YALSA’s 56th birthday is just a week away on June 24! As you probably know, choosing the perfect birthday card can be difficult. Not too sentimental, nor too sarcastic, the perfect balance is hard to find. If you are looking for the right message to send on Monday, please consider one of these cards (that, unfortunately, do not exist) inspired by our favorite books.

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Front: Happy birthday! We would like to cordially invite you to attend Hogwarts!

Inside: Unfortunately we sent your original letter by owl and Errol is so slow it took 45 years to get to you.

Hunger Games

Front: Another year, another tesserae!

Inside: Good luck in the reaping!

 The Giver by Lois Lowry

Front: Congratulations to you and your cohort!

Inside: Have a colorful year!

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Front: Forty years ago you chose to join Abnegation…

Inside: so we gave your birthday present to someone else.

Game by Barry Lyga

Front: Don’t worry, I’ll help keep your true age a secret…

Inside: Trust me, I know how to get rid of a body.

Donate today and become a Friend of YALSA. Your support helps build scholarships, grants and stipends for librarians and library workers. All Friends of YALSA are invited to a cocktail hour, hosted by Bloomsbury Children’s Books, before the Michael L. Printz Program and Reception during ALA’s Annual Conference on July 1st from 5:30-7:30pm in the Columbus AB room of the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

• Create a Vine video(s) that fills in the blank, Advocacy is ……
• Create the video(s) before and during ALA Annual conference – you don’t have to be at conference to participate. If you are at Conference you might create video(s) while at programs, when hanging out with friends and colleagues, while walking the exhibit halls. If you aren’t at conference you might create a video while hanging out with friends and colleagues, with teens inside and outside of the library, in stores and on the streets of your community, etc. Be creative!
• Publish your Vine video with the hashtag #yaadvocacy

YALSA is sponsoring a booth (#941) at Annual Conference that is focused specifically on advocacy. We’ll have the Vine videos streaming at the booth and you can even create one when you stop by.

If you have any questions about this project feel free to get in touch with me, Linda W. Braun.

We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Along with every other “best of” and award list, we are proud that Code Name Verity was included on the USBBY Outstanding International Books (OIB) list for 2013.

Wein’s presentation, “True Migration: Distance, Time, and the Writer’s Journey” takes a look at her life, born in New York City, moved to England at the age of three, lived in Jamaica, and then Pennsylvania, and questions how a lifetime of travel and living abroad have influenced both her worldview and her writing.  She has lived in Scotland since the year 2000 and her children hold dual citizenship between the US and the UK.

Do you have a favorite Tweet from the past week? If so add it in the comments for this post. Or, if you read a Twitter post between June 14 and June 20 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.

We know you’re looking good, girlfriend, and the guys are, too! Everyone is welcome to meet and greet your fellow YALSA members and all those interested in joining YALSA at the YALSA Happy Hour on Saturday night from 6:00 to 7:00pm. We will be gathering at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, in Columbus GH.

Come dressed to impress as there will be a fashion show, and participants will be selected that night from those present! Whether you’re a YALSA member or not, show off an outfit from your closet for one of the following categories:

• school visit
• meeting with a board of directors
• job interview
• gala event

Remember to bring plenty of cash for the bar. That way when Jack taps YOU to participate in the fashion show, you’ll be able to say an enthusiastic, “Yes!” Expect FUN and HAPPINESS at this always-exciting YALSA event!

• Register for a free webinar on practical tips, techniques, and case studies to help librarians advocate sponsored by the ALA Washington Office: ”Advocacy Recycling”: Leverage Existing Events and Resources For Lasting Advocacy Impact on Tuesday, June 18 from 4:00-5:00pm EST.
• Visit the Advocacy Corner at Annual featuring back-to-back speakers and experts on Sunday, June 30 talking about various advocacy issues and approaches.
• Check out the advocacy presentations at Annual including targeting 20s-30s to advocate and helping patrons tell their library story.
• If cannot attend Annual, get started at the How to Get Involved tool kit.

Whatever advocacy approach you decide to take, know that ALA offers opportunities and tools to help you advocate effectively.

photo courtesy of flickr user Vancouver Public Library

I’m on the job hunt.  I have been for some time despite loving my job.  I’m lucky enough to have found a position fairly quickly after graduating doing pretty much exactly what I want to do, being a teen librarian.  I am also the first teen librarian my library has ever had.  Yes, they have a separated YA collection (an only slightly more recent addition than me), but they had yet to offer a cohesive teen program let alone have a staff member devoted to the teens and to creating programming for them before I started working there.  I got to start from scratch; to try out programs I thought would be fun and throw out things I saw didn’t work.  It’s been a lot of work and while there is so much I would change or do differently and so many things I really want to do with my teens; I think that my first year as a Teen Librarian at a library experiencing their first year with teen centered programming, has been a great success.  (I reserve the right to take back that statement after I see how our first teen summer reading program goes!)

But remember, I said I’m on the job hunt.  Not because I don’t love my job, I really do.  I’m looking for a new position because I am only part-time.

From all that I see on the web and others I know in the same boat, this is fairly typical.  Teen librarians are doing more with less every day.  Many of us are part-time or split our time between libraries.  Many of us work just as hard on our ‘off’ hours to blog and share resources with our fellow teen librarians.  The work that I see and the willingness of young adult librarians to share their ideas and help each other is inspiring me daily.

Typically the majority of the teen or young adult positions I find are grouped with children’s librarian positions.  Many times I find myself searching through children’s librarian job postings for that shiny, gold-ish phrase: “emphasis on young adult programing.’  They are out there; over half of the public libraries in the country offer young adult programing.  We see the need for separate programming for patrons ages 13-18.   We know they are not children who want to come to story time.  We know that by that age many kids stop coming to the library; an issue that continues through early adulthood until typically, those adults have children that they want to bring to the library.  We see the need to create a safe environment for teens to be after school, a place for them to study, hang out, and grow into the adults we hope they will be.

So why can’t I find any teen librarian positions out there that are grouped with adult/reference librarian positions?  Why can we understand the need to separate the teens from the children, to give them their own corner of the library and their own genre of books to read, yet we cannot separate our own jobs from the children’s department?

Yes, I understand, ‘Youth Services’ is a broad and overarching term that includes all services to those who are not adults.  And it may be the case that teen librarian positions under that header should also be able to pitch-hit for the Children’s library on occasion.  But the vast amount of knowledge you need to be a Children’s Librarian can be very different from what you need to know about as a Teen Librarian.

Whereas the knowledgebase you need as a Reference or Adult Librarian has a lot of strong overlaps with Teen Librarianship.  Teens, or young adults are just beginning their journey into adulthood.  They crave adulthood; they want to be seen as adults.  The definitely do not want to be in the Children’s Library or have to talk to the Children’s Librarian to ask for book recommendations or help with a research project.  They are just starting to learn what it means to be an adult, to make adult decisions and to be responsible for their decisions, especially their academic decisions.

Anything we as librarians can do to help that process along benefits us all.

I think that more teen librarian positions should include time in the reference/adult department rather than the children’s.

We need the teens to know we see them as young adults but we also need the adults in the library to know that the teens are not there just to invade their quiet.  With librarians working both the reference and the teen desks, teens will see that they are welcome in the more ‘adult’ areas of the library.  If they see a librarian they know, they will be more likely to come up and ask questions, feel less awkward about asking for help, and feel more comfortable hanging around to study. One of the libraries I work at makes an effort to have their teen librarian work on the reference desk, particularly at times that students will most likely be using the non-fiction collection.  They stay open later during exams week and the teen librarian often works those late hours, providing snacks and study breaks as well as reference help. It feels more like a college library at times and I think the teens really appreciate the effort that goes into making them feel comfortable.  It allows them to get down to business and study while at the same time allowing them to socialize with their friends.

Adults also benefit from seeing the teen librarian.  We can reassure them that the teens are not there just to disrupt their library.  We can help navigate any problems that may arise when adults and young adults clash.  And we can begin to bring these two groups to a more happy medium by creating programming that brings both adults and young adults together. Maybe it’s a Teen Tech program that brings teens together with seniors who want to improve their computer skills.  Maybe it’s a college planning program that allows alumni to share their college experience with teens applying to schools. (Mentoring! Check out Linda’s great post about mentoring!)  Maybe it’s a music program where teens show adults why ‘all that noise’ is so good and adults introduce teens to music that was popular before they were born.  Maybe it’s a book club for teens and adults to discuss YA books.

There are a ton of great ways we can get adults and teens to connect, create, and collaborate together at the library!

If we, as librarians and libraries, can make the effort to see our teen population as young adults rather than older children, maybe we can also make the effort to change the way we see teen librarian positions.

Whatever it is you do, working to shift the way the position of Teen Librarian is seen from a children’s or youth position to one focused on our teens as young (very young) adults, is essential to the progress of our profession.

So now I put it to you.

What do you think?  Should libraries simply hire for Children’s Librarian positions and let one of them deal with the teens?  Should every library have a Teen Librarian devoted only to serving the teen population? Are you a director of a library who wants to share your thoughts on hiring teen librarians?  Are you a library school graduate in the same boat as me?  I want to hear your story!  Please, post your thoughts in the comments section and let me know how you would like to see the future of Teen Librarianship shape up.

Near the State Street entrance of the Harold Washington Library Center, you’ll find a special space where high school teens can express themselves in unique ways, utilizing the latest technology and gadgets. This successful hub of inspiration and innovation has garnered national attention and serves as a model to the wave of teen tech spaces that have begun to emerge everywhere. This space is the Chicago Public Library’s groundbreaking YouMedia center, and a visit there should be an item on everyone’s 2013 ALA Annual “bucket list.”

The dedicated staff and mentors of YouMedia lead teens in a range of workshops, from digital music production and digital video production to graphic design and podcasting, to give them the skills and resources to produce fabulous works of self-expression and creativity.

On Sunday, June 30^th from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m., a member of YouMedia’s staff will conduct an overview and tour of the space; registration will be limited to the first twenty-five people who register.

All Friends of YALSA are cordially invited to a reception honoring Michael L. Printz winner, Nick Lake. Join us at this wonderful cocktail hour, hosted by Bloomsbury Children’s Books, before the Michael L. Printz Program and Reception during ALA’s Annual Conference on July 1st from 5:30-7:30pm in the Columbus AB room of the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

Unable to attend yourself? Gift your invitation to someone else so they can meet this amazing author and learn more about YALSA. Help introduce someone to an award-winning author, and a fabulous organization at the same time.

YALSA’s 56th birthday is quickly approaching. Help support YALSA and YALSA members by becoming a Friend of YALSA. Beyond this amazing reception, Friends of YALSA will also  enjoy reserved seating at the Printz and Edwards Receptions at ALA’s Annual Conference. Friends members in the Gold and Platinum circles will also be invited to small, intimate reception with Margaret A. Edwards winner Tamora Pierce.

If you are staying at home but still want to get involved, help us spread the word about YALSA’s birthday! Make a YALSA birthday cake and post it to YALSA’s Facebook page by Monday, May 17. The best baker will win their choice of an amazing apron from The Cornish Hen’s Etsy Shop. You could theme your cake around Nick Lake’s amazing book In Darkness, and check out our Pinterest board for amazing Haitian ingredients and recipes. Or if you feeling a little more local, throw a Blue and Orange party for YALSA with ideas from this Pinterest board.

In the first five weeks, I talked about presenting yourself as a professional, speaking the language, collecting data, sharing information up the ladder, and taking a big-picture look. I’ll conclude this series by talking a bit about:

Getting Everyone On Board

One way to get managers to take notice of teen services and programs is to get everyone talking about those services and programs. “Everyone” means:

• library staff
• teens
• parents
• community members
• trustees
• elected officials
• everyone!

How do you do that? You start by telling the stories. One manager in YALSA’s survey of manager-members suggested that we need to tell “stories of how teen services develop youth and transform communities.” Another suggested that we need to “connect teen services to improved community view of libraries.”

You hear these stories from your teens, from their parents, sometimes even from others. Take the time to collect those stories and share them with your supervisor and library director. Also, share those success stories with other staff members. We tend to get stuck in our own silos at work, but one big way you can help teens is by making sure that other library staff see the value of teen services and programs–children’s librarians, adult services librarians, circulation staff, technical services staff.

By sharing what you are doing with these other staff members you are accomplishing two things: you are keeping teen services in the front of their minds, and you are creating opportunities for partnerships among the staff. When you tell a circulation clerk about your teen program on scrapbooking, you may discover that the clerk is an expert scrapbooker herself, and can offer you some tips about where to get the best supplies. Or it may turn out that she has connections to a group of teens through her church, her children’s school, or some other community organization and could spread the news about your program there. One simple conversation and you have another partner on board!

The same goes for other community members. Especially if you live in the same community where you work, do all of your connections know what you do? Do your workout buddies, church friends, book group friends, parent group acquaintances, homeowners’ association members, and others you come into contact with know that you work with teens? Can they help spread the word around the community about your programs and services?

Find out something about your board of trustees or city council members. Are any of them parents or grandparents of teens? Can you supply them with summer reading information, booklists, information about homework help? Do you have a volunteer program they should know about?

The more integral teen library services are to the community, the more difficult it will be for the library’s director and trustees to cut the budget for teen services. When the library director is hearing from all sides about the wonderful things that are happening with teens in the library, he or she can in turn share those stories with the trustees or council, and make a strong case for increasing support for teen services.

I hope you have found some valuable tips in this blog series. For more ideas on how to improve teen services in your library, be sure to check out YALSA’s Competencies for Librarians Serving Youth and the Public Library Teen Services Evaluation Tool. 

And please use the comments to share your own success stories about how you succeeded in getting more administrative support for teen services in your library!

Sarah Flowers

YALSA Immediate Past President