Thanks again to all who braved the snowy weather to be part of the 2015 Midwinter Meetings, as well as those who chose to participate virtually with the board and other activities. It was a busy January, and I'm thrilled with all the work that members and the YALSA Board accomplished. Here's a peek at what I've been doing:
Activities
- Currently appointing to the new Board Diversity Taskforce, which will look at and make recommendations regarding the selection and recruitment of YALSA leaders. If you’re interested in serving, please send me an e-mail and/or submit a volunteer form.
- With Executive Director Beth Yoke and the board, finalized agendas for Midwinter YALSA Executive Committee and Board meetings.
- Led discussions at YALSA Board meetings. Draft minutes of those discussions will be posted here.
- Led discussions during two YALSA Executive Committee meetings. Draft minutes of those discussions will be posted here.
- Led a Board Planning Session which focused on outcomes training and ways to incorporate outcomes into YALSA’s strategic planning process.
- Attended formal and informal meetings with Division and ALA leaders at the Midwinter conference.
- Highlighted the work of YALSA selection committees at the Youth Media Awards.
- Hosted and celebrated Nonfiction and Morris award winners and finalists at the Midwinter reception.
- Appointed members to fill vacancies on various committees.
- Spoke with CNN regarding the importance of the Morris Award and recognizing new authors.
- Spoke with U.S. News and World Report about teen library engagement.
Updates
Gratitude
- Thank you to all the selection and award committee members and Chairs who have just completed a year's worth of hard work in recognizing great books to engage all teens (and the librarians who love them).
- Thank you to the YALSA liaisons for attending and reporting back from ALA meetings.
- Thank you to the YALSA Board for engaging in some mega discussions and your assistance in moving YALSA forward.
- Thank you to YALSA staff (Beth Yoke, Letitia Smith, Anna Lam, Nicole Munguia, and Nichole O'Connor) for all that you do, both behind the scenes at conference, and for your hard work throughout the year in the YALSA office.
YALSA’s Board of Directors met last weekend at the ALA Midwinter Meeting. Between the blizzard and the member Happy Hour and the number of other YALSA programs, I'm pleased with the time and attention the Board spent on big issues that drive and guide YALSA and our members.
Key activities included participating in training about outcomes-based planning and assessment and strategic planning. The board also took action in some key areas, including:
The board also initiated discussion on some critical topics that may or may not lead to action down the road, depending on further information-gathering and discussions:
The full minutes of the meeting will be posted in the Governance Section of the web site later this month.
One big thing that I would like members to know about the Board’s work at Midwinter is that the group came to the consensus to shift strategic planning in a different direction. The original vision for the Board’s time at Midwinter was to create a draft plan to share out with members; however, once the discussions started it became obvious that the Board first needs to step back and have a bigger picture discussion about YALSA—what its fundamental purpose and mission is and whether that needs to evolve based on the rapid changes in libraries.
The Board voted unanimously that the focus of their work and strategic planning needs to be grounded in the findings of “The Future of Library Services for and with Teens: a Call to Action” report. This document will drive all of the work that YALSA will do over the next few years and will be the foundation on which the new strategic plan is built. If you haven’t read the report yet, I encourage you to do so. Think about what you need in order to implement the recommendations in the report and come share your ideas and thoughts at a virtual town hall session on Feb. 24th from 3:00 – 4:00pm, eastern (no advance registration is required). The input of members is a vitally important part of the strategic planning process. Member feedback helps drive the Board’s decision making, so please make an effort to attend. There will be other opportunities besides the Feb. town hall, and we’ll keep you informed about those via the weekly e-news.
Lastly, I’d also like to take a moment to thank all of the members who participated in the Midwinter Meeting, whether it was volunteering in the booth, conducting committee work, participating in sessions or more.
I appreciate all the time and talent you give to YALSA!
Last fall, YALSA conducted a survey to get member input on the next strategic plan. The Strategic Planning Taskforce’s official report is now available as part of the YALSA Board’s 2015 Midwinter Meeting Board Documents. You can find it at item #26 on the agenda. If you have any responses to share on the survey, we would love to hear from you!
There are lots of strategic planning activities happening at Midwinter! The Board will be dedicating its Board Planning and Board I meetings to strategic planning sessions with consultant Alan Brickman (item #1 on the agenda). Like all Board meetings, these are open to all conference attendees, and you are welcome to drop in and observe. We’ll also be live tweeting from board meetings, so please follow @yalsa for more details.
Member involvement is a key part of successful strategic planning, so YALSA’s also hosting a member planning session at Midwinter: Moving YALSA Forward on Sunday, February 1, from 1-2:30 pm. This session will be facilitated by Alan Brickman as well. Advocacy emerged as an important theme in our member survey results, and it will be the main topic explored here. We hope you’ll come and participate in this session: we need to hear from as many members as possible to make it a success! Light refreshments will be available.
If you’re not attending Midwinter--or your schedule is already too packed!--YALSA still wants to hear from you on the development of the next strategic plan. One way to be heard will be to attend the virtual town hall that YALSA President Chris Shoemaker will be hosting on February 24, 3-4 pm Eastern, via Adobe Connect. (Mark your calendars now!) Or, please feel free to email us with your comments and concerns. You can reach Chris at [email protected] and Joy Kim, Strategic Planning Chair, at [email protected].
We hope to see many of you in Chicago!
It’s time to start schedule planning for Midwinter, marking off the chunks of time in your calendar or conference planner, factoring in coat buttoning, hunting for scarves and gloves, and all those other winter weather factors!
While YALSA’s Board of Directors will be meeting at the ALA Midwinter Meeting Jan. 30 – Feb. 2, we’ll be using some of our sessions a bit differently this year. Instead of three separate sessions to meet to discuss association business, the first board session on Saturday will be a facilitated strategic planning session for board members. This session is part of a months’ long effort to develop a new strategic plan for YALSA. There will also be a strategic planning session for YALSA members at Midwinter from 1:00 – 2:30 on Sunday in room W192b of the convention center. During the spring we’ll also host virtual feedback sessions for members, and we hope to have a new plan finalized by no later than June.
The board will meet on Sunday and Monday at Midwinter to address current governance matters. All board sessions are open, and any registered conference attendee is welcome to sit in.
For the Sunday and Monday meetings, the board will be addressing a wide variety of topics, including: adopting best practices in change management, bringing more diversity to the YALSA leadership, year two of rolling out activities that support the recommendations in the report “The Future of Library Services for and with Teens: a Call to Action,” prioritizing use of YALSA endowments funds for 2015, and more.
Right now, YALSA’s Board members are working hard to finalize the agenda and develop the related documents. Our goal is to post them online in the Governance section of the web site on January 16th.
To learn more about what YALSA and the Board have going on at ALA’s Midwinter Meeting, visit http://tinyurl.com/YALSAmw15.
If you’re not attending the Midwinter Meeting, be sure to follow YALSA on Twitter, as Board members will be Tweeting news and board actions.
Have questions? Feel free to contact me: @doseofsnark or [email protected]. I’m excited about the work that has been done since Annual and Fall exec, and look forward to working with the board and members to keep moving YALSA forward!
