YALSA Shark Bowl: Meet the Finalist Kristin Phelps

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Kristin Phelps, School Librarian at the Whittier Middle School in Norman, Oklahoma, is preparing to pitch an ambitious idea for the YALSA President’s Program Monday, June 29 from 10:30 a.m. to Noon. She will advocate for ” Make YOUR Library Space”  in front of a panel of librarians and business leaders for the chance to win cash and technology prizes provided by YALSA, Tutor.com, Makey Makey, and 3D Systems.

We wanted to catch up with Kristin before she heads to San Francisco for ALA’s Annual Conference.

JS:Tell us about the project you submitted to the Shark Bowl
KP: Whittier Middle School is dreaming of a Makerspace including high-tech and low-tech materials. To be successful in the 21st century, students need to develop the ability to think and problem solve effectively. The library should be the center of that learning. Teens are naturally curious. I want to cultivate that curiosity to allow them to combine both information and experience.
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YALSA Shark Bowl: Meet the Finalist Erin Durrett

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Erin Durrett, Youth/Teen Information Services Librarian at Novi Public Library in Michigan, is preparing to pitch an ambitious idea at the YALSA President’s Program Monday, June 29 from 10:30 a.m. to noon. She will advocate for a 3D virtual world created by teens in front of a panel of librarians and business leaders for the chance to win cash and technology prizes provided by YALSA, Tutor.com, Makey Makey, and 3D Systems.

We wanted to catch up with Erin before she heads to San Francisco for ALA’s Annual Conference.

YALSA Shark Bowl: Meet the Finalist Erin Durrett

RK: What was your inspiration for this project?

ED: Novi is a community that very much strives for achievement, be that excellence in academia, or other interests. When developing programs and services for our community, we often think about what skills our patrons would like to learn and what would help them feel more involved in our library and ultimately our community. I wanted to create a project that joined those ideas together. My pitch involves STEM ideas, especially engineering and technology skills and having teens learn those skills and then utilize them in the creation of an interactive display in which they curate and of which they feel ownership.

RK: In what ways are teens involved in this project?

ED: When I developed the idea, I wanted to know not only if our teens would be interested in participating, but any feedback I could receive from them, to help mold and shape the project. I went to the next TAB (Teen Advisory Board) meeting and asked the teens directly what they thought of the idea. They thought it was “cool” and brought up the idea of legacy and ownership. Specifically one teen asked “Can we put our names on the pieces we create?” As a lot of TAB members are juniors and seniors at the high school next door, they want to be able to come back and visit the display and point out the pieces they have created. (They also smartly mentioned making sure no one abuses the 3D printer!) My favorite aspect of this pitch is the inclusivity for teens, if you are a teen 12-18 in Novi or the surrounding community, you can participate in the creation of a piece for the display.
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YALSA Shark Bowl: Meet the Finalist Katie MacBride

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Katie MacBride, Young Adult Librarian at the Mill Valley Public Library in California, is preparing to pitch an ambitious idea YALSA President’s Program Monday, June 29 from 10:30 a.m. to Noon. She will advocate for “Building History in 3D” in front of a panel of librarians and business leaders for the chance to win cash and technology prizes provided by YALSA, Tutor.com, Makey Makey, and 3D Systems.

We wanted to catch up with Katie before she heads to San Francisco for ALA’s Annual Conference.


TW: Tell us about the project you submitted to the Shark Bowl.
KB: The project we’re pitching, called Building History in 3D, centers around technology, history, and community. The project builds off of TimeWalk, a 3D virtual world developed by Ted Barnett, a former volunteer in our Library’s Lucretia Little History Room. Ted has started out by developing an initial virtual model of downtown Mill Valley as it was in 1915. Eventually this virtual world will expand to include renderings of Mill Valley as it was throughout the decades.

Ted introduced his project to our Library and we were eager to help out. Over the last few months, staff and volunteers in our Lucretia Little History Room have been providing research support as TimeWalk’s developers “build” a historically accurate town — creating buildings, steam trains, landscapes, and more. What we want to do through Building History in 3D is invite local teens to be part of the process, offering them the opportunity to learn new technological skills while engaging with the community and learning more about their town and its history.
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YALSA Shark Bowl: Meet the Finalist Jennifer Bishop

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Jennifer Bishop, Library Associate at the Carroll County Public Library in Maryland, is preparing to pitch an ambitious idea at the YALSA President’s Program Monday, June 29 from 10:30 a.m. to Noon. She will advocate for “CRATE” in front of a panel of librarians and business leaders for the chance to win cash and technology prizes provided by YALSA, Tutor.com, Makey Makey, and 3D Systems.

We wanted to catch up with Jennifer before she heads to San Francisco for ALA’s Annual Conference.

LWB: Tell us about the project you submitted to the Shark Bowl:
JB: Our idea is to follow the popular subscription box model to create monthly CRATEs (Create/ Re-invent/ Apply/ Teach/ Explore) for teens to explore selected technology at all six branches of the Carroll County Public Library. By providing self-guided access and resources on the public floor of all branches on a monthly basis, we will reach a greater number of teens and showcase technology as a tool for learning, innovation, and play.
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YALSA Shark Bowl: Meet the Finalist Shanna Miles

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Shanna Miles, Media Specialist at South Atlanta High School in Georgia, is preparing to pitch an ambitious idea at the YALSA President’s Program Monday, June 29 from 10:30 a.m. to Noon. She will advocate for “America’s Next Top Maker” in front of a panel of librarians and business leaders for the chance to win cash and technology prizes provided by YALSA, Tutor.com, Makey Makey, and 3D Systems.

We wanted to catch up with Shanna before she heads to San Francisco for ALA’s Annual Conference.

KM: Hi Shanna! Can you give our readers a short description about the project you submitted to the Shark Bowl?
SM: I submitted a project called “America’s Next Top Maker”. In a nutshell, it’s a maker competition with an American Idol component. Students are given a backpack with the tools they’ll need to make a project, whether that be a song, a short story, or an app. They present their creations to the student body (I work in a public high school) and the students vote. The winner gets to keep the backpack o’ tools and goes on to create forever.
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YALSA President’s Program Shark Bowl 2015

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Calling all staff that work with teens in public and school libraries – the YALSA’s President’s Program Task Force is looking for YOU! to be a part of the 2015 President’s Program. Think Shark Tank, the popular TV show that features aspiring entrepreneurs pitching their business idea to a panel of potential investors. In YALSA’s version, library staff will pitch their ideas to a team of sharks made up of tech entrepreneurs, educators, and library staff who will provide feedback and a chance to win cash and technology prizes.

The first step is to submit a pitch to the YALSA President’s Program Planning Task Force. Task Force members will review the pitches and select up to 6 for presentation to our sharks at the ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco on June 29 2015. All pitches must show that the idea:

Your pitch can be for something brand new that you want to try out, or something that you have tried before and would like to enhance, change, re-envision. All submissions, no matter if you make it to the finals or not, will receive feedback from members of the President’s Program Task Force. The up to three pitches that are selected to be presented at Annual Conference 2015 will receive feedback and information on how to expand their pitch for official presentation to our panel of sharks.

Why wait? Get started on your pitch and don’t forget to submit by April 1, 2015.