Call for Editor: Teen Services Competencies Publication

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YALSA is seeking an experienced editor for an upcoming publication based on its Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff guideline. The tentative publication deadline is September 2019. The editor will be given a one-time stipend to compile, edit, and write content as needed and work with a group of contributors to produce a cohesive publication.

Applications are due December 1, 2018. December 15, 2018.
Working Title

Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff: A Practical Guide

Project Description

In public libraries, everyone needs the skills and knowledge to serve teens. According to a recent report from IMLS, nearly 7,000 of the nation’s 17,000+ public libraries have a staff of only 1.5 full time employee. Most libraries do not have the luxury of having a dedicated, full time staff person who focuses solely on serving teens.

In 2017, YALSA published an update to its competencies document, “Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff.” These competencies are meant to help libraries of all sizes and capacities provide quality library service in collaboration with teens. Merely having a list of competencies, however, is not enough. Library staff and their supervisors and administrators need help in knowing how to embed the competencies in the work of library staff and how to measure their success in achieving them. This book will examine each of the ten competencies and provide practical examples, suggestions, and resources aimed at front line library staff. The rationale behind the competencies will be addressed as well, to demonstrate how each one contributes to providing excellent service for and with teens.

Predetermined current experts and practitioners in the field of young adult librarianship in both school and public libraries will contribute practical examples, anecdotes, and success stories to illustrate how the competencies work at the building level. These contributions will appear in the body of the text (credited to the contributors). The editor may also have the opportunity to suggest potential contributors/experts if it is determined by both the editor and YALSA that there is a lack of content or expertise for a specific competencies area.

View full project details (manuscript length, table of contents, tentative timeline, etc) here.

Responsibilities

  • Work and liaise with a group of contributors and YALSA staff to meet deadlines and expectations
  • Make revisions based on YALSA feedback
  • Proofreading
  • Write content to fill gaps and build a cohesive document (introductions, sections, headings, table of content, appendices, etc) as needed
  • Compile content from contributors, provide feedback, and keep contributors committed to deadlines
  • Identify and include helpful, practical resources as needed to fill gaps
  • Edit several drafts of manuscript for overall consistency (focus, tone, structure/organization, pacing, language, etc.) and readability
  • Other responsibilities not listed may also be required that will be discussed as they occur

Requirements

  • Must have past editor and/or writing experience for book length (or similar) publications
  • Knowledge of recent developments and trends in library services for and with young adults
  • Read and become familiar with YALSA’s Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff resource
  • Be familiar with YALSA’s mission and organizational plan
  • Have an eye for detail
  • Strong project management and organizational skills
  • Excellent verbal and written communications skills to manage content and communicate with contributors and YALSA Staff
  • Dynamic, self-motivated individual
  • Ability to delegate work and to manage and motivate contributors
  • Ability to set and meet deadlines
  • Ability to work well in a team environment
  • High ethical standards
  • Other requirements may also apply and will be discussed

A full list of responsibilities and requirements will be discussed and provided prior to contractual agreements.

Candidates must send a cover letter and resume via email to Anna Lam at alam@ala.org by December 1, 2018.

Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff Webinar: Cultural Competence and Responsiveness

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cover of the teen services competencies for library staffEach month, through December, YALSA is sponsoring free webinars (for members and non-members) on topics related to the Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff.

The September webinar (the full video recording is available after the break) on the topic of Cultural Competence and Responsiveness. The focus of the session was on creating inclusive computer science opportunities for youth and was by Lecia Barker from the National Center for Women and Informational Technology (NCWIT) and Cheryl Eberly from the Santa Ana Public Library.
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Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff: A Progressive Library?

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cover of the teen services competencies for library staffA colleague and I recently had a debate. She said she thought a specific library was progressive and I disagreed. Why? Because as I see it the library she was talking about isn’t progressive as a system. There are a couple of staff that manage programs that are certainly progressive, but the library overall, not so much.

I think this distinction is important to consider. Think about it, if we want teen services to be future and teens first focused – as defined by YALSA in recent reports, blog posts, and books – then we can’t simply assume that if a library has a few good programs led by awesome people that the whole institution is progressive, future focused, and teens first focused. Thinking about this I asked my colleague, “What happens if the people facilitating the progressive activities leave the library system? Would the library still be progressive in your mind?”
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Teen Competencies for Library Staff: Community & Family Engagement Webinar

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cover of the teen services competencies for library staffEach month, through December, YALSA is sponsoring free webinars (for members and non-members) on topics related to the Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff.

The August webinar (the full video recording is available after the break) on the topic of Community and Family Engagement was moderated by Bernie Farrell, Youth Programs and Family Services Coordinator at the Hennepin County Library (HCPL). Bernie was joined by staff from the public library and from Learning Dreams one of HCPL’s community partners. In their presentation the panelists discussed how library staff and community members work together to help emerging adults build self-advocacy skills, particularly those young people who are experiencing homelessness.
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Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff: Youth Engagement & Leadership Webinar

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cover of the teen services competencies for library staffEach month, through December, YALSA is sponsoring free webinars (for members and non-members) on topics related to the Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff.

The July webinar (the full video recording is available after the break), facilitated by April Zuniga from the McAllen (TX) Public Library, covered the topic of Youth Engagement and Leadership. In her discussion April discussed how to build relationships with teens so to learn about their needs and interests and help teens feel comfortable engaging with and leading through the library.
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Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff Webinar: Learning Experiences

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cover of the teen services competencies for library staffEach month, through December, YALSA is sponsoring free webinars (for members and non-members) on topics related to the Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff.

The June webinar (the full video recording is available after the break), facilitated by Megan Emery from the Chattanooga Public Library, covered the topic of Learning Experiences. In her discussion Megan talked about the difference between formal and informal learning and how to overlap one onto the other, how to supporting teen volunteering as a learning experience, and integrating design thinking into the teen learning experience.
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Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff: Putting the Competencies to Work

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Looking for the best ways to align your work to the Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff? Join us for a free session Friday, June 22, from 1 to 4PM in room 343 of the Morial Convention Center, just prior to the ALA Annual Conference.

You will hear about how YALSA members have integrated the Competencies into their work and have the tools and resources you need to bring that transformation home. Bring a program plan, a job description, a policy, a staff and/or program evaluation tool, or another tool and workshop it along side library staff from around the country.

We’d like to know the types of projects people who plan to attend would like to discuss. That’s why we are asking those who think they will be there to submit our simple form.

If you have questions about the workshop contact YALSA’s CE Consultant, Linda W. Braun or Kate McNair, YALSA Board Member.

Don’t forget YALSA has developed an array of tools to help library staff use the Competencies. You’ll find them listed on the YALSA Competencies web page.

Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff Webinar: Interactions with Teens

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cover of the teen services competencies for library staffEach month, through December, YALSA is sponsoring free webinars (for members and non-members) on topics related to the Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff.

The April webinar (the full video recording is available after the break) focused on Interactions with Teens. Megan Burton, Kitsap Regional Library (WA) and Valerie Tagoe, Wilmer Hutchins High School, facilitated a lively discussion about strategies for building relationships with teens. Megan and Valerie included a lot of very useful tips and first-hand accounts of challenges and successes in this work.

YALSA will host a follow-up Twitter chat on interactions with teens on Thursday, April 26, at 7PM Eastern. Use the hashtag #yalsace to participate.
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Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff: Aligning the Teen Services Competencies to Your Work

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cover of the teen services competencies for library staffAre you working to integrate the Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff into your work? Do you have questions about how you might do that? Are you wondering how to change job descriptions or policies, or program plans to better align with the Competencies? If you answered “yes” to any of those, or if you simply want to learn more about YALSA’s new Competencies, you’ll want to attend the free “Aligning the Teen Services Competencies to Your Work” session in New Orleans.

The free session is scheduled to take place Friday, June 22, from 1 to 4PM in room 343 of the Morial Convention Center , just prior to the ALA Annual Conference.  During that time participants will hear how library staff are integrating the Competencies into their jobs and have the chance to work with library staff from around the country to take a deep dive into the Competencies and explore how to bring them into every day practice. Participants are invited to come to the session with a program plan, a job description, a policy, a staff and/or program evaluation tool, or another tool and spend time aligning those day-to-day tools to the Competencies.
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Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff: Ready-to-Go Presentation

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The Teen Services Competencies for Library Staff is a resource that can be used in teaching and learning. It also gives library staff the chance to reflect on their skills, knowledge, and practices. That’s why YALSA developed a Ready-to-Go slide deck that anyone can use when facilitating learning related to the new Competencies document. The slide deck includes:

  • Speaker notes that provide context for the Competencies. They can be used as is, paraphrased, and/or to fill in details about the competencies that facilitators might be be aware of. Read More →