Ever wanted to get to know theYALSA Board of Directors more? Here’s your chance! We’ll be posting fun mini-interviews with each board member all month long so you can get to know them a little better.
Stacey Shapiro, Director-At-Large
Name: Stacey Shapiro
Title & Library: YA/Programming Librarian, Cranford Public Library
Role on the Board: Director-at-Large
Year on the Board: 1st year in this position
What does YALSA mean to me?
SS: YALSA means access to a network of other young adult librarians who I can collaborate with and brainstorm with, all people who are dedicated to serving teens.
2. What are your hopes for the future of teen services?
SS: I hope that libraries all over the country realize how important it is to have a dedicated teen librarian and that welcoming them at this age means they’ll be library patrons for life.
3. What is your favorite YALSA Committee or Committee that you would love to be on again?
SS: It’s impossible, but I loved my Printz Committee, both the work, no matter how tiring, and the friends I made.
4. What’s your ultimate comfort food?
SS: Probably pizza!
5. What TV show or Movie do you watch on repeat? Or a book that you love reading when you’re in between new books?
SS: Well last year I reread the Locked Tomb series twice before Nona the Ninth came out. I keep hoping a character death won’t happen the second time….
6, What would you do or where would you go if you won the lotto?
SS: I would take at least a month off work (being realistic here!) and travel to the other side of the world: Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea. I want to do Hobbiton especially.
Want to run for YALSA Board? We’re looking for candidates for the 2024 ALA Election. If you will be at ALA Annual Conference in Chicago this summer, join us at YALSA 301 to learn more about YALSA Governance. Want to find out what the duties and responsibilities of the Director at Large are for the YALSA Board? Find them in the YALSA Handbook here. If you’ve been thinking about it, why not fill out the nomination form today? Just click here.
Ever wanted to get to know theYALSA Board of Directors more? Here’s your chance! We’ll be posting fun mini-interviews with each board member all month long so you can get to know them a little better.
Melanie Wachsmann, Director-at-Large
Name: Melanie Wachsmann
Title & Library: Library Director, Lone Star College-CyFair
Role on the Board: Director at Large
Year on the Board: 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year: (MW: Not really sure how to answer this one since I have been filling in for people who drop off)*
What does YALSA mean to me?
MW: YALSA feels like home. As a brand new librarian, YALSA was the group that welcomed me and gave me the opportunity to get involved in meaningful ways. It allowed me to meet people from all over the country and to advocate and provide services to my teens. I love that I still get to work with people I met almost 20 years ago.
What are your hopes for the future of teen services?
MW: My hope is that all teens find what they need, whether it’s a place of acceptance, support, or a place to simply be a teen. Teens truly are the future, and I hope the work that we, the members of YALSA, do will inform and advocate for this amazing group of young people.
What is your favorite YALSA Committee or Committee that you would love to be on again?
MW: Amazing Audiobooks will always have my heart. I hope to one day be able to serve on the Odyssey Award committee.
What’s your ultimate comfort food?
MW: Turkey, brie, and apple sandwich
What TV show or Movie do you watch on repeat?Or a book that you love reading when you’re in between new books?
MW: Schitt’s Creek for TV and Dirty Dancing for the movie. Depending on my mood: Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt, Denton Little’s Death Date by Lance Rubin, or For Everyone by Jason Reynolds
What would you do or where would you go if you won the lotto?
MW: I would like to spend my time being a professional volunteer at an animal shelter and take a cruise around the world.
Want to run for YALSA Board? We’re looking for candidates for the 2024 ALA Election. If you will be at ALA Annual Conference in Chicago this summer, join us at YALSA 301 to learn more about YALSA Governance. Want to find out what the duties and responsibilities of the Director at Large are for the YALSA Board? Find them in the YALSA Handbook here. If you’ve been thinking about it why not fill out the nomination form today? Just click here.
*Note: Melanie began this term as the Chair of O&B, but stepped up to fill a vacancy when a Director-At-Large had to resign.
Ever wanted to get to know theYALSA Board of Directors more? Here’s your chance! All month long, we’ll be posting fun mini-interviews with each board member so you can get to know them a little better.
Colleen Seisser, President-Elect 2022-2023
Name: Colleen Seisser
Title & Library: Assistant Director, Westmont Public Library
Role on the Board: President-Elect
Year on the Board: 1st year
1. What does YALSA mean to me?
CS: I was a teen librarian for almost ten years and YALSA was a resource rich organization I could turn to when I needed help with things like collection development, programming, and reviewing standards and best practices for teen services in libraries. Now it is an organization that I want to give back to because it had such a huge impact during those years. I also really have found that volunteering for YALSA has allowed me close friendships that span the US, and I am so thankful for those.
2. What are your hopes for the future of teen services?
CS: I hope that the future of teen services continues to see library staff and services turn towards equity, diversity, and inclusion. We continue to embrace values that protect teens’ freedom to read and equitable access to information. I hope that today’s teen services in libraries can be just one of the pillars in a teen’s life that empowers the teens of today to become the leaders of future generations that embrace the values of equity.
3. What is your favorite YALSA Committee or Committee that you would love to be on again?
CS: I really loved being a blogger for the Hub Blog. I was a blogger before we had moved the Selected Lists to the Hub Blog and when I was blogging, I decided my goal or focus was going to be on creating mini-genre guide posts. They were so much fun to create and really helped me polish my reader’s advisory skills and forced me to keep reading outside my comfort zone. I know our new Hub Manager, Rachel Milburn, wants to start incorporating more posts on the Hub in addition to the Selected lists posts, and I am so looking forward to what she and her Hub Advisory Board will be able to accomplish this year (you can volunteer now for the Hub Advisory Board too–we still have spaces to fill, click here to apply via our Volunteer form)
4. What’s your ultimate comfort food?
CS: Garlic-stuffed olives
5. What TV show or Movie do you watch on repeat? Or a book that you love reading when you’re in between new books?
CS: Parks and Recreation
6. What would you do or where would you go if you won the lotto?
CS: Move somewhere in the woods by a lake and then travel the world
Want to run for YALSA Board? We’re looking for candidates for the 2024 ALA Election. If you will be at ALA Annual Conference in Chicago this summer, join us at YALSA 301 to learn more about YALSA Governance. Want to find out the duties and responsibilities of the YALSA President-Elect? Find them in the YALSA Handbook here. If you’ve been thinking about running, why not fill out the nomination form today? Just click here.
Members with governance experience are highly encouraged to apply for this committee! We need those members who have served in YALSA Board positions (ex-officio positions are included) specifically to volunteer as this committee oversees the Board’s effectiveness and helps put together and promote our YALSA slate each year.
Here’s more specific information about the committee’s work:
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. To serve on this committee, we are looking for members who have governance experience. 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: July 1 through June 30.
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 Colleen Seisser, YALSA President-Elect
Ever wanted to get to know theYALSA Board of Directors more? Here’s your chance! All month long, we’ll be posting fun mini-interviews with each board member so you can get to know them a little better.
Kate Denier, YALSA Fiscal Officer
Name: Kate Denier
Title & Library: Senior Branch Manager, Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library- North Central Branch
Role on the Board: Fiscal Officer
Year on the Board: 3rd year as Fiscal Officer
What does YALSA mean to me?
KD: I have been an active YALSA member for several years now. I’ve been on many different types of committees and have been chair of committees and a taskforce. I’m really thankful to be on the Board now. Not only has YALSA helped build my leadership skills, being on Board allows me to give back to an organization that has done a lot for me and the teens I have served. I think I have used just about every resource YALSA has to offer and I try and encourage others to do the same. YALSA has directly impacted my ability to serve teens at my organization and my ability to lead.
What are your hopes for the future of teen services?
KD: My hope is that ALL teens have a space to go to in their local library (wherever that library may be) where they can be safe, be themselves, be heard and get the resources and information they need without judgment. I hope teen services staff are given the support they need to provide the highest level of service to teens. I also hope that people who work with teens continue to advocate for teen services, both locally and nationally.
What is your favorite YALSA Committee or Committee that would love to be on again?
KD: Morris Award Committee. It was really fun and rewarding.
What’s your ultimate comfort food?
KD: Apple Cider Slushies- because if they are available, it means it’s fall!
What TV show or Movie do you watch on repeat? Or a book that you love reading when you’re in between new books?
KD: Schitt’s Creek!
What would you do or where would you go if you won the lotto?
KD: I would buy a beach house on Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Want to run for YALSA Board? We’re looking for candidates for the 2024 ALA Election. If you will be at ALA Annual Conference in Chicago this summer join us at YALSA 301 to learn more about YALSA Governance. Want to find out the duties and responsibilities of the YALSA Fiscal Officer? Find them in the YALSA Handbook here. If you’ve been thinking about it why not fill out the nomination form today? Just click here.
Ever wanted to get to know theYALSA Board of Directors more? Here’s your chance! All month long, we’ll be posting fun mini-interviews with each board member so you can get to know them a little better.Our next interview is with the YALSA Board Secretary.
Joel Shoemaker, YALSA Board Secretary
Name: Joel Shoemaker
Title & Library: Associate Director of Library Services, Methodist College
Role on the Board: Secretary
Year on the Board: 1st year
What does YALSA mean to me?
JS: YALSA is an amazing organization that is extremely important and relevant today, especially when considering the challenges that we face with regards to young adult books and young adult authors. The advocacy is always meaningful, but especially so today.
What are your hopes for the future of teen services?
JS: I hope to see us finding ways to really engage teens and bring them into the library. I know it’s hard for many in the public sector, but it’s also difficult with our young adults in academia. We need to be creative and innovative in finding ways to better serve our teens.
What is your favorite YALSA Committee or Committee that would love to be on again?
JS: I think my service on the Morris committee was my favorite. Debut novels are the BEST. And the YALSA members I served with were just incredible humans.
What’s your ultimate comfort food?
JS: I just love cheese. Not all kinds of cheese. I don’t understand blue cheese. I’m not mad at people that like blue cheese – my husband likes blue cheese. It just isn’t for me. All other kinds of cheese for me though, please.
What TV show or Movie do you watch on repeat? Or a book that you love reading when you’re in between new books?
JS: The greatest TV show of all time is Boston Legal. The pairing of William Shatner and James Spader is unmatched and the depiction of male friendship is not often seen. Incredible television. Five seasons. I own them all. You can borrow them!
What would you do or where would you go if you won the lotto?
JS: If I won the lottery I would go to New Zealand. They have a Lord of the Rings tour that we’ve been eyeing for a long time.
Want to run for YALSA Board? We’re looking for candidates for the 2024 ALA Election. If you will be at ALA Annual Conference in Chicago this summer join us at YALSA 301 to learn more about YALSA Governance. Want to find out the duties and responsibilities of the YALSA Board Secretary? Find them in the YALSA Handbook here. If you’ve been thinking about it why not fill out the nomination form today? Just click here.
Ever wanted to get to know the YALSA Board of Directors more? Here’s your chance! All month long, we’ll be posting fun mini-interviews with each board member so you can get to know them a little better. Here is the next interview with this year’s Board Advocate, an ex-officio member of the board.
Board Advocate, Siva Ramakrishnan
Name: Siva Ramakrishnan
Title & Library: Director, Young Adult Programs & Services, The New York Public Library
Role on the Board: Board Advocate
Year on the Board: 1st year
What does YALSA mean to me?
SR: YALSA provides a caring community of practice for library workers across the country who serve teens.
What are your hopes for the future of teen services?
SR: I hope we continue to think expansively about what it means to serve teens through public libraries — that getting teens excited about reading will always be important — but so will things like supporting mental wellness, civic action, a first job, and the ability to relax in a safe environment.
What is your favorite YALSA Committee or Committee that would love to be on again?
SR: I served on YALSA’s Presidential Taskforce last year and loved it! It was an opportunity to dig into an aspect of teen service (last year was “social capital”), and organize webinars and a conference presentation designed to engage our colleagues.
What’s your ultimate comfort food?
SR: Spicy mac and cheese.
What TV show or Movie do you watch on repeat? Or a book that you love reading when you’re in between new books?
SR: Currently, I’m enjoying “Lovecraft Country”. “Lilith’s Brood” is a series I keep coming back to.
What would you do or where would you go if you won the lotto?
SR: I’d raise sheep, dye my own yarn, and run a dosa cart someplace warm.
The Board Advocate is an ex-officio member of the YALSA Board and is appointed by the YALSA Board. This position is for someone who works with teens but is not a YALSA member. If you know someone who might be interested in applying for the Board Advocate send their name to YALSA President, Franklin Escobedo at franklin.yalsa [@] gmail.com or YALSA President-Elect Colleen Seisser at cseisser [@] gmail.com. Or if you’re a regular reader of the YALSA Blog and would like to apply, click here.
Ever wanted to get to know the YALSA Board of Directors more? Here’s your chance! All month long, we’ll be posting fun mini-interviews with each board member so you can get to know them a little better.
Melissa Malanuk, YALSA Director-At-Large
Name: Melissa Malanuk
Title & Library: Coordinator of Teen Services, Queens Public Library
Role on the Board: Director-At-Large
Year on the Board: 1st year
What does YALSA mean to me?
MM: To me, YALSA means community and support. Library staff that works with teens often feel like outliers or isolated. YALSA helps to connect us in our shared passion for working with teens.
What are your hopes for the future of teen services?
MM: Teens lost a lot of learning during the pandemic, both academic and social/ emotional. My hope for the future of teen services is to provide teens with opportunities to build skills in a fun and engaging way, and to connect teens to needed resources and support.
What is your favorite YALSA Committee or Committee that would love to be on again?
MM: I’ve served on a lot of YALSA committees, but my favorite was the Morris committee. I loved celebrating new YA authors.
What’s your ultimate comfort food?
MM: Pizza!
What TV show or Movie do you watch on repeat? Or a book that you love reading when you’re in between new books?
MM: I have a habit of watching episodes of New Girl when I don’t know what I want to watch.
What would you do or where would you go if you won the lotto?
MM: If I won the lotto I would travel around the world starting with a trip to Europe.
Want to run for YALSA Board? We’re looking for candidates for the 2024 ALA Election. If you will be at ALA Annual Conference in Chicago this summer join us at YALSA 301 to learn more about YALSA Governance. Want to find out what the responsibility of the YALSA Director-At-Large is find it in the YALSA Handbook, here. If you’ve been thinking about it why not fill out the nomination form today? Just click here.
Get ready to vote in this year’s YALSA election! To help you make informed decisions, we’re sharing interviews with each of the 2022 YALSA Governance candidates. Voting will take place from March 13 through April 5, 2022.
Serving three-year terms, YALSA Board members are responsible for jointly determining YALSA’s current and future programs, policies, and serving as liaisons to YALSA’s committees, juries, taskforces, and advisory boards. Members work year-round and attend in-person meetings at ALA’s LibLearnX and Annual Conferences. A full description of Board duties and responsibilities can be found here. You can learn more about ALA elections here.
Rachel Milburn, Candidate for Director-At Large
Name and current position: Rachel Milburn, Youth Services Manager, Frankfort Community Public Library, Frankfort, IN
What best qualifies you for being on the Board of Directors?
I have loads of experience working with young adults/teens/tweens even before becoming a librarian. Previously, I worked in schools, youth programming, and literature clubs. I originally went back to school to become a teacher. However, I switched my major to English with a plan of becoming a librarian. I chose this path after working in the schools in order to share my love of learning in a more creative manner. As the Teen Services Manager at the Frankfort Community Public Library, I created several new programs including Adulting 101, Self-Care Programming, Homework Help, and a Teen Advisory Board to name a few. I am always instituting new ideas that allow young adults to explore information and learning in unique and creative ways. Also, I am an extremely hard-working person with a passion for library services, specifically library services for young people. They are, arguably, our most important patrons and bridging their library usage from children’s programming to adult programming ensures we create life-long learners. My passion, determination, and hard work would be a wonderful asset to YALSA, with me on the Board of the Directors.
2. How do you envision furthering YALSA’s mission if elected to this position?
I would promote the need for outreach. More than ever, I believe that since Covid restrictions are lifting it is time for Y.A. Librarians to reach outside our walls. We need to find and serve the young people that are not yet experiencing the library.
3. What would be the most exciting aspect of this position? The most challenging?
The most exciting aspect of this position would be meeting and learning from librarians from all over the country. I greatly hope to increase my network and continue to learn from the wonderful and diverse individuals that serve in this profession. The most challenging aspect would be planning travel and arranging my schedule for conferences. However, I believe that going to these conferences is important in achieving my goal of increasing my network. That is why I am committed to making travel and conference attendance happen.
4. Please share a recent example(s) where you made a shift to better focus on the current needs of teens in the wake of the pandemic.
I was the first librarian in my library system to begin virtual programming. The minute that we closed our doors, I went straight into virtual mode. I shared blog posts and press releases with online resources and advice for young people working on e-learning. I also completed a course on well-being and began virtual self-care programming for our youth. The previous fall, I had “inducted” the first Teen Advisory Board at our library. Then without having met often, the library closed. I did not allow that to prevent us from communicating. I regularly reached out to our T.A.B. members and their families throughout the stay-at-home order and while the library was closed. Each of our T.A.B. members agreed to do four hours of volunteer service at the library a year. When the library reopened following the pandemic, all of our T.A.B. members returned to their volunteering. Some of these young people eventually took jobs working in our library system. Retaining these members is evidence of the success of our service to them thru the pandemic.
Following the pandemic, I have been working to get young people back in the library. As the head of our Summer Reading program, I planned our program with the goal of getting people back in our building. This includes weekly incentives, collaborations with several community organizations, and a hefty social media marketing campaign. Likewise, one of my roles is the head of our county’s Youth Theatre. For our 2022 Summer Musical, our first back on the stage, I generated promotions that led to 5 sold out performances (we only planned on 4). Our Winter Show, saw all our social media numbers increase to the highest they had ever been, which led to the highest sponsorships. Finally, as we plan for our Summer Musical we were able to conduct over 80 youth auditioning for our the show. This success is a result of continued work on outreach, disseminating the information that these programs are here, and harnessing the power of social media.
5. What is the most pressing issue facing YALSA today?
The threat of censorship is a huge issue facing YALSA and all areas of librarianship. The fact that so many librarians must fear criminal prosecution when sharing books with young people is terrifying. I believe our only hope is to work together to develop new ideas on how to protect the freedom to read.
Get ready to vote in this year’s YALSA election! To help you make informed decisions, we’re sharing interviews with each of the 2022 YALSA Governance candidates. Voting will take place from March 13 through April 5, 2022.
Serving three-year terms, YALSA Board members are responsible for jointly determining YALSA’s current and future programs, policies, and serving as liaisons to YALSA’s committees, juries, taskforces, and advisory boards. Members work year-round and attend in-person meetings at ALA’s LibLearnX and Annual Conferences. A full description of Board duties and responsibilities can be found here. You can learn more about ALA elections here.
Katrina Ortega, Candidate for Director-at-Large
Name and current position: Katrina Ortega, Manager, College and Career Pathways, The New York Public Library, New York, NY
What best qualifies you for being on the Board of Directors?
My experiences as a Young Adult Librarian and program manager have allowed me to acquire a breadth of knowledge, skills, and capabilities that would make me an excellent addition to the YALSA Board. I have learned how to cooperate and compromise with others in order to effectively move forward with a task. I have learned how to be an efficient arbitrator among colleagues and patrons who are having difficulty with others. In the past, I actively mentored other YA staff members around the Library system, and I regularly act as a sounding board for others to discuss ideas or hurdles in their work. I have assisted many of my colleagues in developing new, system-wide initiatives and best practices, and I regularly encourage collaboration among my colleagues when putting together conference presentations and papers. Finally, I have had the opportunity to implement strategic plans for an annually growing program. I’ve learned to budget a branch budget, as well as a multi-million dollar program budget. I have learned how to measure the effectiveness of programs and events across multiple branches to establish best practices and strategies. All in all, I feel that I am an incredibly well-rounded candidate for this board and that I can effectively address the YALSA community’s comprehensive needs.
How do you envision furthering YALSA’s mission if elected to this position?
I have been fortunate enough to work in two different aspects of librarianship – on the front lines, assisting teens in what was, at the time, the largest teen space in the New York Public Library system, and also on the administrative side, offering support and assistance in the forms of budget, materials, and curricula to those who are serving teens in the branches. I plan on bringing the expertise gained through my experience to this organization, with the intention of looking to the professionals who belong to YALSA to determine ways in which we can best support them in their everyday professions. I intend to implement methods of communication and feedback between YALSA and its constituents that will help us gain a better understanding of where the organization can improve its support systems.
What would be the most exciting aspect of this position? The most challenging?
I am most looking forward to helping form the strategic plan to accomplish YALSA’s mission. I hope that the organization can re-focus its efforts as an organization to supporting the professionals who provide equitable, diverse, and inclusive team services to all of the young adult communities (and adults that support them) that we serve. I also believe that this might be the most challenging aspect of this position. The constituents that YALSA serves come from vastly different areas, and the needs of their patrons can vary immensely. My goal in serving on this board is to strive to establish an open and accessible method of communicating with professionals from around the country to hear what their concerns are and where they feel they could best use the support, and then to work with other members of the organization to determine how we can best offer that support.
Please share a recent example(s) where you made a shift to better focus on the current needs of teens in the wake of the pandemic.
As the manager of NYPL’s College and Career Pathways program, I have focused a lot of my efforts over the past few years trying to best support teens who are preparing to exit high school and enter whatever pathway they’ve decided fits them best. This has been especially challenging with all of the complexities that the pandemic introduced to the postsecondary landscape. Supporting teens who had suddenly lost access to their school guidance or college counselor, who could no longer take the in-person test prep course, who could not do the internship or the volunteering that they’d planned to do because of the pandemic was an enormous set of hurdles (particularly because we were also navigating our own unforeseen challenges). My goal was to try and meet teens in any way that we could to get their college and career readiness needs met, and this inevitably meant turning to virtual programs and services. I put together a plan where teens from all over NYC could request a 1-on-1 session with one of our trained librarians to discuss their college/career readiness needs (a service that is still being used today!). Under my direction, branch staff recorded dozens of different workshops that live on the College and Career Pathways webpage, so that teens can access these program-style workshops at any time it is convenient for them. Lastly, I’ve advocated for the continuation of virtual or hybrid programs even as we’ve returned to nearly entirely in-person programs, because it has been made clear by both YA patrons and the staff who serve them that virtual programs are often the most accessible to teens, and allow them the freedom to access support from the Library that they simply wouldn’t have if the programs were no longer held virtually.
What is the most pressing issue facing YALSA today?
Staff burnout – not only are patron-facing staff still faced with the possibility of getting sick at work; but they must also contend with the never-ending staff shortages, and the toll that providing social services can take. Add to that the recent wars being waged on library collections and programs that many communities across the country have taken up, and it’s a perfect storm. Library staff deserves as much appreciation and support as we can give them, and right now we simply cannot give them enough. I am aware that my inclusion on this board will not be a solution to all of the ills that plague YA-serving staff at our libraries, but I certainly intend to try my best to do all that I can!
