Meet Tessa

Tessa Michaelson Schmidt was recently hired as Wisconsin's  brand new Youth and Special Needs Consultant.

YSS: Welcome back to the state Tessa!  The last time we saw you was at the CCBC creating fun podcasts among your many duties.  Where did you head after that?

 I headed for the hills!  Well, the mountains rather.  My husband was offered a wonderful job in southwest Colorado.  We moved to Pagosa Springs, a small town in the Four Corners area in 2009.  Being in that part of the country was such a change for us.  We really embraced all of the new opportunities—everything from hiking in national forests and parks, eating lots of chili peppers, enjoying small town life (such as the county fair), and soaking up the high altitude sunshine.  I was extremely fortunate to land a job at the public library in our rural and resort community as a librarian and later became the assistant library director.   I managed the children’s and young adult collections as well as performed a host of other programming, technology, and management duties. 

YSS: What other library –and work - experiences have you had in your career?

 Should I reveal that I used to be something exciting like a waterskiing show performer or librarian to the stars?  In truth, my career path has always reflected my passions for libraries and learning.  I graduated from the School of Education at UW-Madison with a BS in Elementary Education.  I was a teacher at Wingra School, a progressive K-8 school in Madison.  Teaching at Wingra was inspiring and invigorating, but I always knew that I would go back to school.  So, after a few years of teaching third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders, I enrolled in the School of Library and Information Sciences (SLIS) at UW-Madison to get my MLS.  As graduation approached, I was offered a job back at Wingra as a school library media specialist where I team-taught integrated classroom curriculum in the school library and tech lab.  It was fast-paced, fun, and creative work.   Around this time, a position for a new librarian at the CCBC opened up.  The CCBC has had a special place in my heart for many years.  I worked there as a student reference assistant while I was an undergrad and grad student.  I was the intellectual freedom coordinator and I also served on the advisory board and the Friends’ board.  And then I got to be a CCBC librarian.  It was absolutely glorious.  I thoroughly enjoyed my role as a state library consultant talking with librarians and educators about high quality books for children and teens. 

YSS: What interested you the most when you saw the job posting for the Youth Special Needs state consultant position?

 Being away from Wisconsin last year amidst the turmoil was hard—I wanted to be here and fight for my state.  When I heard about this position, my first thought was, “This is how I can serve Wisconsin libraries. I have to do this!”  The opportunity to support the important work performed by librarians all around the state in the areas of youth services and special needs appealed to me.  Having worn the shoes of a teacher, school librarian, state library consultant, public librarian, and public library administrator, I felt that I could readily identify with a lot of folks on a lot of issues.  I felt that I was a good fit for the job with my experiences, passion for literacy and literature, and technology interests.   These are details about what I’m bringing to the position, however.   I also believe that this is not just about what I have to offer, but what we have to offer each other.   Clearly we’ve seen the evidence that we have to stick together. 

YSS: Do you have thoughts and plans on where you would like to put energy and effort in the youth side of your new position?

 I’m developing a small project called the Wisconsin Youth Services Showcase that will probably go live in April.  It is an online venue that identifies and spotlights ordinary and extraordinary things that Wisconsin youth librarians are doing.  Because a lot of librarians are trying to do more with less, I wanted to showcase the good stuff that is happening right here, right now.  I hope that this project will help Wisconsin youth services librarians become more familiar with each others’ work.  There is no need to reinvent the wheel by yourself all the time.  I want to help build more connections for us to learn, share, and create together. 

YSS: What message(s) would you like to share with youth librarians in particular?

 At this moment, my main goal is to listen.  I want to hear about what is going on in libraries and library systems.  I want input on the best ways to communicate and what kind of information you want to know about.  I’m happy to have conversations in person, by email, and over the phone. I’m trying to get out in the field as much as I can even though travel is tricky.  So, my message to everyone is to please be in touch!  I want to hear from you—ideas, issues, questions, concerns, suggestions…you name it, I’m listening.

YSS: What are some of your favorite outside-of-work activities?

 Right now I’m enjoying all things Wisconsin and being with family and friends.  It has been fun to see what has changed in Madison in the past 2 years.  There are lots of new restaurants to try!  My husband and I are headed up to Door County next month and I’m looking forward to the drive and the destination.   Besides enjoying the “newness” of being back home, my hobbies include cooking and baking, camping, running, biking, hiking, crafting, reading, travel, and anything related to Scandinavia. 

YSS: Anything else you’d like to share with YSS members?

 Thank you for the warm welcome.  I’m glad to be here, as well as be here for you!

Contact Information:

Tessa Michaelson Schmidt

Youth and Special Services Consultant

Wisconsin DPI, Public Library Development

125 South Webster Street, PO Box 7841
Madison, WI 53707-7841

P: (608) 267-5077

F: (608) 267-9207

Find http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/ys-sn.html

Like http://www.facebook.com/WisDPIpubLibDev

Follow https://twitter.com/%23!/WisDPIpubLibDev

YALSA can help...

I have this great button I got years ago... "Suffer From Ephebiphobia ? YALSA can Help!"
YALSA is having its elections for president, and has interviews with the candidates.

PLA 2012 in Philadelphia

ALSC's Blog has commentary from PLA as it happens. Not quite as good as being in Philly yourself, but it gives you a taste.

Fame, glory, $100! ALSC/YALSA video contest

Show us what tweens/young teen + technology looks like at your library and win a $100 Amazon giftcard. We are calling for video submissions from librarians on the front line.

How are you handling the digital lives of tweens and young teens at your library? The 2012 Presidents’ Program at ALA in Anaheim will be a joint affair between ALSC and YALSA. We will be talking about tweens and young teens and exploring their use of technology. What is the life of a tween or young teen like in this digital age? What are the particular challenges and opportunities they face online? What should libraries be doing? Show us in a video!

• Videos should be 2-3 minutes in length and created by librarians, for librarians. Show and tell us about an experience or project dealing with tweens and young teens and technology at your library. What worked? What didn’t? What did you learn?
• Post it on YouTube with the tag “youthprezprogram12”.
• Email co-chairs Tessa Michaelson Schmidt and Sarah Couri at tweenlibraryvideos@gmail.com with the YouTube link and your contact information.

• Deadline for submissions: Monday, April 30, 2012 at midnight.

Details Courtesy of Tessa Michaelson Schmidt,Youth and Special Services Consultant with Wisconsin DPI, Public Library Development

Eye Graphic http://bluedroplet.com/files/imagecache/story_image/eye.png

Reading with Dogs

Do you have a read-to-a-dog program at your library? How do you set one up? How do you promote it? Let me tell you a story:

I wanted to start a read-to-a-dog program, and our local museum (which shares a building with the library) was planning to do a “Passion for Pets” children’s exhibit at the beginning of 2012; I decided to try to start it during the exhibit dates. So I knew my timeline.

But where to find a dog? I had talked to Jill Lininger, who had a very successful program when she was in Racine, and she kindly gave me advice. She let me know that I needed to find a Therapy Dog. They are registered and carry their own insurance and need to pass a variety of tests to qualify; unfortunately in my neck of the woods there aren’t very many of them. I hunted and finally found Bob, who had a likely looking young Golden Retriever (Barley). Bob raises potential Leader Dogs, and Barley had washed out of the school and returned to Bob as a pet. Bob thought Barley would do well as a Therapy Dog, but hadn’t put him through the training yet. He agreed to let me know when Barley passed the tests and was registered, and also said he would be willing to bring Barley regularly in the spring. I had my program!! A Dog, a Guy, a Library, and we were set.

Now to find the kids. I am lucky to have a good relationship with all 5 school districts in my county, and decided to focus promotion for this program on the 3 closest school districts (an afternoon weekday program won’t fly for a kid who has to drive an hour to get to our branch). In the fall, once I knew about Barley, I called the librarians at the schools and called the Title 1 teachers and told them about the program. I pushed the idea that it had been successful and popular in other places, and asked them to promote it to their kids in newsletters and parent contacts, which they agreed to.

In January 2012 Bob called and let me know that Barley was ready. We agreed to start the program March 1^st and have Bob and Barley come every Thursday from 4-5 until school let out. I made up a poster using some photos of Barley, put them in the usual spots around the library and got them out to the schools as handouts, added information about Barley to my School Newsletters posting and the local Cable Channel posting. I added information about the program to our website. I talked to the staff member that writes a weekly column for our local newspaper and she made it the focus for the column the week prior to the program. I talked to the reporters for two of our local radio stations and got them interested. So I waited to see if the kids would come.

They Came! I had been warned not to panic if nobody came to read for the first few times but that first day we had 8 kids read to Barley. I was over the moon; I even had to make up a quick signup sheet! Our local radio station sent a reporter who took video and pictures and interviewed parents and then added the information to their website. Yowza! More promotion than I expected and really happy parents!

And then something unexpected happened. Have you heard about Pudding? He’s having his 15 minutes right now, and the story about him is busy going viral. His story got into the local paper, and a blurb about the museum exhibit (and a related program about pets here at the library) landed Above The Fold next to the main story. At the same time the Local Interest Section picked up the piece the radio station had done and fleshed out the story about the Miller Art Museum exhibit, and out little shindig to celebrate it. Yay Pudding! More free media attention!

Yesterday was program #2 for Barley, and once again we had plenty of kids reading and petting, and parents with big smiles on their faces. I used the pictures I took from the first day and made up a little handout for each family that had a reader that first day. The parents were delighted. What happens next? I have no idea, but we’re off to a good start!

College Goal Wisconsin

Today, we have a report of a fascinating program for college bound students from Laurie Bartz, Young Adult Librarian, Hedberg Public Library, Janesville, WI.

U hafta fafsa at college goal wi on Sat at 2:00 p.m. @YourPubLib. Bring parent, enter to win up to $1000 scholarship #highschoolmascot2012.

OK, so high school seniors probably didn’t really tweet a message like this to their friends, but they definitely did attend College Goal Wisconsin (CGW) at 29 sites throughout the state on February 18 & 19.  CGW is sponsored by the Wisconsin Association for Student Financial Aid Administrators and is designed to address the needs of low-income and first-generation college students who are completing and submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is required to apply for federal student aid, such as federal grants, loans, and work-study. The FAFSA is also used to apply for most state and college aid, in addition to some private financial aid.  

I first learned about College Goal Wisconsin during a discussion with a local high school guidance counselor about ways the public library could support the district’s efforts in encouraging high school students to pursue higher education.  College Goal sounded like a perfect fit.  While it was too late in the year to be part of the official program, we were able to hold our own FAFSA Completion Event through a partnership with Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corp.  Then in 2010, Hedberg Public Library in Janesville was added as an official CGW site.  Other sites include universities, technical colleges and high schools in various locations. 

Preparation for a College Goal Wisconsin or FAFSA completion event can begin as much as a year in advance.  Hosting an event of this type will require support from library administration and key departments such as Youth Services, Computer Systems and Public Information.  Establishing a partnership with higher education financial aid advisors or a group like College Goal Wisconsin is a must right from the start!  Clearance for the use of a large meeting space and several computers must be made well in advance as well as permission to use computers from other organizations, if needed.  

Our volunteers included college financial aid advisors, student services representatives, reference and young adult librarians, a bilingual outreach coordinator, computer systems manager and two college students.  Training sessions for volunteers were offered prior to the event that highlighted the FAFSA IRS retrieval system as well as line-by-line instructions for the FAFSA. 

While I did tweet a message or two and posted a Facebook event as College Goal approached this year, most of our publicity was more traditional.  Once the materials provided by CGW were approved for distribution to students, information about our event was included in daily announcements and emails to high school seniors.  Posters lined the walls of classrooms and flyers were available in guidance offices, libraries and charter schools. CGW water bottles and other freebies were given to seniors at area school Financial Aid Nights in January. 

On the day of CGW at our library, volunteers arrived early for instructions, assignments and pizza!  In order to accommodate everyone, laptops from our library system and additional computers were set up ahead of time.  Computers were networked for printing and shortcuts to the FAFSA and student survey were placed on desktops. Registration for students and families opened and we were off to a great start. Following a brief presentation at the start of CGW, students completed their FAFSA forms in computer labs with the help of volunteer FAFSA advisors. Over 80 participants attended CGW in Janesville this year and one lucky student will receive a $350 scholarship after enrolling in college in fall 2012. Students across Wisconsin took a major step toward pursuing their goals of higher education.

A few weeks after CGW, a One-on-One College Access Advising Session was held in our computer lab with Tou Ya Khang, College Access Advising Project Coordinator at Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation.  Students and families received help with questions about financial aid, applications and admissions, the FAFSA and scholarships.  In addition to its U HAFTA FAFSA campaign, Great Lakes offers several Next Stop College programs for high school students and their parents. 

Other helpful resources include FAFSA; Federal Student Aid Information; Federal Student Aid Information for Counselors; Federal Student Aid Publications; CGW Guidelines for Host Sites.   

And finally, I just discovered FAFSA on Twitter I think I’m ready to start planning for next year’s event!

Programs, Programs Everywhere

Nothing is nicer than when our communities beyond our families get a glimpse of the variety of programs we make available to kids in libraries.  Uber-librarian Paul Nelson of Retiring Guys Digest brought this wonderful article to our attention from the Appleton Post-Crescent. It focuses on a number of libraries in that region and their great youth programs. See what your YSS colleagues in Wisconsin's Fox Valley are doing!

By the way, have you had a nice nod from the media about your youth services program in Wisconsin?  Send us your link and we will share the good news. 

It's easy to think about ways that libraries are struggling but it's uplifting to see the ways we are appreciated for doing a great job. We all need those pats on the back!

Image: 'Baby Kong' http://www.flickr.com/photos/45777632@N06/6300899555