussion and ultimately lead to the development of an implementation plan for the organization.

Board meetings are always open to observers – please join us in WSCC 203 on Saturday from 1:00-5:00 if you are interested in learning more about the processes we will use to develop our new strategic plan. Board II will take place from 4:00-5:00 in WSCC 203 and will be a regular business meeting. Again, observers are welcome.

If you won’t be in Seattle, follow @yalsa for live-Tweets from the Board meetings. Also, look for regular strategic planning updates on the YALSAblog!

If you have questions, please reach out to me, Crystle Martin, YALSA President, or Todd Krueger, YALSA President-Elect.

Advancing Diversity Taskforce Report

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Given the predominant whiteness and femaleness of the library profession and the increasing diversity of the populations served by libraries, it is crucial that Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) are at the forefront of our member’s minds and that we as an organization work to make YALSA a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization. Last Fall, as part of our EDI efforts, the YALSA Board assembled a taskforce, chaired by Nicole Cooke, to explore the challenges and opportunities library staff of diverse backgrounds face when connecting with YALSA by seeking feedback from both members and potential members and by researching industry best practices in EDI. Cooke and taskforce members Julie Winkelstein, Veronica Koven-Matasy, and Alice Son submitted their findings and recommendations to the Board in the Spring. The report was adopted by the Board and included as an attachment to Board document #4 which was approved prior to ALA Annual 2018. To make the report more visible to our members and to publicly recognize the work of the taskforce, we have included a link to the full report on the YALSA webpage. The Board thanks the Advancing Diversity Taskforce for their work and for laying the groundwork for YALSA to affirm our commitment to EDI.

Since receiving the report, the YALSA Board has taken a number of actions that were a direct result of the Advancing Diversity Taskforce’s recommendations. These include: adopting Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Next Steps, a Value of EDI Statement, and appointing a board member to serve as YALSA’s official liaison to the ALA Affiliates and Round Tables that focus on serving one or more traditionally underrepresented groups. We are currently in the process of updating the YALSA vision statement and intended impact statement for EDI inclusivity.  As soon as the revised statements have been approved by the Board, both will be posted to the YALSA website. The Board is also in the final stages of completing an EDI Plan.

While YALSA has made progress on EDI, our work is far from over. Crystle Martin has chosen Supporting Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion through Outcomes and Assessment as her presidential theme for 2018-2019. Specifically, she will focus on how assessment and outcomes can support EDI through the questions asked and approaches taken. It builds off the recommendations made by the Advancing Diversity Taskforce and expands YALSA’s commitment to EDI. Additionally, the YALSA Board is in the beginning stages of strategic planning. EDI will be a core component of the planning process and of our new strategic plan.

We will continue to provide updates on the YALSA blog and through other YALSA communication channels. We welcome your thoughts and ideas as we continue to work with you to ensure that all teens feel included and empowered in library and information spaces.

Thanks for all you do for teens and for YALSA.

Sandra Hughes-Hassell
YALSA Immediate Past President

Apply Now: New Innovation in Teen Services Award!

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The YALSA Board is excited to announce a new member award – the Innovation in Teen Services Award. The award, funded by Friends of YALSA (FOY), was established in 2018 by the YALSA Board to recognize a  member who has developed an innovative program in their library that has benefited teens in their community and that illustrates YALSA’s vision for teen services as outlined in the report: “The Future of Library Services for and with Teens: A Call to Action” and “Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff.” Innovation includes leveraging creative thinking, problem solving, and/or identifying novel solutions to challenges.  Innovation often involves risk-taking.

Nominations for this $500 award are open now through December 1, 2018. Self-nominations are welcome. To be eligible the nominee:

  • Must be a current personal member of ALA &YALSA.
  • Must work for and with teens in a library setting.

More about the award criteria and application materials can be found here.

Submit an application by December 1.

If you have any questions please contact Letitia Smith at lsmith@ala.org or at: 800/545-2433 x 4390.

The Board is looking forward to learning about the wonderful innovative projects our members are engaged in!

Thanks for all you do for teens and for YALSA!

Sandra Hughes-Hassell
YALSA Immediate Past President

Update YALSA Board Activities at ALA Annual 2018

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Colleagues-

The YALSA Board was busy at Annual 2018 in New Orleans. Here are some highlights.

On Friday, Sarah Hill, Todd Krueger, Beth Yoke and I provided training for our new Board members. Topics discussed included:

  • What does it mean to be a board member
  • Board culture and processes
  • Building skills & knowledge relating to association governance
  • An overview of YALSA’s organizational plan

On Saturday, at Board I, the Board adopted 17 Consent Items, which were items that were discussed and voted on previous to annual, including:

The Board voted to fill two Board Vacancies. I am pleased to announce that Vicki Emery will serve as YALSA’s Fiscal Officer and Trixie Dantis will serve as a Board Member at Large.
Read More →

YALSA’s Board Heads to New Orleans

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Hello, Colleagues-

The YALSA Board of Directors is headed to New Orleans for ALA’s 2018 Annual Meeting!

The agenda and related documents for our meetings are posted here.

Please feel free to attend our Board meetings on Saturday from 1:00-5:00 and/or on Sunday from 4:30-5:30. All of our meetings will be held in the Convention Center, room 212. YALSA adheres to an open board meeting policy which means we welcome all conference attendees and their contributions with the same respect afforded to fellow board members as detailed in this document.  Visitors to the board meeting are encouraged to share information and ask questions during the Open Forum part of the meeting, which is always the first item at the meeting.  To learn more about how in-person board meetings function and what to expect, visit the wiki.
Read More →

YALSA President’s Report – April/May 2018

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Colleagues-

I‘d like to begin by providing an update on the YALSA Executive director search. The search committee met yesterday and selected three candidates to interview in Chicago July 9th and 10th. If the process continues as scheduled, we should have a new Executive director in place by the end of August.

As you may know, the YALSA Board works year round. Since Midwinter we have been creating, discussing & voting on Board documents virtually. We are in the process of preparing for Annual so much of May has been devoted to planning agendas, writing Board documents, and coordinating with other ALA divisions and offices. Check out the documents we’ve approved since midwinter 2018 or will be discussing in New Orleans here.

YALSA has published a number of important documents and reports since Midwinter designed to support library staff in their work with teens including:

Read More →

National Library Legislative Day 2018

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Colleagues-

Last week, Beth Yoke and I traveled to Washington DC to participate in National Library Legislative Day – a two–day advocacy event that brings hundreds of librarians, library supporters, and patrons to Washington, D.C. to meet with their members of Congress and to rally support for library issues and policies. This year, the ALA Washington Office asked NLLD attendees to focus conversations with their Congressional representatives and their staffs on three key issues:

  1. Reauthorization of the Museum and Library Services Act
  2. Full funding for the Library Services Technology Act (LSTA) and Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL),for FY 2019
  3. Inviting representatives and their staff to visit their local libraries to see broadband access in action.

On Monday, after a full day of advocacy training, Beth and I attended a reception on Capitol Hill. Among the speakers were four teens who had been selected as the 2017 North Carolina Library Association Student Ambassadors. The teens spoke powerfully about how libraries have impacted their lives:

Libraries have personally impacted me in so many ways, including the opportunity to meet new people, learn new things and gain service and leadership skills. Alizdair Sebastien Ray

 

The library is a place where you can forget about reality and be present in the moment, where you can meet new people and develop new interests through the diverse programs it offers. Angelina Bayrak

 

It’s the perfect place to contemplate how we should handle our situations. Christina Haley Williams

One of the teens, Sam Kostiuk, created a video to share his experiences with libraries. Click here to view it.

In addition to attending ALA events, on Tuesday and Wednesday Beth and I met with representatives from the Department of Education (with AASL & ALSC), IMLS, the Afterschool Alliance, and the American Youth Policy Forum. Beth also met with the National Center for Cultural Competence.  These meetings were productive and Beth has already begun to follow up on our conversations.

Thanks to all of the YALSA members who participated in NLLD either in person, virtually, or by coordinating events in their communities.  Your advocacy efforts make a difference!

While participating in NLLD is important, we know that for libraries to be successful in our efforts to ensure federal funds and support for libraries, we need sustained, year round advocacy efforts. Read these 10+ ways you can take action and take a deep dive into all of the free advocacy tools and resources YALSA has on the web site.

Make sure to also reach out to your members of Congress during District Days – the time when they are back in their home districts. Invite them to come for a visit to the library and show them how you serve teens. Schedule a meeting with them at their local office to strengthen relations. YALSA has all sorts of free resources and tips to help you with this on the wiki.

Consider involving teens in your advocacy efforts like the NC Library Association did!  Visit the Youth Activism through Community Engagement wiki page for resources to help you and the teens you work with engage with their communities and advocate for issues like funding for libraries.

By stepping up our advocacy efforts we can help make the world a better place for all teens!

-Sandra Hughes-Hassell
YALSA President 2017-2018