This is a guest post from Kelly Stade, Area Manager at the Hennepin County Library.

All leaders need support. Intentionally building your network can support you when you feel stuck, spark creativity and connect you with new opportunities.

As a private person, it can sometimes be difficult for me to ask for help. Networking within your library system, school or professional organization can feel challenging. I admire my colleagues who seem comfortable reaching out to a broad network of supporters. As I have pushed myself to build connections, it has been beneficial both for myself and the library where I work.

“What would you do?” moments. We have all run into situations where we feel stumped or puzzled. We also have moments where we feel confident, but would value a second opinion. Both are excellent opportunities to reach out to trusted peers. By the nature of being a leader, you try new things, push yourself, explore, and you extend beyond your comfort zone. When venturing into this new territory, it is only natural to have moments of uncertainty. Asking questions and asking for help demonstrates your confidence as a leader. The answers you get back will help you learn new skills and expand your perspective.

Even if you feel confident in your approach, reaching out for second opinions provides an opportunity to learn a diversity of styles. I love hearing how a single challenge can be approached from a number of different angles. The diversity of opinions challenges me to reframe and refine myself as a leader.

When putting myself in a vulnerable position of asking for help or for a second opinion, I can open the door to become a trusted support for others, repaying the favor.

“What are you up to?” moments. Creativity sparks creativity. The librarianship profession is one that rewards begging, borrowing and stealing. Need to develop a new summer program initiative or Teen Read Week promotion? Don’t reinvent the wheel. Reach out to your network to learn what other libraries are doing. The community or network you reach out to may live in-person or online.

Another benefit to building a network is that your network may lead you to new opportunities, like the opportunity to write on the YALSA blog.

Where can you start building your network? Look within your organization or neighboring libraries. Reach out to leaders in your organization who are doing work you admire. Do you know someone who seems to be well connected? Ask those well connected individuals to introduce you to a broader circle. You can also look within YALSA, ALA or your local library community. Join a committee, attend a conference or participate in professional opportunities. Intentionally build your network through professional leadership programs such as the PLA Leadership Academy or ALA Emerging Leader Program. I am fortunate to be a graduate of the 2014 ALA’s Emerging Leader program. Through the program, I was able to make strong connections to librarians across the country. It is exciting to learn from and share with librarians outside of my home state. As a leader, challenge yourself to ask for help and reach out the leaders around you. Making professional connections will not only benefit you, it will make our profession stronger.

Start small. The next time you feel stuck or in need for inspiration, intentionally connect with one new person. You will soon find that your efforts feel more natural and your network richly diverse.

Kelly Stade is an Area Manager for Hennepin County Library, with a background in Youth Services. She is passionate about leadership development and supporting others in active leadership. Connect with Kelly via LinkedIn.

A short list of tweets from the past week of interest to teens and the library staff that work with them.

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 12 and June 8 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.

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.

LWB: What was your inspiration for this project?
JB: Teens are highly motivated to learn new technologies, but they often lack the access and facilitated introduction to emerging technologies. The response to our technology programs for teens has been very positive, but we want to reach more teens and not limit exposure to the small group programming setting.

LWB: In what ways are teens involved in the project?
JB: Teens will guide the direction of the CRATES to follow their topics of interest. They will learn multimedia tools as they create short videos of the monthly crate unboxing, will share their ideas and creations on our social media sites, and will gain knowledge in order to volunteer at tech programs.

LWB: How is your community involved in the project?
JB: Our community has expressed the need for more STEAM and technology offerings for teens and the library is a perfect partner to support digital literacy. This project will support not only teens but also those who work directly with teens such as teachers, parents, and organization leaders in modeling how they can support technology education for teens.

LWB: What are you updating/changing as you get ready for the Shark Bowl at Annual Conference
JB: We are working to refine our pitch by creating a short survey to evaluate success and preparing a draft budget. We are also drawing additional insights to reinforce our pitch from two recent ALA publications: YALSA's The Future of Library Services for and with Teens: A Call to Action and ALSC's Media Mentorship in Libraries Serving Youth (birth to age fourteen).

LWB: What are you most excited about in getting ready for Shark Bowl
JB:We are excited to share our ideas, learn more about the other projects, and spread the word at ALA Annual about the importance of empowering teens to innovate and learn through exploring technology.

LWB: Anything else you want to tell us?
JB: I encourage all librarians to try out new technologies with your teens and remember that it's okay to learn alongside and even from the teens in your library.

Learn more about YALSA Shark Bowl and don't forget to attend the YALSA President's Program on Monday, June 29th from 10:30 a.m. to noon to see the sharks and pitches live.

A short list of tweets from the past week of interest to teens and the library staff that work with them.

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 5 and June 11 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.

A short list of tweets from the past week of interest to teens and the library staff that work with them.

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 May 29 and June 4 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.

A short list of tweets from the past week of interest to teens and the library staff that work with them.

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 May 21 and May 27 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.

YALSA is seeking a Member Manager for its upcoming web resource, Teen Programming HQ, The mission of the new site is to provide a one-stop-shop for finding and sharing information about library programs of all kinds for and with teens. The site will promote best practices in programming by featuring user-submitted programs that align with YALSA’s Teen Programming Guidelines and Futures Report. The site will also enable dissemination of timely information about emerging and new practices for teen programming; raise awareness about appropriate YALSA tools to facilitate innovation in teen programming; and provide a means for members and the library community to connect with one another to support and display their efforts to continuously improve their teen programs. The site is expected to have a soft launch in July and a full launch in September. Please note that web developers have been contracted with to build the site. The Member Manager is not expected to have any web site design or development responsibilities.

The Member Manager will work with YALSA's Communications Specialist to ensure the site is relevant, interactive, engaging and meeting member needs for information about innovation in teen programming, as well as participates in the maintenance of the site and work within the guidelines for the site as set by the YALSA Board of Directors. The Member Manager assists with the recruitment of experts and the collection of content for the site; generates ideas for direction and content; helps obtain, analyze and use member and library community feedback about the site; assists with marketing; and assists with ensuring programming related activities, news and resources from YALSA are integrated in the site, and vice versa.

List of Qualifications for the Member Manager:

1. Strong project management and organizational skills
2. Ability to delegate work and to manage a variety of contributors and volunteers
3. Dynamic, self-motivated individual
4. Excellent verbal and written communications skills
5. Experience in web site maintenance
6. Ability to set and meet deadlines
7. Knowledge of best practices in teen programming, as outlined in YALSA’s Teen Programming Guidelines and Futures Report
8. Ability to work well in a team environment
9. Ability to work well in a mostly virtual setting, including using tools such as Google Drive, Google Calendar, Skype, etc. to coordinate work and communicate with others
10. Membership in YALSA and a passion for YALSA’s mission
11. High ethical standards and no real or perceived conflict of interest with YALSA or its portfolio of print and web publications

General Member Manager Responsibilities:

Oversight & Coordination

• For the inaugural year of the site, work with the Communications Specialist to create and implement systems and processes to ensure efficient oversight, promotion and integration of the site and database. Make adjustments as needed
• For the inaugural year of the site, work with the expert panel to formalize the vetting process and create and utilize guidelines, standard messaging, etc. to create consistency with the vetting process. Make adjustments as needed
• Work with the Communications Specialist to recruit and vet experts to vet the program proposals, and submit recommendations to the President
• Communicate with the Communications Specialist on a regular basis in order to assign tasks, discuss marketing strategies, discuss site management, etc.
• Work with the blog managers and YALS and JRLYA editors as appropriate to coordinate dissemination of information to members and the library community.
• Maintain communication with YALSA member groups whose work relates to teen programming
• Follow all established policies and guidelines, enforce them as necessary and periodically conduct a review of them to ensure currency
• Direct questions about sponsorships, advertising, etc. to YALSA’s Executive Director
• Write reports prior to the Annual Conference and Midwinter Meeting for submission to the YALSA Board

Seek Out & Manage Content & Contributors

• Provide oversight to the panel of experts to make sure the quality of program submissions is acceptable complies with YALSA’s Teen Programming Guidelines and Futures Report
• With the Communications Specialist recruit contributors on a regular basis
• Effectively motivate, support and manage a group of volunteers
• Manage a strategy to deal with comments and spam daily in order to guarantee that the site content is appropriate

Promotion

• Seek out opportunities to recruit contributors and inform the library community about the site
• Answer questions and inquiries about the site in a timely fashion
• Work with the YALSA Website Advisory Board and the Communications Specialist to create cross-promotion of all YALSA's web presences
• Utilize social media to increase awareness of the site and its content

Technical Maintenance

• Work with YALSA’s Communications Specialist as appropriate to update and manage software
• Monitor new technologies and their potential to impact the site, and make recommendations to the Communications Specialist, as appropriate

YALSA Communications Specialist Responsibilities:

• Communicates regularly with Member Manager to provide support and facilitate work
• Works with the site developer and the ALA IT Dept. as needed on technical issues
• Handles all financial transactions for the site
• Promotes the site through appropriate venues
• Coordinates efforts and facilitates communication among all YALSA publications, including the blogs and journals
• Manages the site software, including liaising with the developer and ALA’s IT Dept. to troubleshoot technical issues
• Ensure site guidelines and policies are complied with
• Oversee the recruitment process for Member Managers, as needed

The Member Manager will be selected by the YALSA Executive Committee by August 1, 2015. The term of the appointment is one year beginning in August 2015, with an option to renew for a second year, based on performance. The Member Manager will receive an honorarium of $500 per year plus $500 towards travel to each Annual Conference and Midwinter Meeting while serving as Member Manager. Candidates must send a cover letter and resume, which includes project management, teen programming, marketing and website maintenance experiences to [email protected]. All resumes, etc. must be submitted via email. The deadline for submission is July 1, 2015. Please note that this is not a salaried staff position, but a member volunteer opportunity. Please direct questions to Anna Lam at [email protected]

A short list of tweets from the past week of interest to teens and the library staff that work with them.

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 May 15 and May 21 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.

A friend of mine just accepted a promotion. When I asked her why she accepted it and what she was looking forward to, she said, “I’m really looking forward to working for my new boss; I really respect him and he’s indicated he trusts me. But what he doesn’t know is that lots of time I don’t know what I’m doing.”

She said this jokingly, but it struck a chord with me as I’ve been in a new role in my library since January. On my first day, another colleague advised, “Fake it ‘till you make it!” Each day, I never really know exactly what to do or how to respond to dilemmas - but I have a plan, some strategies, some good instinct and I ask good questions. So far it’s working.

People have three psychological needs: autonomy -- a perception that we have some choices that are ours to make; relatedness - a connection to something or someone - beyond ourselves; and competence -- a feeling of effectiveness and success. We need these in our personal lives, and also in our workplaces.

One of the hardest things I’ve seen library staff (including myself) struggle with is when our own personal levels of competence are not where we want them to be--it’s true for everyone, but feels especially relevant in libraries, where we highly value our expertise and knowledge--and get to demonstrate it almost every day if we work directly with the public.

When we’re in a new role at our library--a promotion, a change in responsibilities or location--especially one in which we’re not regularly called on to demonstrate our excellent information-seeking and finding skills, this change from “I know how to answer your question” to “I don’t know what to do next” can feel especially unsettling.

I’ve been in a new role since January -- and it’s a stretch. For the first time in my library career, my work is not directly connected to youth services or to staff delivering services to children, youth and families. I’m leading staff working in areas critical to the library’s success, but know very little about those areas.

Despite feeling like I’m not always competent, I like my new role because of the talented staff I’m working with -- who ARE subject matter experts in their areas and who need a leader, not another expert in their area of work. These staff, too, made the leap from the comfort of direct service to patrons, to areas that were very new to them.

Some of the most intensive learning we can do as individuals is through stretch assignments -- projects or assignments or tasks that sometimes feel physically painful to us as we’re going through them -- we might not automatically know what to do, we may need to try something that doesn’t work, reach out to others for support, or delegate the work completely.

As I’ve worked with individual staff members on stretch assignments or development opportunities, many will say, “I have no idea what I’m doing” or “I don’t think I can do this work.” I have felt like that many times, myself -- and feel it regularly in my new work.

These new roles of project manager, supervisor, community organizer, advocate, and facilitator are ones we must step into. It may mean moving out of our comfort zone and taking on new new roles in our organization. Stretch assignments test our feelings of competence, but they are necessary to further and advance service to teen patrons in our libraries.

It’s amazing to me that we’re often so impatient with our own learning, but so supportive of teens as they learn new skills -- supporting them in leading a planning meeting, encouraging them to share their crazy idea with the group, and leading the group in reflective conversations when there is conflict. Stretch into a new role or assignment - and be patient with our own learning and development.

Some ideas for YALSA resources to support your next opportunity to stretch:

Apply to be the next member manager of the Hub

Read YALSA’s Future of Library Services for and with Teens: a Call to Action report again - this time for an eye on areas where your current role might evolve.

A short list of tweets from the past week of interest to teens and the library staff that work with them.

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 May 8 and May 14 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.

A short list of tweets from the past week of interest to teens and the library staff that work with them.

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 April 24 and 30 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.

Admission time: like many of us in Library Land, I am still figuring out the best ways to measure program outcomes. Marking attendance is relatively easy (although to be fair, sometimes the teens move do around a lot, which can make them tricky to count). It's a bit harder to identify the changes I want to see as a result of my program, and then accurately measure those changes.

The Programming Guidelines ask us to "Engage in youth-driven, evidence-based evaluation and outcome measurement." I'm not quite there yet. As I mentioned in my post about our weekly drop-in, we've been working with participants in that program to identify priorities, and now we're moving towards evaluations that will measure whether those priorities are being met. But it's still a work in progress.

What I have gotten better at is working with community partners to create evaluations for programs. For example, we regularly work collaborate with Year Up to build their students' information and digital literacy skills. Before each workshop, we meet with Year Up staff to make sure that we'll be teaching the skills they want participants to gain. Collaborating with partners on our evaluations and learning from them about their own evaluation methods has made a huge difference in the quality of our evaluations overall.

At Year Up, I give the students pre- and post-tests to see how much our classes are moving the needle on desired skills and knowledge. We send Year Up staff an early draft of the tests (same questions for both) and incorporate their feedback in the final evaluation tool. Seems foolproof, right?

Well, here's a graph I made from the results of an earlier incarnation of those pre- and post-tests. Can you spot the problem(s)?

Library jargon. Words like "catalog" and "keywords" muddied the results, because (especially before the workshop) students didn't really know what those words meant. My vague question about whether "all the world's knowledge" is available via Google wasn't great either. Students figured that the answer was probably "no"--because of course librarians hate Google. (I don't, honest!) As I phrased it, the question didn't measure the movement I saw in their understanding of WHY a lot of the world's best info isn't available on Google. (Which as we all know is about money, honey.)

This wasn't the best evaluation tool. The next time I created a survey for Year Up, I drastically rewrote the questions. But that's okay! This survey did measure some outcomes--e.g., a huge increase in library resource knowledge among participants. And I learned some pitfalls to avoid next time.

I'm a big fan of giving myself permission to fail, and I take myself up on it a lot--especially when it comes to measuring outcomes. The important thing is to learn and adjust, and get better data next time.

A short list of tweets from the past week of interest to teens and the library staff that work with them.

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 April 17 and 23 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.

A short list of tweets from the past week of interest to teens and the library staff that work with them.

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 April 3 and April 9 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.

Tweets of the Week April 3, 2015 (*Note: the format for this week's Tweets is a link to Storify - some technical difficulties are being resolved.)

As the chair of YALSA's Programming Guidelines taskforce, I'm excited to announce that the Teen Programming Guidelines are now available! The guidelines cover all aspects of programming, from idea to evaluation. They were developed in alignment with The Future of Library Services For and With Teens: A Call to Action, and with input from YALSA members. Our hope is that these guidelines will be a valuable tool for you in your library work with teens, both as how-to guide and as an advocacy tool.

To celebrate, YALSAblog is hosting 30 Days of Teen Programming, a month-long series of posts to help get us all started thinking about the guidelines in concrete terms. Each post will tie into one of the ten guidelines with examples, ideas, best practices, or problem-solving.

We'd love to hear from you as well. How do the guidelines reflect the work you're already doing? How do you hope to use the guidelines in your library?

A short list of tweets from the past week of interest to teens and the library staff that work with them.

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 March 27 and April 2 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.

A short list of tweets from the past week of interest to teens and the library staff that work with them.

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 March 13 and March 19 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.

A short list of tweets from the past week of interest to teens and the library staff that work with them.

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 February 27 and March 6 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.

So you’re ready to embark on a micro partnership. You’ve done your community analysis, so you’re familiar with current demographic information in your area. You’ve considered which audiences you’d like to target to promote equity. Now all you need is a partner organization.

But how to choose? It’s a little bit like (very platonic) dating: who’s your perfect match?

Choosing community partners:  almost nothing like The Dating Game.

Before you begin setting up dates with potential partners, here are three criteria to think about.

1. Are they reaching an audience you want to serve?

This is a big one. Partners who can deliver a built-in audience of the exact folks you want to reach are so dreamy. At my library, we often work with partners who serve clients facing barriers (e.g., youth who are low income, homeless, or English language learners), allowing us to target those audiences directly.

What’s really great is that we’re often able to build on the trust that teens have in the partner organization. Right now we’re partnering with a youth shelter to provide weekly afternoon drop-ins in the library. On the mornings of the drop-ins, we visit the shelter to chat and hand out invitations. If the youth have had previous negative experiences in the library--or even just fear that they might not be welcome--seeing us show up in their space, working closely with staff they trust, helps us prove ourselves as allies.

These partners also help us tailor our offerings to their clients' specific needs. Instead of creating a program on our own and just hoping it’s relevant, our partners and the youth themselves tell us exactly they need. We get immediate feedback about what works and what doesn’t. And we adjust.

2. Does the organization’s mission overlap with the library’s mission (and your own work plan)?

There doesn’t have to be 100% mission overlap between the partners—in fact, that will pretty much never be the case. But you should be able to create a project that will help both sides achieve something relevant and important to them.

One of our partners is a local government agency that provides academic support and paid internships to low income teens. Obviously, providing academic and career support for youth is also important to the library, and to my department in particular. We work with the partner to create and teach technology workshops to give the teens the skills they need succeed at their internships (the partner’s goal—although we are also totally down with it) while also building digital and information literacy (our goal).

3. Do they have skills or resources you don’t have?

Librarians are pretty great at almost everything, but let’s face it: we can’t do it all. Sometimes we collaborate with partners who have cool stuff or can do cool stuff. College prep & scholarship programs are a good example. Since the complex college application process is not our specialty, my department works with organizations that can provide students with expert guidance.

The very best magic happens when we can match a partner with great resources or skills with another partner who serves the perfect audience for those resources or skills. That’s next-level partnership stuff. More on that later!

I’m lucky to live in a city with a lot of potential community partners. The options may look different where you are, but I bet they’re out there. How do you select partners in your community? What do you hope your partners will bring to the table?

Happy Monday, amazing YALSA members!

Can you believe it's already near the end of February?

For those who've made New Year's resolutions to be more involved in the profession, it's not too late!

The deadline to apply to join a YALSA strategic committee, jury, or taskforce is this Sunday, March 1st!

You can see the full list of committees and juries here.

Strategic committees are a great way to get involved with YALSA, as they are virtual committees. Or, if you are a new member and looking to try committee work for the first time, the strategic committees are a great way to learn about YALSA, connect with teen service professionals from around the country, and help you develop your virtual work skills and teen expertise. So, if travel and conference attendance aren't an option for you this year, please take a minute to fill out the volunteer form here and send it in before March 1st!

My Appointments Taskforce and I will begin the process to fill the over 200 open positions that help YALSA accomplish the work of the strategic plan and the work that moves the association and members forward immediately after March 1st, so please be sure to get your application in before then.

I strongly encourage all YALSA members to apply - it is an easy and great way to get more involved in this amazing association, especially if you are interested in joining a YALSA selection or award committee in the future.

Please feel free to contact me at candice.yalsa (at) gmail.com if you have any questions!

A short list of tweets from the past week of interest to teens and the library staff that work with them.

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 January 9 and January 15 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.

A short list of tweets from the past week of interest to teens and the library staff that work with them.

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 December 26 and January 1 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.

A short list of tweets from the past week of interest to teens and the library staff that work with them.

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 December 19 and December 25 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.

A short list of tweets from the past week of interest to teens and the library staff that work with them.

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 December 12 and December 18 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.

Tweets of the Week December 12, 2014

Giving Tuesday helps non-profits around the globe by bringing awareness to the importance of giving back and donating to a cause. This year will be YALSA’s third year in participating, and the Financial Advancement Committee’s (FAC) goal is to raise at least $4000 to send four...yes FOUR...YALSA members to National Library Legislative Day in Spring 2015. Financial Advancement chair Jack Martin (JM) and veteran member Melissa McBride (MM) interviewed each other below about the importance of giving to YALSA and having a strong presence at Library Legislative Day.  You can help us NOW by signing on to a Thunderclap that will be released on Giving Tuesday as a means of spreading the word about our fundraising goal.

JM: Melissa, this is FAC’s third year participating in Giving Tuesday, right? What the response been like in the past?

MM: Yes, although this is only my second year participating. The response last year was wonderful, as a committee member it was so great seeing all the support for both the Thunderclap and the donations that came in on Giving Tuesday. We far exceeded our expectations and were able to send additional members to Legislative Day.

JM: I love hearing about this great response. I think our members truly understand the importance of Library Legislative Day, and they know how much of an impact it makes to have YALSA members there to rep our awesome association!

MM: As a Past President of YALSA, what does it mean for you to see such support from the members of YALSA?

JM: For me, it’s all about advocacy. I think it’s easy for us to see our members being activists by physically representing YALSA at Library Legislative Day. What I think is harder to sometimes see but even more important are those activists who are giving to YALSA--via Giving Tuesday or any other time. In fact, I see them as some of YALSA’s most important activists because they’re helping association fulfill its mission to fight for teen services in libraries all across the country. I love thinking about all of that youth-focused goodwill, and as a Past President it motivates me to do the same both locally and nationally. Plus, I think it’s important that because of all of these activists who give to us, YALSA is able to award over $150,000.00 of scholarships and awards to members. That’s big stuff!

Speaking of advocacy, we know that YALSA members often place Advocacy and Activism at the top of their list when it comes to getting support from YALSA. Can you elaborate how Giving Tuesday supports this goal in YALSA’s Strategic Plan?

MM: Giving Tuesday enables librarians and library workers to have a voice. Sending librarians and library workers to Legislative Day, who care about the same issues as other YA librarians is powerful. It sends a strong message not only to our legislators, but also to every library worker who struggles to get what they need for their patrons. There are some days when it is just nice to know that YALSA is there supporting library staff and helping us to have a voice. The resources YALSA provides are a huge help in advocating for what we do.

JM: I know a lot of YALSA members might have questions about how much they should give for Giving Tuesday. What have people given in the past?

MM: Anything! If every YALSA member just gave $1 we would far exceed our goal of $4000 (which would send 4 members to Library Legislative Day)! It’s important for people to understand that even the smallest amount is a huge help. If you are in a position to be able to donate more, then great! Give up your Starbucks for the day and help get our voices heard! I actually just finished teaching my 2nd graders about Sarah Hale and her letter writing campaign (that spanned 38 years) just to get Thanksgiving turned into a national holiday. She knew that every letter counted, just as every penny donated counts.

JM: Wow. I hadn’t thought about it in that way. Let me reiterate: if every member only gave $1, we’d reach our goal! Maybe even surpass it! But also, I know many members may be wondering how they can give. YALSA has made it really easy to give, right?

MM: YALSA has made it so easy this year!  Not only can you log onto the ala.org and donate the traditional way, but now you can text to donate! All you have to do is text ALA TEENALA to this number: 41518 to make a $10 donation to YALSA. It couldn’t be easier!
JM: This has been a great conversation, Melissa! I hope everyone out there enjoyed learning about this super important initiative, and we’ll hopefully see everyone out there on social media to support YALSA’s Giving Tuesday campaign on Tuesday, December 2, 2014.