Outstanding Books for the College Bound: Volunteer Now!

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YALSA is currently looking for volunteers for our Outstanding Books for the College Bound committee. Here’s some more information about the committee:

Charge
To support lifelong learning by preparing a revised and updated edition of the annotated Outstanding Books for the College Bound booklist to guide students of all ages planning to continue their education beyond high school. The booklist is updated every five years.

Purpose
To provide reading recommendations to students of all ages who plan to continue their education beyond high school.

Audience
The lists are primarily intended for students in grades 9-12 who wish to enrich and strengthen their knowledge of various subject areas in both classic and contemporary literature.

The lists can be used both by students wishing to round out their reading before entering college and by those taking college entrance examinations such as the ACT and SAT.

The lists can also be used by young adults and adults who are lifelong learners wishing to increase or update their knowledge of literature in areas covered by the lists.

Committee Members
The committee will consist of 15 members who are appointed by the YALSA President-Elect for a one year term beginning May 1 through April 30 the following year

The committee size is 15 members, and an administrative assistant, if requested. Up to five members from ACRL may be appointed.

Selection Criteria

  • Standard selection criteria consonant with the ALA Library Bill of Rights shall be applied.
  • Although copyright is not a consideration, all titles should be widely available.
  • Each category may have a special set of criteria.
  • Books can be in print or out of print, in hardcover or paperback.
  • Books that have appeared on earlier Outstanding Books lists or are available in revised editions are eligible.

Categories
The committee may select up to five (5) categories. The traditional categories for Outstanding Books are: The Arts, Biography, Fiction, and Nonfiction. Poetry has sometimes been a separate category, sometimes not. A Now/Current category was used for a time. Plays have been a subcategory of The Arts. There may be some variance in selected categories depending on the trends in society and in publishing. There may be subcategories, as well.

If you are interested in volunteering, you can access our YALSA Volunteer form with this link: https://www.ala.org/CFApps/volunteer/form.cfm 

As you fill out the nomination form, please refer to my post from last fall: How to Fill Out YALSA’s Volunteer Form.  Please email me (President-elect, Colleen Seisser) with your interest as that will expedite the review of your application and ensure I have eyes on it. You must be a current YALSA member and you must not already have three ALA volunteer commitments.

Respectfully submitted by YALSA President-Elect, Colleen Seisser

Volunteer for a YALSA Strategic Committee!

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YALSA is currently looking for volunteers for our Strategic Committees. The purpose of a strategic committee is to help carry out the business of the association by handling matters such as membership recruitment, fundraising, and much more.  If you have not served on a committee before and would like to help YALSA carry out the work of the association, strategic committees are where you can get your start. All Strategic Committees are 100% virtual. 

We are looking for volunteers for the following Strategic Committees:

  • Board Development Committee
    • To develop in conjunction with the board activities and materials for: board orientation, on-going board training, and annual board member self-assessments, board assessments, and board roles and responsibilities.
    • To pay attention to board composition and needs and assess board effectiveness. 
    • To identify and cultivate members for leadership positions, and to annually develop a slate of candidates for board positions. When building the slate, seek out the most qualified individuals and provide for broad representation, as outlined in YALSA’s Statement on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
    • To educate members about governance and service on the YALSA Board, including conducting necessary outreach via an array of avenues to ensure diverse representation.
    • To assist members in preparing for the election such as through a candidates’ forum or candidate interviews.
    • To review the process after each election and make recommendations for the next cycle.  
    • Membership: 5-7 virtual members, who have governance experience, including the chair.  At least one member will have served on a recent Board Development Committee, and no more than two may be current members of the Board.  The immediate past president will serve as chair during their term.
    • Term: July 1 through June 30.
  • Division & Membership Promotion
    • To work with staff to develop and pursue an aggressive and continuous campaign to recruit and retain members for YALSA
    • To promote the association to colleagues and to key partners as defined in the YALSA Implementation Plan
    • To promote and maintain good relations with existing members through activities such as the member booth at conferences, recognition of member anniversaries, and outreach to lapsed members.
    • Committee Size: 5-7 virtual members, including chair
    • Term:  July 1, through June 30
  • Financial Advancement
    • Provide oversight and continued enhancement of the Friends of YALSA program, including promotion, fundraising and donor recognition.  
    • Work with the Board year-round to create and implement virtual fundraising campaigns and fundraising efforts at conferences, aimed at both members and nonmembers, to support the $195,000  worth of scholarships and stipends YALSA gives out annually. 
    • Periodically review YALSA’s Fundraising Toolkit and make updates, as needed. 
    • Size – 1 chair, who sits ex-officio on the YALSA board, and 6 virtual members 
    • Term:  July 1, through June 30
  • Interdivisional Committee on School/Public Library Cooperation
    • Charge: This joint committee will identify, develop, promote and disseminate information on effective cooperative or collaborative projects that link schools and public libraries.
    • Function:
      • Maintain and update the resources that have been compiled on the ALSC website
      • Develop training workshops and/or programs on cooperative or collaborative projects and present them at conferences, institutes, online, and for other organizations serving youth
      • Detail findings in articles, books, blogs, etc. for division publications
      • Update the School/Public Library Collaboration Toolkit as needed
      • Term: 1 year
  • 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
    • To make recommendations on other appropriate policy and process matters. 
    • Size: 1 chair, who sits ex-officio on the YALSA board, and 6 virtual members including at least two members from the previous year. 
    • Term:  July 1, through June 30
  • Outstanding Books for the College Bound
    • To support lifelong learning by preparing a revised and updated edition of the annotated Outstanding Books for the College Bound booklist to guide students of all ages planning to continue their education beyond high school. The booklist is updated every five years.
    • Size: 15 members, and an administrative assistant, if requested. Up to five members from ACRL may be appointed.
    • Term: May 1 through April 30 the following year
  • Social Media Marketing
    • Widely market YALSA selection lists (Amazing Audiobooks, Best Fiction for Young Adults, Great Graphic Novels, and Quick Picks) for the current and previous years and the Teens’ Top Ten list.
    • Share member recognition of volunteer efforts, and support for the YALSA Symposium and the Youth Media Awards events.
    • Members complete weekly assignments, for which volume can vary based on the output and needs of the Chairs of the YALSA selection lists. 
    • Term: 14-month term from November 1, 2023 to the following December 31, 2024. 
    • Size: 3-4 committee members and one chair.
  • 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 Tober
    • 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. 
    • Committee size: 7 virtual members including the Chair and at least two members from the previous year.  
    • Term: July 1 through June30

If you are interested in volunteering, you can access our YALSA Volunteer form with this link: https://www.ala.org/CFApps/volunteer/form.cfm 

As you fill out the nomination form, please refer to my post from last fall: How to Fill Out YALSA’s Volunteer Form.  Please email me (President-elect, Colleen Seisser) with your interest as that will expedite the review of your application and ensure I have eyes on it. You must be a current YALSA member and you must not already have three ALA volunteer commitments.

Respectfully submitted by YALSA President-Elect, Colleen Seisser

Volunteer for a YALSA Advisory Board!

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YALSA is currently looking for volunteers for our Advisory Boards. An Advisory Board serves in an advisory capacity to the Member Managers and Editors of the YALSA Blog, YALSA’s Young Adult Library Services eJournal (YALS), YALSA’s Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults (JRYLA), and the YALSA Hub Blog.

We are looking for volunteers for the following Advisory Boards:

  • 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.
    • To create messages and content to promote the blog and the journal and to cross-populate each to highlight the content and focus of each publication.
    • To work to ensure that key YALSA guidelines, resources, initiatives, etc. are integrated into the blog and the journal.
    • To assist with the search process for a new editor or member manager, when appropriate.
    • Term:  July 1, through June 30.
    • Committee Size: 5 virtual members including at least two members from the previous year, plus the co-chairs
  • 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, who also acts as Chair, 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.
    • Size: 7 virtual members including Member Manager, who is the chair, and two members from the previous year.
    • Term: July 1, through June 30
  • Research Journal Advisory Board & Research Committee
    • For 2023-24 we will combine the Research Journal Advisory Board and the Research committee to see how the work goes.
    • Oversee the peer reviewing process as outlined in the Refereeing Process Guidelines as approved by the YALSA Board of Directors.
    • 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.
    • 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 Research Agenda as needed and to liaise with ALA’s Committee on Research & Statistics.
    • Size: 7 virtual members, including Chair and at least two members from the previous year.
    • Term: July 1 through June 30
    • The Chair will be the Liaison to ALA’s Committee on Research & Statistics.

If you are interested in volunteering, you can access our YALSA Volunteer form with this link: https://www.ala.org/CFApps/volunteer/form.cfm 

As you fill out the nomination form, please refer to my post from last fall: How to Fill Out YALSA’s Volunteer Form.  Please email me (President-elect, Colleen Seisser) with your interest as that will expedite the review of your application and ensure I have eyes on it. You must be a current YALSA member and you must not already have three ALA volunteer commitments.

Respectfully submitted by YALSA President-Elect, Colleen Seisser

Volunteer for a YALSA Task Force!

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YALSA is currently looking for volunteers for task forces. A task force is an action-oriented membership group whose charge is to address specific goals, complete a specific task, or to consider a particular issue. There may be a designated time frame defined by the nature of the task or set forth in the function statement. Usually task forces have shorter terms than our other volunteer opportunities so they are perfect for those that may not be able to commit to a longer term or that want to get their feet wet with volunteering for YALSA.

Functions of a task force may include the following:

  • Gathering information and making recommendations
  • Studying an issue and preparing a report
  • Carrying out a specific project or activity
  • Conducting programs at conferences
  • Establishing committees or other subunits

We are looking for volunteers for the following task forces:

  • Presidential Initiatives Implementation Task Force
    • This is the task force that will assist me, President-elect Colleen Seisser, during my Presidential year in the following:
      • 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. 
      • As appropriate, collaborate with relevant YALSA leaders and groups to implement theme-related activities, including but not limited to the blog managers, journal editors, and committee chairs.
      • Assists the YALSA President in planning the President’s Program at ALA Annual.
      • Taskforce size: 5 – 7 virtual members including chair.
      • Term: 1 year term starting July 1 ending June 30 of the following year. 
  • Symposium Evaluation Taskforce
    • The Symposium Evaluation taskforce will examine four scenarios the YALSA Executive Committee created for possible future scenarios for the YALSA Symposium to help determine the course for the 2024 YALSA Symposium.
      • ➢ Scenario 1: Continue annual in person symposium
      • ➢ Scenario 2: Hybrid Symposium like the 2021 Symposium in Reno
      • ➢ Scenario 3: Virtual Symposium
      • ➢ Scenario 4: Biannual Model, return to Symposium every other year.
    • The taskforce will take up the four scenarios and work with the YALSA Program Officer and ALA Conference Services to fully examine the financial impact of each scenario with the addition of member feedback for each scenario.
    • The ultimate goal is to examine the sustainability of the YA Symposium and to determine the best course of action beginning with the YA Symposium in 2024.
    • Term: February 10, 2023 with a preliminary report presented at Annual 2023.
    • Taskforce size: 3- 5 virtual members including chair.
  • Symposium Planning and Marketing Taskforce
    • To assist YALSA’s Program Officer with the planning and marketing of the conference, including vetting papers and proposals, vetting scholarship applications, assisting the Program Officer with identifying authors and keynote speakers, and leveraging social media tools to promote the event and scholarship opportunities, and more.
    • Members will regularly share content via social media and through their state and local networks to build excitement for and share information about the event.
    • Members will work with YALSA’s Communications Specialist to assist with the implementation of a marketing plan.
    • Size: 5 to 7 virtual members, including the chair.
    • Term: January 25 through November 30
  • Teen Programming HQ Taskforce
    • The Teen Programming HQ Task Force will work to determine the future of the Teen Programming HQ website using the survey results from 2021.
    • The task force will focus on content creation, marketing, oversight, and aligning with our other member resources.
    • Term: July 1, 2023 through January 1, 2024.
    • Committee Size: 5-7 virtual members including chair

If you are interested in volunteering, you can access our YALSA Volunteer form with this link: https://www.ala.org/CFApps/volunteer/form.cfm 

As you fill out the nomination form, please refer to my post from last fall: How to Fill Out YALSA’s Volunteer Form.  Please email me (President-elect, Colleen Seisser) with your interest as that will expedite the review of your application and ensure I have eyes on it. You must be a current YALSA member and you must not already have three ALA volunteer commitments.

Respectfully submitted by YALSA President-Elect, Colleen Seisser

NEW YALSA Volunteer Positions Open!

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As President-Elect of YALSA, it is my role to make this year’s appointments. As I have been very transparent about this year, YALSA is experiencing a volunteer shortage. This especially holds true as we look this spring to appoint members to our annual strategic committees and advisory boards, and for our task forces.

Below you will find our current committees for which we are seeing YALSA member volunteers. If you are interested in any of these positions, please fill out our volunteer form and also please email me (President-elect, Colleen Seisser) with your interest as that will expedite the review of your application and ensure I have eyes on it. You must be a current YALSA member and you must not already have three ALA volunteer commitments.

As you fill out the nomination form, please refer to my post from last fall: How to Fill Out YALSA’s Volunteer Form. A reminder that if you want to serve a second term on the same strategic committee or advisory board, you must fill out the volunteer form again for this appointment process. When I review the applications via ALA’s dashboard, they show up in order by date and I have no way of knowing if you want to serve a second term.

Here’s the current list of open strategic committees, advisory boards, and task forces. Each of these are linked to their YALSA site (where available) for more information on each opportunity:

Please watch the YALSA Blog and the YALSA Connect space in the next couple of weeks, as there will be more thorough posts reviewing the types of opportunities involved for each of these volunteer positions.

Respectfully summitted by Colleen Seisser, YALSA President-Elect

The Hub Member Manager Sought for 2023-2024 Term

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YALSA is seeking a member manager for its collection development and content curation blog, The Hub for 2023-2024 term. We would like to thank Stephanie Johnson for the outstanding work and dedication she has put into The Hub the last year.

The member manager will serve a one-year term starting February 1, 2023, with an option to renew based on performance. Main responsibilities include leading an advisory board to provide oversight in creating, soliciting, and managing content for the blog, as well as recruiting bloggers. Additionally, the member manager will help manage the selected lists blogging teams and the dissemination of the selected lists, as well as the promotion and technical maintenance of the blog.

See the list of qualifications and responsibilities below.

List of Qualifications:

  1. Strong project management and organizational skills
  2. Ability to delegate work and to manage a variety of contributors and volunteers
  3. Dynamic, self-motivated individual
  4. Excellent verbal and written communications skills, in order to develop content and communicate with potential content providers
  5. Experience in web publishing with responsibilities including but not limited to: utilizing video clips, audio, and social media, maintaining a high standard of writing, and ensuring compliance with policies created for the maintenance of the site
  6. Knowledge of HTML and WordPress, which YALSA uses for administration of blog sites; as well as knowledge of plugins, tagging, categories, and other WordPress tools
  7. PHP knowledge a plus
  8. Ability to set and meet deadlines
  9. Knowledge of best practices and current trends in collection development for and with teens in libraries
  10. Ability to work well in a team environment
  11. Ability to work well in a mostly virtual setting, including using tools such as Google Drive, Google Calendar, Zoom, etc. to coordinate work and communicate with others
  12. Personal membership in YALSA
  13. A commitment to advancing the recommendations YALSA outlined in its report, The Future of Library Services for and with Teens: a Call to Action and Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff
  14. A commitment to advancing and supporting YALSA’s mission and EDI Plan.
    High ethical standards and no real or perceived conflict of interest with YALSA or its portfolio of print and web publications


Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Oversight & Coordination

  • Communicate with the Advisory Board, Selected List Blogging Team Leaders, and YALSA Communications Specialist on a regular basis to generate ideas for content, assign tasks, discuss marketing strategies, and discuss site management
  • Work with the YALS and JRLYA editors and YALSAblog and Teen Programming HQ managers as appropriate to coordinate dissemination of information to members and the library community.
  • Maintain communication with YALSA member groups whose work relates to collection development and content curation
  • Oversee and help manage the posting and promotion of the selected lists
  • Follow all established and relevant ALA and YALSA policies and guidelines, enforce them as necessary and periodically conduct a review of them to ensure relevancy and currency
  • Direct questions about sponsorships, advertising, etc. to YALSA’s Executive Director
  • Develop a calendar for content, based on YALSA events and activities as well as those going on in the larger community related to collecting and curating library materials for and with teens
  • Write reports prior to the Annual Conference and Midwinter Meeting for submission to the YALSA Board of Directors

Seek Out & Manage Content & Contributors

  • With the Advisory Board, review and edit content submitted to the site to make sure the quality is acceptable, that it is aligned with YALSA principles, and that it includes YALSA branding prior to posting, when appropriate
  • With the Advisory Board, manage postings regularly to guarantee quality of content and appropriate tagging and category identification
  • With the Advisory Board, recruit a diverse group of contributors on a regular basis, which may include but is not limited to: YALSA members, authors and teens
  • Communicate regularly with bloggers to solicit content, share news, motivate bloggers, develop a blogging schedule, etc.
  • Interact with and provide any necessary training to contributors as needed at ALA’s Annual Conference, Midwinter Meeting, or YALSA’s Symposium and via virtual means
  • Effectively motivate, support and manage a large and fluctuating group of contributors and volunteers
  • Work with the Advisory Board to manage comments and spam daily to guarantee that the blog content is appropriate

Promotion

  • Attend ALA and YALSA events to recruit contributors and inform member groups about the site
  • Answer questions and inquiries about the site in a timely fashion
  • Work with YALSAblog Member Manager to cross-promote the blogs and collaborate on projects that advance YALSA’s Organizational Plan
  • Utilize social media to increase awareness of the Hub and its content


Technical Maintenance

  • Work with YALSA’s Communications Specialist as appropriate to update and manage blog software
  • Monitor new technologies as they impact the site: add-ons and plug-ins to blog software, widgets or applications for hand-held devices, etc.


Selected Lists and Bloggers

  • Select bloggers and team leads for YALSA’s book lists: Amazing Audiobooks, Quick Picks, Best Fiction, and Great Graphic Novels for the Hub from volunteer applications with support from YALSA staff
  • Review applications for Selected List Teams and build a balanced roster for each team in terms of:
    • A balanced geographic distribution of members on the team
    • Representation of all library types (school, public, academic)
    • Inclusion of both younger and older adolescent focus of committee members
    • Representation of a variety of experience levels of team members
    • Diversity of team members in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, etc.
  • With Coordinators, facilitate the work of these blogging teams on The Hub by communicating with bloggers about editing and scheduling of reviews
  • Support the dissemination and promotion of final lists
  • Work with the Advisory and the Award and Selected List Oversight Committee to oversee training for Selected List Teams and leverage existing YALSA resources to do so, and develop new as needed
  • Provide a template and sample posts for the blogging teams, and other resources as called for.
  • Communicate regularly with Selected List Team Leads
  • Work with the Advisory Board to update and/or create guidelines for the Hub, including public comment guidelines, so that they accommodate selected list efforts
  • Sit in on virtual meetings of Selected List Teams, as needed
  • Offer guidance, support, and expertise for Team Leads throughout term as needed
  • Communicates with YALSA Board and staff regarding the possible need to expand into a co-manager format, and/or increase the size or change the make-up of the Advisory Board
  • Communicates with YALSA staff regarding any possible back-end improvements needed to the site to accommodate the selected list effort

The member manager will receive an honorarium for their one-year term, as well as a small stipend to attend YALSA/ALA conferences. Please note that this is not a salaried staff position, but a member volunteer opportunity. YALSA membership is required.

Submit a resume and cover letter to YALSA’s Executive Director, LaMoya Burks via email by February 13, 2023 with applicable management, writing and web publishing experience. Familiarity with PHP, WordPress, HTML, and social media preferred, but not required.

Volunteer for Book Awards and Selection List Oversight Committees

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Hi everyone!

We are in need of members to volunteer for the Book Award and Selected List Oversight committees. Traditionally we have appointed one oversight committee for all of our book awards and selected lists, but in 2020 the YALSA Board approved the creation of a Selected List Oversight committees. We need members for both a book award and a selected list oversight committee to be separate from the Book Award Oversight committee. However, with our current volunteer shortage, we are aware that we may need to return to one committee to serve both types of committees. If that is the case for this year, I promise to work with the YALSA Board to make sure we do so.

Here’s a little bit about the committees:

Selection List Oversight Committee

The Selection Lists Oversight Committee stems from the responsibilities of the manager of The HUB having to maintain that site along with being the sole liaison to the chairs and members of the four YALSA Selection Lists (Best Fiction, Amazing Audiobooks, Great Graphic Novels, and Quick Picks). This committee assists the The Hub Manager and allows the selection lists to be stronger and will allow for responses to the needs of selection list members in a timely manner.

Charge:
To ensure efficient functioning of YALSA’s selection list committees. To help interpret existing policy for committee operations based on a thorough knowledge of YALSA policy, committee operation, background, and experience. To collect, analyze and respond to quarterly chair reports. To summarize, analyze and evaluate periodically for the YALSA Board the progress and concerns of the selection list committees. To facilitate communication among selection list committees and to identify common areas of concern and identify solutions. To coordinate training and orientation for in-coming committee members. To note particular abilities of committee members in the work of the organization and to share this information with the Board and nominating committees.


5-7 members, including a chair

One year term with members have the opportunity of renewing for one second term.

Book Award Oversight Committee

Charge

To ensure efficient functioning of YALSA’s award committees. To advise committee chairs on recommended procedures for committee operations based on a thorough knowledge of YALSA policy, committee operation, background, and experience. To collect, analyze and respond to quarterly chair reports.  To summarize, analyze and evaluate periodically for the YALSA Board the progress and concerns of the award committees. To facilitate communication among award committees and to identify common areas of concern and identify solutions. To coordinate training and orientation for in-coming committee members.  To note particular abilities of committee members in the work of the organization and to share this information with the Board and nominating committees.

5 – 7  virtual members

One year term with members have the opportunity of renewing for one second term.

If you think either of these opportunities is a good fit for you, please access our Volunteer Form (https://www.ala.org/CFApps/volunteer/form.cfm) and complete it. Please make sure to indicate on the form that you are interested in the Book Award or the Selected List oversight committee, or you can also select both! I will be appointing members as I am able to review applications, and hope to have the committees appointed by the end of February. When you do apply, your application review will be expedited if you email me, President-Elect Colleen Seisser, directly.

If you have any issues accessing the volunteer form, please try to clear your cookies first and then try another web browser. If that does not work, please contact a YALSA Staff person.

Respectively submitted by

Colleen Seisser

YALSA President-Elect

Life as a YALSA ALA Liaison by Ziba Perez

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In March of 2022 I saw a post via ALA Connect to apply for the ALA Liaison position in the Young Adult Library Services Association:

“Does networking with folks around the country sound intriguing? Is serving as a connector with leaders to advance youth interests your jam? You might consider applying for the ALA Liaison position at YALSA!” -Kelly Czarnecki

YALSA Past President

My answers to these questions are yes, yes and yes so I applied to volunteer as the ALA YALSA Liaison.

In May of 2022 I was contacted for a brief interview based on my application and then I was appointed by YALSA President Franklin Escobedo to the position. 

To prepare for my term of July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023, I contacted Kelsey Ford to see what Kelsey’s term entailed as the 2021-2022 liaison. Kelsey walked me through the committees that were actively meeting via Zoom and introduced me to the chairs via email as the incoming liaison to take her place after returning from ALA Annual in D.C. June 23-28, 2022.

I jumped in and had my first committee meeting representing YALSA in August of 2022 at the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee. Most committees don’t meet in July because they just met in person at the ALA Annual Conference in June. In September I attended the YALSA 2022-2023 Board Orientation and was added to the online directory.

My favorite committee so far to attend as a liaison for YALSA is the ALA Conference Committee! My first meeting with ALA CONF was on September 20th, 2022 at 8am Pacific Time. We were able to vote for our top 2023 LibLearnX Speaker considerations in New Orleans! I was always curious to see how conference guest speakers/authors were invited to speak at conferences and now I got to take part in it! Most recently we met on Tuesday, November 29th at 8 am PT for 3 hours to go over ALA Annual in Chicago and vote for our top potential author/speakers for June 22-27, 2023 https://2023.alaannual.org

In conclusion, I highly recommend applying for this 2023-2024 position. Did I mention you have access to a $1000 stipend for attending the conferences? “If there’s financial need, up to $1,000 in total funds can be provided to the liaison to defray the cost of attending two of ALA’s signature Meetings.” https://www.ala.org/yalsa/ala-liaison 

Submitted by Ziba Perez, YALSA ALA Liaison

Young Adult Librarian II
Palisades Branch Library

If you’re interested in being YALSA’s next ALA Liaison, please watch YALSA Blog, YALSA eNews, and our YALSA Connect spaces for announcements for applying for the 2023-24 ALA Liaison position this Spring 2023. The next ALA Liaison’s term will begin July 1, 2023.

YALSA Book/Selected Lists and other Volunteer Updates

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As President-Elect of YALSA, it is my role to make this year’s YALSA volunteer appointments. As I mentioned in my last post about volunteers, we have been experiencing volunteer shortages recently. I am happy to report that I have worked with YALSA Staff, Letitia Smith, to fill all of our selected list and book award committees this month of December. We have reached out to a majority of members at this point and are working to get the final appointments accepted. We also have a good list of alternates in case there is a conflict and one of our appointed members cannot accept the position. For those of you that have applied, if you don’t hear from YALSA in the coming weeks, please do apply next fall when our next round of appointments for book and selected lists open up (usually September).

A note: the Pura Belpré YALSA committee members have yet to be finalized, as it is a joint committee it is taking a little more time that we had expected.

For those of you that have been appointed we do plan to have some training for you all mid-January. I will be working with our book award and selection list oversight committee chairs to coordinate this training and I will also make sure we get some chair training scheduled in January as well. We plan to have the training recorded for easy access by members at any time.

Some good first steps for those of you who have accepted an appointment is to get familiar with your committee’s manual or policies/procedures. You can access selected lists pages that list the manuals/polices from this site: https://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/booklists and you can access the book award lists pages from this site: https://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/bookawards. All you need to do is click on the link with your committee name to find the list of resources. Once we get rosters finalized in the coming weeks, you will hear from your committee chair for next steps.

I also want to take the opportunity to address how the YALSA Board is working to address some of the challenges we are facing from a shortage of volunteers. Here’s what we have accomplished so far:

  1. The only member award jury that has convened this year is the Joann Sweetland Lum Memorial Grant jury. All other juried awards have been compiled into a blind review for our YALSA Board members. They will be reviewing applications and selecting winners by the end of January. Just like volunteer positions, our member awards also did not receive as many applications as in the past. Please make sure you apply next fall for one of our member awards! If not you might be missing out on a great opportunity to provide more resources to yourself and/or your library.
  2. The following committees are on hiatus until July 1 due to lack of committee members: Organization and Bylaws, Division Membership and Promotion
  3. We are currently looking to create a conference committee that would work across all conferences (LibLearnX, Annual, YALSA Symposium) for planning and coordination of events, among other duties. This doesn’t mean that the Local Arrangements and Symposium Task Forces will go away, just the way they operate will be different. We still need the volunteers on the ground at the conferences but how each of those teams are coordinated might look different. More details will come as the committee is formed
  4. Our Teen Programming HQ task force was also never convened. This task force was to take a look at the Teen Programming HQ Site (a site that will have to be moved to an ALA domain) and how to improve functionality and also how to create content, as in years past it was the former Teen Programming HQ manager that would crowdsource and create a majority of the content for the site. We hope to try again at convening the task force for next year, and in the meantime the Board will plan to also take a look at the Teen Programming HQ site as it connects with our strategic plan, and what might be able to be done at the Board level to keep the site moving forward.
  5. We are also looking at some of our strategic committees alongside our current strategic plan, and have a long range goal of combining any strategic committees that are doing similar work and/or ceasing and strategic committees that do not align with our current goals

These strategies are only in effect for this year (until July 1, 2023), and will be re-evaluated by each new President-Elect to determine, with the Board of Directors, if these strategies should continue, return to their previous iteration, or if there are new strategies that can be used.

Please be on the lookout here at the YALSA Blog and in our YALSA Connect spaces for more updates about all things volunteering! In the new year we already are planning to look for members to volunteer for the next Outstanding Books for the College Bound Selection committee, as well as new member managers for our HUB and YALSA Blogs. More information to come on those opportunities in January.

Respectfully submitted by Colleen Seisser, YALSA President-Elect

YALSA needs Volunteers for Coveted positions!

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UPDATE 12/8/2022

Well dang, YALSA members you really stepped up! After I put out the call for volunteers two days ago, I got an influx of interest from members. I was able to get the volunteers needed for the Book Award and Selected List committees with plenty of alternates, but if you would still like to apply I will save your name as an alternate in case something doesn’t work out with one of the appointees.

If you do decide to apply and don’t hear from us by the end of December (when I anticipate all the book awards and selected list appointments to be finalized), please do apply again next Fall when we will appoint the next round of book and selected list committees.

A few things from reading all of your wonderful emails–you all are so talented!:

  • For Book Awards you have to apply each year, because the form changes each year and the President-Elect cannot see the previous year’s applications
  • Book and Selected list awards applications open up in September
  • Strategic Committees open up in January
  • For Book Awards and Selected lists, YALSA has a conflict of interest policy that is helpful to review when you are considering to apply
  • For everyone that is appointed, you should hear from Letitia Smith first who will send you a form that you need to complete to accept the appointment. There will be some limbo time as Letitia works to compile the rosters
  • Once the rosters are compiled and sent out, your Chair will be in touch as will I to share training information

We still need to fill out our 2023 Election Slate, so if you have ever been interested in governance work please reach out to YALSA Past-President Kelly Czarnecki via email.

As President-Elect of YALSA, it is my role to make this year’s appointments. As I transitioned into my President-Elect role this summer, I observed what my fellow Board members were already noticing and sharing: we are experiencing a volunteer shortage.

At this time, I have completed the first round of our Book Award and Selected Lists appointments. Selected Lists volunteers have been contacted last week (11/28), and Book Award volunteers will be contacted next week (12/12). However, we still need the following positions filled as I have appointed everyone who has applied this year and we have no alternates:

If you are interested in any of these positions, please fill out our volunteer form and also please email me (President-elect, Colleen Seisser) with your interest as that will expedite the review of your application and ensure I have eyes on it. You must be a current YALSA member and you must not already have three ALA volunteer commitments.

Additionally, we are also looking for members for the Pura Belpré committee. For this committee you must be a current YALSA member, you must not already have three ALA volunteer commitments, and Committee members should possess a self-declared fluent reading knowledge of Spanish. If you are interested in serving on the Pura Belpré committee please email YALSA President Franklin Escobedo and President-Elect Colleen Seisser.

Finally, we do not have enough volunteers to complete our 2023 Election Slate. If you are interested in serving as YALSA President-Elect, Fiscal Officer, or a Board Director at Large, please email YALSA Past-President Kelly Czarnecki immediately. We are past due on our slate and only have two volunteers so far. Without a complete slate, we will not be able to govern effectively next year.

I hope to have more information to you in the coming weeks about short term strategies we are beginning to employ to deal with our current volunteer shortage.

Respectfully submitted by Colleen Seisser, YALSA President-Elect