{"id":36017,"date":"2026-05-21T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T04:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/?p=36017"},"modified":"2026-05-21T12:13:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T16:13:53","slug":"national-pride-from-the-mcs-committee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2026\/05\/national-pride-from-the-mcs-committee\/","title":{"rendered":"National Pride from the MCS Committee"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As you may know, on September 1, 2026, ALSC will re-unify with YALSA! This is a huge organizational endeavor. Watching the work from the Managing Children\u2019s Services Committee, we can see all the skills that have gone into making this shift a success: disseminating information, holding space for processing, gathering feedback, leaving ample time for work to get completed, and encouraging a sense of cohesion throughout it all! We think it\u2019s safe to say that all of us know this &#8211; no matter the change, we are members, we will stay connected, and we will keep investing in our field.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"488\" height=\"650\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_7386-1-488x650.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36021\" style=\"width:488px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_7386-1-488x650.jpeg 488w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_7386-1-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_7386-1-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_7386-1-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_7386-1-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_7386-1-375x500.jpeg 375w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_7386-1-68x90.jpeg 68w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_7386-1-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 488px) 100vw, 488px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Speaking of investing in our field, here is a photo of a local 5th grader&#8217;s artwork of a *literal* field, which was on display at the Bloomington Public Library in April 2026!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As members of a committee that is sunsetting and changing to an interest group, we wanted to reflect on our experiences and share some thoughts in our final formal blog post:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Resources live on! Search the ALSC Blog by keyword or by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/author\/managing-childrens-services-committee\/\">contributor<\/a> to look for ideas and answers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>MCS Committee Members Mary Fellows, Lisa Mulvenna, and Uma Nori presented at ALSC Institute 2024 on Climbing the Leadership Ladder: What You Need to Know Before Starting and How to Decide Where to Stop, available <a href=\"https:\/\/elearning.ala.org\/course\/view.php?id=1773\">here<\/a> (click register to be directed to the page with the recording, handout, and slides!)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>MCS Committee Members Amanda Murphy, Chelsea Arnold, and Marybeth Kozikowski wrote &#8220;Failure IS an Option&#8221; for <em>Children and Libraries<\/em>,&nbsp; Summer 2025 Issue, <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.ala.org\/index.php\/cal\/issue\/view\/889\">Vol 23, No 2 (2025)<\/a>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We have built a career-long network!&nbsp; We see each other at conferences, chat through email, and encourage each other in our careers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We have celebrated each other\u2019s wins, encouraged through tough times (multiple building projects and a tornado disaster), and recently celebrated the retirement of a past committee member.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Serving on this committee has reinforced the value of a national perspective to enhance personal and professional growth. Unmatched in their experience and enthusiasm, committee members from across the country encourage us to break out of our local \u201cfour walls,\u201d seek innovative ideas, and embrace change.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We are proud to have worked with our amazing committee members. And we are so proud to be part of this affirming and ambitious national organization!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"465\" height=\"650\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_9076-2-465x650.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-36022\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_9076-2-465x650.png 465w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_9076-2-215x300.png 215w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_9076-2-768x1073.png 768w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_9076-2-1100x1536.png 1100w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_9076-2-358x500.png 358w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_9076-2-64x90.png 64w, https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_9076-2.png 1149w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 465px) 100vw, 465px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A photo of a sunset over Chicago during ALA Annual in 2023 (where the conference returns this June!) Courtesy of Alex Bell.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Today\u2019s blog post was written by Alex Bell, Lisa Mulvenna, and Marybeth Kozikowski on behalf of the ALSC Managing Children\u2019s Services Committee.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This blog relates to ALSC Core Competencies of VI. Administrative and Management Skills and VII. Professionalism and Professional Development.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As you may know, on September 1, 2026, ALSC will re-unify with YALSA! This is a huge organizational endeavor. Watching the work from the Managing Children\u2019s Services Committee, we can see all the skills that have gone into making this shift a success: disseminating information, holding space for processing, gathering feedback, leaving ample time for work to get completed, and encouraging a sense of cohesion throughout it all! We think it\u2019s safe to say that all of us know this &#8211; no matter the change, we are members, we will stay connected, and we will keep investing in our field.&nbsp; As members of a committee that is sunsetting and changing to an interest group, we wanted to reflect on our experiences and share some thoughts in our final formal blog post: We are proud to have worked with our amazing committee members. And we are so proud to be part&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":226,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[692,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-managing-childrens-services-committee","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36017\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}