I have undertaken a really big grant project in my current position. It launches tomorrow. It was supposed to launch last week, but I got Covid the week before, which could not have been worse timing. I had to push everything back a week, which was really frustrating and disappointing. I want everything to START already!
Category: Administrative and Management Skills
Middle Management and Leadership
Are you a supervisor or manager, but not the head of your department? I attended this #alaac2022 session “Supervisors in Transition: Navigating Moments of Change” because, while I’m not a new manager anymore, I always need new information, advice, and experience from others to navigate my role and mentor my direct reports.
Digital Media Resources updated for 2022
Hello Friends! We have some exciting news to share. The ALSC Digital Media Resources page has been updated. This list, created and updated annually by the ALSC Children and Technology Committee, curates current digital and tech articles, blog posts, and websites impacting the youth services field. This year we’ve added some new categories–media mentorship and podcast advisory–and updated recommendations on the familiar topics of children’s eBooks and apps, early learning, and research. Each section’s resources are selected with focused attention on the interactions of children and technology.
Staying Out of Trouble
Whenever I look at something going bad, I ask: Are there systems in place? Are they up to date? Are they implemented? It all leads up to making decisions on high consequence, low probability events, or what many call high risk – low frequency. Think of your library. Each library consists of a distinct set of offices, branches, departments, or at a minimum, colleagues each with set of things for which they are responsible. Let’s just call them the things we do; each of us. Your job is complex. There may be hundreds or thousands of things you do that need to happen correctly so that your library, office, branch, or department can function; consistently delivering upon its mission. Those things all have one singular goal; doing it right. In youth work, if you are going to recommend titles, you do it right. If you are presenting a story time,…
Why you should consider volunteering for the ALSC Budget Committee
For me, and maybe for some of this blog’s readers, this time of year is professional association membership renewal season! It’s also a great time of year to be completing my professional association volunteer forms. For ALSC, you can find that form here: https://www.ala.org/alsc/aboutalsc/coms/alscforms.
Katrina to Ida: Staff Communication and Community
There has been a lot written, in this blog and in other publications, about the role libraries and librarians can play in helping communities that experience a natural disaster. Children’s librarians play an especially important role in providing kids and families with resources for recovery and resiliency. But library staff are also going through the disaster and aftermath themselves. Having gone through two major hurricanes, 16 years apart to the day, I would like to share what I’ve learned about taking care of the library’s greatest asset during and after a disaster-the staff.
Overwhelmed By: Researching Your Community
Reaching traditionally marginalized or underserved communities is overwhelming. We don’t want to make this work look easy; it truly isn’t. However, we believe library staff at all levels can do this work with the right tools and support. This year, we’re bridging the gap between tangible resources and getting started. Today, we’ll focus on researching your community.
Pondering Indoor Story Times
This next phase of the “new normal” as I so often hear it phrased, means indoor programs are on the horizon. Of course, there are many heroic libraries and librarians that have been doing in-person and indoor programs for many months, or maybe over a year. Indoor programs and relaunching a regular service of programs brings a lot of feelings and emotions to the front of my mind. Now that I am in management, I won’t have to do any of the programs, but I want to ensure that my staff feels safe and comfortable. However, I also want to provide an opportunity for education and fun at the library for youth and their families.