YALSA Leadership Opportunity! Seeking a Member Manager for Teen Programming HQ

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YALSA is seeking a Member Manager for its programming database, Teen Programming HQ for a one year term starting around March 1. The Member Manager will receive an honorarium of $500 per year. Apply by sending a resume and cover letter to Anna Lam at alam@ala.org by February 15.

Visit this previous YALSA Blog post from December to learn more about what the Teen Programming HQ manager is responsible for.

This position is a fantastic opportunity for a member that is specializing or wants to grow their experience in teen programming. The Teen Programming HQ is a free YALSA resource and the goal is for the site to connect with others who plan, implement, and evaluate teen library programs by sharing and discussing programming ideas. It’s YALSA’s Teen Programming Database (who doesn’t love a database!).

Some of the feature of Teen Programming HQ are:

Our previous Teen Programming HQ manager, Dawn Abron, worked very hard for the last few years to populate the site with some fantastic programming ideas and promote YALSA’s Teen Programming HQ as the number one YALSA resource for programming ideas. YALSA is looking for a new member manager that will be able to keep up the work and continue to make Teen Programming HQ as our members’ first choice for finding programming ideas, work to establish an advisory board for the Teen Programming HQ, and take the data from the current Teen Programming HQ feedback survey we are running to find improvements that can be made to the site.

To fill out the YALSA Teen Programming HQ Survey, please navigate to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HFCQWC9. The feedback you provide will help us assess and improve the database. Please complete the survey by February 22.

Members looking to gain experience improving their programming expertise, working with different groups, and stepping up their leadership experience should apply now! To apply, send your cover letter and resume to Anna Lam, YALSA Communications Specialist at alam@ala.org by February 15.

 

Posted by YALSA Board Director at Large, Colleen Seisser

A Note from the President

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Greetings, YALSA members and youth advocates, 

If you can’t believe it’s already the second week of August, I can’t believe I’ve one full month under my belt as YALSA President. For the month of July, several of YALSA staff including myself took a short break to regroup upon the completion of the YALSA board meetings in June. For July YALSA activities, I have the following items to report:

Completed Tasks

  • Met with Tammy Dillards-Steel, YALSA ED, and Sarah Evans, Education Advisory Committee chair, to provide support and direction for the new group’s initial work.
  • Facilitated YALSA’s annual Membership meeting via Zoom. I compiled links to the topics that were discussed which were sent out with the archived recording via Connect. A few members had additional concerns that are currently being followed up by the President.
  • Participated in a meeting with the always delightful Shauntee Simpson-Burns, BCALA President, to discuss potential future projects.

Mark your Calendars

  • YALSA Staff have furlough dates in August and will be unable to respond to email or complete any YALSA activities. Please be aware when reaching out to them that they will be unavailable starting Sunday, August 16 – Saturday, August 22, 2020.
  • August 13 at 2pm Eastern, School Librarians and School Counselors: Computing Together webinar
  • 2020 YALSA Symposium, now virtual, November 6-8, 2020. Follow the link to sign-up for the latest news concerning the virtual event.

Special Appreciation for:

  • Tina Lerno, YALSA Volunteer of the Year, reminded the board that this recognition is usually announced at the Membership meeting. I sincerely apologize for this oversight and applaud Tina’s self-advocacy. The board will pilot the opportunity for the Volunteer of the Year to be included in one of the future YALSA Board monthly chats as a way to further support members’ growth and interests in leadership.
  • M’issa, YALSA Member, reminded the board of YALSA’s EDI commitment. The request included an evaluation of the events that occurred at the 2019 Symposium so that strategies and solutions may be developed for handling similar situations that are supportive of inclusive environments. For YALSA to truly embrace EDI, it will require not only the continued work of the board, but the direction from voices willing to make some noise. I appreciate M’issa’s commitment to make some noise.

Relevant Stats & Data

  • It is unfortunate that due to the pandemic’s impact, membership statistics and donations received are currently unavailable to report for July.

Respectfully Submitted,

Amanda Barnhart
YALSA President 2020-2021

 

Meet 2020 YALSA Emerging Leader Sue Yang-Peace!

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At the Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia in January, YALSA leadership met Emerging Leader Sue Yang-Peace and asked her to write about her experiences in the field and as the 2020 YALSA-sponsored Emerging Leader. 

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First of all, I would like to thank YALSA, Todd, Tammy and Amanda for crashing the Emerging Leaders Social. It was such a pleasure to see them and put a face to such an amazing organization.

I had a bit of an unconventional start into the library world. I began as a patron looking to print coupons since both my husband and I were out of work. Essentially, we had to start over in our careers. The library was, to say the least, a miracle in our lives. I started as a volunteer and now, five years later I am a Youth Services Librarian for the Las Vegas Clark County (NV) Library District, and I couldn’t be more grateful. Every day I come into work absolutely loving what I do.

Receiving the news that I was going to be a part of the 2020 Emerging Leaders brought tears to my eyes, because it further validated my work as a librarian. I have always felt out of sorts, like an outsider coming into this line of work and I was always finding ways to feel validated in the work I do such as becoming a Spectrum Scholar. More importantly, being a part of Emerging Leaders, YALSA, ALSC, APALA, and ALA has connected me with the people that feel as passionately as I do about this field and motivate me to do more.

For the Emerging Leaders Project, I will be working on the 40th Anniversary of APALA along with five other Emerging Leaders. For this project we plan on interviewing library leaders about what APALA and ALA means to them, how APALA and ALA has led the way in various capacities, and their vision of APALA’s future.

Along with my work on Emerging Leaders, I am also on the ALSC Notable Children’s’ Media Committee and work full time as a Youth Services Librarian doing programs for ages 0-18. In the start of my career my strength was in early childhood, but now teens are my passion. On any given day, fifty or so teens walk into the library and say hi and we chat about their day. In order to engage them in the resources of the library, I experiment with all kinds of programs from bullet journals, knitting, lock-ins, painting, and whatever they ask for I try to accommodate and get the resources. It is definitely known throughout my library that I have a connection with the teens. People wonder how I do this and I really don’t do anything special. I see them, they are our patrons after all, and I treat them with the same respect as I would any other patron. I make sure they are seen and heard. I make sure they know that they are wanted at the library by making time to talk to them and listen to whatever it is they have to say. I do not see them as anything other than patrons and they deserve our help just any everyone else.

Thank you to YALSA for your support of my Emerging Leaders Program and I look forward to working more with YALSA in the future.

——

Thanks, Sue, for sharing your story and inspiring teens and those who work with teens to love every day they walk into their own libraries!

Todd Krueger, YALSA President 2019-2020 | Twitter: @toddbcpl

Photo credit: Tammy Dillard-Steels (l. to r. YALSA President-elect Amanda Barnhart; 2020 YALSA Emerging Leader Sue Yang-Peace; YALSA President Todd Krueger)

2019 Teen Summer Intern Program: Managing Teen Summer Interns – (Some) Mistakes Were Made

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The Ypsilanti District Library’s (YDL) 2019 Teen Summer Intern program was a great learning experience, not only for the teen interns, but also for the YDL staff! This was my first year managing teen interns at YDL and, as a result, I did not have my predecessor’s resources or anecdotes on past teen internships… I was starting from scratch for literally everything involving this process. I recruited for our internships mainly by word of mouth with our regular teen volunteers and patrons. I also added the application to our Teen Interest Page on the library’s website. All interested teens had to submit an application to me by June 1st in order to be considered. After distributing at least 12 applications in person, I only received five back, only three of which were totally complete. We had a lot of teens express interest after the deadline, which led into multiple conversations about prioritizing, managing deadlines and “there’s always next year”. Given the status of completed applications, my choices were pretty apparent and I hired the three teens who filled out their applications correctly and completely. I did have individual conversations with the other two teens about the incomplete status of their applications and encouraged them to try again next year, letting them know the reason as to why they were not selected. I felt like this aspect of the process was extremely important, as a lot of our teen patrons come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and are interested in working but lack work experience and 21st century career skills. This remained a constant theme throughout the summer with multiple conversations about anything from being late to cell phone use during shift times.

Photo by K. Scott

Once the interns were selected, we did a quick one-on-one session to go over expectations, tour the library spaces they would be working in and the supplies they were going to be using. They were also given their summer schedules based on their noted availability from their applications. In retrospect, as a time saver, I would plan for the future to have this be a more formal training that everyone attends at the same time. This would also ensure that the teens are all receiving the same information. I would also make sure to introduce the teens (maybe via email with their pictures, as well as walking them around for in-person introductions) to all the library staff, so they are familiar with the teen interns and understand why they are in the “staff-only” areas during the summer months.  One of our teen interns was incredibly shy and laconic. This was challenging for some of our librarians and library staff who did not work directly with the teen interns. Some misconstrued her demeanor as rude or unengaged. She also felt shy because there were a few staff members who kept forgetting her name and repeatedly did not recognize her. The only time she conveyed this to me was in her final evaluation and review meeting. In retrospect, I also wish I had hosted a couple mid-summer check-in meetings with the teen interns, as I could have hopefully made her feel more comfortable sooner and also allowed for more opportunities for her to engage with the staff members who did not know her. Providing the teens with nametags and lanyards would also have been helpful, to create a more “official” vibe for them when working at the library in their roles as interns. Lastly, and most importantly, I think managing library staff’s expectations for teen volunteers would be essential. Providing them in advance with information on the teen brain and how to engage teens would have been helpful for both staff and the teen interns. 

Photo by K. Scott

Our Summer Learning & Reading Challenge kicked off on June 15th, which was the first day our teen interns officially started working. Throughout the summer, our interns mostly helped with programs- prep, running the events, and cleanup. Overall, our internships were successful and it was a lot of fun getting to know the teens better and watching their confidence grow over the summer. The most heartwarming aspects were watching the interns learn how to create iPad book trailers and then engaging with youth patrons at our Library Lab STEM program, teaching the younger children how to create their own book trailers. It’s been a long, crazy-busy summer, but our teen interns were super helpful and it was so much fun getting to know them these past couple months!  I am already looking forward to implementing some more positive changes and improvements to our internship program for the summer of 2020!

 

Kelly Scott is the Teen Librarian at Ypsilanti District Library.

2019 Teen Summer Intern Program: From Summer Learning to Summer Leading at the Auburn Public Library

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The Auburn Public Library, northeast of metro Atlanta, currently serves a population of about 8,000 city residents, but is located in one of the most rapidly expanding areas in the state. Our small library draws in an average of 1,000 patrons per month just for its free programs, and is planning to expand later this year. As one can imagine, this number doubles or even triples during the summer months, and being able to hire interns to help handle the workload is a lifesaver!

Summer intern Christina Miller.

Thanks to Dollar General and YALSA, we were able to hire a part-time Summer Intern for eight weeks. We advertised the position for about a month via social media and at the two local high schools before conducting interviews. We received over 20 applications and interviewed 17 teens before deciding on Christina Miller, a 16 year-old rising high school senior, for her first paying job. Christina has grown up in our library, volunteering with us since she was 12. She came to the interview incredibly prepared with pages of notes and dressed more professionally than we had ever seen her, a sign that she was taking this opportunity seriously. We knew that she was the right choice for this position.

Summer intern Christina Miller.

Christina helped us with a little of everything over the summer. We offered a program every day of the week, including a free lunch program for youth 18 and under. She helped hand out summer reading prizes, take pictures, shelve, and interact with patrons at the information desk. But where Christina really shone was in helping lead teen programs. Our teen programs, for teens aged 12-19, took place on Thursday nights. One of our more popular programs that we repeated several times is Virtual Reality. We have a 40-inch TV set up in our teen section and an Occulus Rift system hooked up to it. Christina assisted with the setup of the device and by the end of the summer, she could operate it better than any staff member! She helped download updates, choose games, and we stepped back and let her run the show with the other teens. She was fair, making sure everyone got turns and keeping the audience engaged in the fun. She also ran her first-ever Dungeons and Dragons campaign sitting in the Dungeon Master chair to a group of seven very excited teens (we almost had to throw them out of the library at closing time).

 

Having an extra person to help during the summer was amazing, but seeing Christina step up and lead programs was an extraordinary experience. We provided her with tools and opportunities, and she performed beyond our highest expectations. We labeled our teen summer learning program a success for many reasons (higher participation, higher attendance), but watching Christina bloom with confidence was a highlight of the summer. Thank you, Dollar General and YALSA, for allowing us to be a part of your program – it changed lives. 

 

Bel Outwater is the Library Manager for the Auburn Public Library, part of the Piedmont Regional Library System serving Banks, Barrow, and Jackson counties in northeast Georgia. Working in a library combines her two passions: reading and helping people. She is obsessed with penguins, sloths, dinosaurs, and too many fandoms to count. 

Leading from Local: ALA joins the Aspen Ideas Festival

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This post was written by Marijke Visser, Associate Director and Senior Policy Advocate in the ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office

photo of Aspen Ideas LogoLibrary staff are community leaders everyday. They lead with humility, making space for and including diverse voices. Libraries are hyper-local, with programs and services that respond to community needs and priorities. Libraries are mission-driven and their value is collectively determined as they serve the entire community. These may not be “big ideas” to library staff, however, as I traveled from the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. to the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado, I considered that the core values that library staff adhere to are also held up as essential by leaders across the United States, in addressing national and global social, economic, and political challenges.

At the Festival, themes of empathy, equity and inclusion, innovation, collaboration, social responsibility, and community engagement were woven across plenary and concurrent sessions in tracts as diverse as Hope Made Visible, American Renewal, Economic Progress, Conservatism, Next World Order, and Art of the Story. Throughout the Festival, speakers and attendees were prompted to consider how successful local initiatives can and should inform national and global policies. Attendees, leaders from non-profit organizations, foundations, businesses, government, philanthropy, and associations, like ALA, were also challenged to consider what kind of leader we might each be. This challenge highlighted the fact that all of us have a voice and can play a leadership role where we work and in our communities. A final common theme in the sessions I attended explicitly connected leadership, community engagement, storytelling, and advocacy.
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The Most Dangerous Place on Earth

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In the novel The Most Dangerouse Place on Earth one of the female characters’ thinks to herself, “As if middle school were a safe haven…when in fact it was the most dangerous place on Earth.” Of course that sounds like teenage hyperbole, however I would say that if you think about it it’s more reality for many teens than one might want to admit. While teenage lives may have some of the outlines of a nightmare, there are many assets for library staff and community members to leverage in order to support the successful growth and development of all teens.

When I think of the assets that library staff can promote for and with teens I often think of the Santa Ana (CA) Public Library. I was fortunate to visit the main library a couple of years ago, after getting to know the teen librarian, Cheryl Eberly. The library building itself is nothing to “write home about.” The building is a 1960 structure that has quite a bit of wear and tear. However, when I was inside the building I didn’t really notice that. Why? Because from the time I walked in to the time I left (about two hours later) it was clear that this is a community library in which staff members (teens and adults) are embedded in the Santa Ana community and that the work that happens inside, and outside of the building, is completely centered on community needs.
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Peer to Peer Learning and Libraries: A Recipe for Success

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Peer to Peer Learning is shared knowledge learning that is not done by an instructor or another person of authority. It is all about people on the same level teaching each other what they know. 

Peer to Peer learning is not a new concept and can date back to Aristotle’s use of archons, student leaders and as an organized theory by Andrew Bell in 1795. It was later implemented into French and English schools in the late 19th century. Over the last 30 to 40 years, it has been increasingly popular in K-12 public schools. (Saga Briggs, (2013) How Peer Teaching Improves Student Learning and 10 Ways to Encourage It, opencolleges.edu) In Trends in Peer Learning, Keith J. Topping reviews the development of peer to peer learning from 1981-2006. He states that,

“types and definitions of peer learning are explored, together with questions of implementation integrity and consequent effectiveness and cost‐effectiveness. Benefits to helpers are now emphasized at least as much as benefits to those helped. In this previously under-theorized area, an integrated theoretical model of peer learning is now available. Peer learning has been extended in types and forms, in curriculum areas and in contexts of application beyond school. Engagement in helping now often encompasses all community members, including those with special needs. Social and emotional gains now attract as much interest as cognitive gains.” (Keith J. Topping (2005) Trends in Peer Learning, Educational Psychology, 25:6, 631-645, DOI: 10.1080/01443410500345172) 

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Strategic Committee Volunteer Opportunities – Now Available!

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Greetings YALSA members:

Are you looking for leadership opportunities and being a part of moving YALSA forward, while networking with colleagues? Serve on one of YALSA’s strategic committees, advisory boards or task forces! Most are virtual and do not require conference attendance. I will make appointments in February and March, work starts July 1 and are one year appointments (unless noted). The Committee Volunteer Form is NOW OPEN for 2019-20 opportunities.

Groups include:

  • AASL/ALSC/YALSA Committee on School & Public Library Cooperation
  • District Days
  • Division & Membership Promotion
  • Editorial Advisory Board (for YALS & the YALSAblog)
  • Financial Advancement
  • Hub Advisory Board
  • JRLYA Advisory Board
  • Organization & Bylaws
  • Research Committee
  • Summer Learning
  • Teens’ Top Ten Committee

Before submitting your Committee Volunteer Form (scroll down under “Sign Up to Participate”), view the committee FAQ and the committee responsibilities section in the YALSA handbook. Fill out the form by Feb. 1. Questions? Please contact me at todd.yalsa@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Todd Krueger, YALSA President-Elect

Leadership Symposium and DC visit report

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Dear YALSA members,

Each fall, the President-Elect of our organization joins the YALSA Executive Director to attend a leadership event to better understand the tenets of leading a nonprofit organization and how leadership styles may mesh and what improvements can be made to ensure a seamless transition and continuity for YALSA. Earlier this month, Executive Director Anita Mechler and I had the opportunity to attend ASAE‘s CEO Symposium in Washington DC, led by representatives from Tecker International. Tecker has worked with ALA and many of its divisions over the years to help with decision-making, strategic planning and training.

Held at the historic Watergate Hotel, this year’s event was of particular importance to YALSA leadership, as it was the first time that Anita had attended the event, so both of us were new to the training. Before the program started on Thursday, we took the opportunity on Wednesday afternoon to meet with local partners. Anita met with the ALA Washington Office and discussed matters of advocacy affecting YALSA and teens in general. Then the two of us connected and met with Kelcy Shepherd, Tim Carrigan and Sarah Fuller of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) where we had a very fruitful meeting discussing potential grant opportunities and partnerships that our organizations could jointly tackle. Finally, it was our great pleasure to meet with Abby Kiesa of 22×20 to further establish our working relationship. More information about all of these relationships will be forthcoming.

The ASAE CEO Symposium brought hundreds of nonprofit leaders from various fields together to discuss Board and leadership issues, trends, and behaviors. Key to the two-day event was the time that Anita and I spent speaking one-on-one on how our backgrounds and knowledge inform our decision-making and leadership styles. We took a modified Myers-Briggs test and learned our strengths and potential pitfalls as individuals and as partner leaders.  Responsibilities of Board members, fiduciary issues, governance models, and case studies were all covered in this whirlwind learning opportunity. As the next YALSA Strategic Plan will be determined in the coming months, the timing of this event was fortuitous to create a strong understanding between the Board leadership and our Executive Director. An added bonus was to spend time with fellow attendees ALSC Executive Director Aimee Strittmatter and ALSC President-Elect Cecilia McGowan. The four of us talked at great length about potential partnerships, both official and unofficial, between our divisions and simply enjoyed getting to know each other.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Todd Krueger, YALSA President-Elect

todd.yalsa@gmail.com