YSS Chair Elect
Candidates
Leah Langby
Tell us about
yourself: what you do, where you do it and how long you’ve been doing it?
I have been the
Library Development and Youth Services Coordinator at the Indianhead Federated
Library System for almost 10 years (and it took the first 5 to learn the name
of my title by heart). I work with librarians in the 10 counties in
west-central Wisconsin to connect them with resources to serve youth, people
who are traditionally underserved, and I also coordinate the continuing
education efforts for our system.
Why do you want to
be chair of the YSS board?
I am so
impressed with the dedication and creativity of the youth services librarians
in this state, and YSS as an organization has been doing some really exciting things
in the past few years to be more supportive and inclusive of its
membership. I have been involved in WLA in a variety of capacities for
the past 10 years, including serving as the chair of the Outreach Services
Round Table and the Children’s Book Award committee, a mentor in the WeLead
program, a member of the WeLead Task force, and a member of the YSS Board.
After serving on the board for a couple of years and watching the excellent
leadership of past chairs from close-up, I think I am ready for the challenge
of chairing this section. I’d love to continue YSS’s current
trajectory. I envision increasing the ways members can get involved in
the organization in meaningful ways, and providing leadership and support on
advocacy, practical ideas, and developing a community of practice to encourage
each other to tackle challenging and important issues in the field.
Favorite flavor of
ice cream?
Anything with
chocolate, as long as there are no marshmallows.
Jenny Wegener
Tell us about
yourself: what you do, where you do it and how long you’ve been doing it?
I have been a Children’s Librarian for over 15 years. I began my career at the Oak Creek Public
Library (Milwaukee County) and during that time I was a YSS Director at Large
and helped out with the YSS Newsletter.
After taking a short break to stay home with my two kids, I returned to
the library world at the Pewaukee Public Library (Waukesha County). I am now the Youth Services Department Head
at Pewaukee. I have also been active on
the Rochester Public Library board (Lakeshores) in my hometown. I have many responsibilities but the most
important thing I do in my job is forge connections with children and
families. I am so very lucky to have a
career that allows me to help create readers!
Why do you want to
be chair of the YSS board?
I would like to be Chair because it will give me a chance to
give back and help support other librarians.
Children’s services can be a lonely job, especially in small libraries,
when there might be only one person in Youth Services. YSS has a special obligation to its members
because we can be the “coworkers” small town library staff may need for
inspiration, to hear about new developments, and discover fun and easy
programming ideas. As someone who has
been “in the trenches” for a while I can empathize with my fellow librarians,
listen to their needs, and work to provide useful tools for them to use.
Favorite flavor of
ice cream?
Hmm, this is almost as hard as choosing a favorite
author. So much depends on time, location,
and stress level. Favorites would
include: homemade vanilla, Chocolate Factory darkest chocolate, Kopp’s
Macadamia Nut, Culver’s Caramel Cashew, and Uncle Harry’s Lemon Ice.
YSS Director-at-Large
Candidates
Kent Barnard
Tell us about
yourself: what do you do, where do you do it and how long have you been doing
it?
I’m
the director of the Patterson Memorial Library, a wonderful little gem of a
library in the small village of Wild Rose.
This is my third year as director.
The best part of my week is hosting Mr. Kent’s Storytime every Wednesday
morning. I’m happy to say my storytimes
have evolved greatly since my days as a bookseller for both Borders and Barnes
& Noble.
I
incorporate early literacy skills and we now sing, do fingerplays, tell stories
with the felt board (I use felt, not flannel – I’m kind of a felt snob!), we
always count something and have a letter of the day. I also have a partner and we do
puppetry. I’ve just started using a flip chart for some of the songs, so the
children can see the words as we sing.
My
biggest challenge is getting teens into our library. In our area, once they hit the teenage years
they are extremely busy with sports, music, theater, and work! This is one of the reasons I support YSS –
learning from each other! I look forward
to hearing more ideas for teens involvement.
Why do you want
to be part of the YSS Board?
As
a man serving children, I know that there are very few men in youth services, I
think a male viewpoint would prove to be valuable. In my opinion, early literacy is the greatest
gift you can give a child, I’m proud to be a part of ‘my kids’ learning. The YSS is an important part of WLA. I have learned a lot attending sessions hosted
by YSS, and would like to help the board keep its direction and focus for the
future.
Favorite flavor
of ice cream?
My
initial answer is tutti-frutti – just because it’s fun to say – the truth,
however, is that I love a really good vanilla bean, the kind with real vanilla
beans in it. I’ve never even seen
tutti-frutti!
Esther Burns
Tell us about
yourself: what do you do, where do you do it and how long have you been doing
it?
My name is Esther Burns, and I have been Children’s
Librarian at Marion Public Library in Marion, Wisconsin for two years. I am in charge of all children’s programming,
as well as maintaining and ordering materials for the children’s section of the
library. I run two reading programs a
year- Summer and Winter, as well as a year-round playgroup on Wednesday
mornings, and a Monday evening storytime.
I’m also our resident techie- I am our webmaster for the website and
work with our local newspaper in promotion and marketing the library.
Why do you want to be
part of the YSS Board?
I am passionate about Youth Services! I absolutely love working as a Children’s
Librarian. It’s not just a job to
me—it’s a total way of life. I feel very
strongly about the importance of early reading for children, and keeping that
connection through the young adult years.
Keeping Youth Services librarians connected through this board is
something that I would love to do—we are all here to support and help each
other and it would be an honor for me to do that!
Favorite flavor of ice
cream?
Yikes! Now THAT’S a
hard question. It depends on what kind
of ice cream. I love Cold Stone
Creamery—their sweet cream flavor is THE BEST.
If I were to go to Dairy Queen, I’d probably get either a Peanut Buster
Parfait or a Birthday Cake Blizzard. For
plain old ice cream, I love a birthday cake or blueberry cheesecake
flavor. Mmmm. Ice cream.
Katherine Elchert
Tell us about
yourself: what do you do, where do you do it and how long have you been doing
it?
I'm lucky enough to be the Youth Services Manager at the
Rice Lake Public Library. That means I'm in charge of everything from birth to
18 at the RLPL - from administration to collection development to outreach. I'm
still pretty fresh to librarianship, as I graduated from UW-Madison SLIS in May
2013. So I've been at the Rice Lake Public Library for a little over a year!
Why do you want to be
part of the YSS Board?
Who wouldn't want an excuse to hang out with some hilarious
Children's and YA Librarians? On top of that, I'm really interested in becoming
more connected with Wisconsin librarianship. Sometimes I get so focused on the
RLPL, it's like I have tunnel vision. I'd love to be a part of the YSS board to
ensure I stay connected to & involved with all Wisconsin libraries (not
just my own)!
Favorite flavor of ice
cream?
Somehow this is the hardest question for me? Anything with
cherries or chocolate!
Susan Menk
Tell us about
yourself: what do you do, where do you do it and how long have you been doing
it?
My name is Susie Menk (Miss Susie to the kids at storytime J)
and I have been working in the public library field for the past six and
one-half years . I started out as an
Adult Reference Associate and then began my career in Youth Services about
three years ago. I have a bachelor’s
degree in teaching and have always loved working with children. After having been in the library field for
several years I decided to pursue my MLIS degree. I am excited to report that I
graduated in August of 2014 from UW Milwaukee!
Why do you want to be
part of the YSS Board?
I am interested in being a part of the YSS Board, because
one of my favorite activities is sharing programs and ideas with other
librarians that are as enthusiastic as I am about sharing a love of reading
with children and parents. I love
learning about what others are reading, what kind of children’s programming and
activities they have tried, what programs or activities were successful and
which weren’t, and how others
incorporate new ideas and technology into their programming. I have been most interested in outreach. In the last few months, I have gotten the
opportunity to present some parenting tips and read aloud tips to groups at the
local CESA 7 and Lakeshore CAP sites. I
am also on the Community Partnerships for Children Task Force for Manitowoc
County and have had a chance to connect with others in the community to promote
early literacy programming and activities during community events.
Favorite flavor of ice
cream?
My favorite flavor of ice cream is peanut butter chocolate
mixers from Culvers! Yum, yum!
Ashley Thiem-Menning
Tell us about
yourself: what do you do, where do you do it and how long have you been doing
it?
I’m currently the Programming Librarian at the Kaukauna
Public Library. As the Programming Librarian, I am in charge of
developing, marketing and executing youth, teen and adult programs. I’m
also in charge of collection management and ordering for my library and I help
run the Friends organization. I’ve been with the Kaukauna Public
Library for the last two years, but I’ve been working in libraries since 2003.
In 2009, I started the first exclusive storytime for children on the
autism spectrum in the state. I embrace innovation, collaboration and new
practices and will turn just about anything into a Library program.
Why do you want to
be part of the YSS Board?
I would like to be part of the YSS board so that I can
help connect youth librarians with innovative practices and support.
Favorite flavor of
ice cream?
Chocolate ice cream, preferably containing more Oreos
than actual ice cream.
No comments:
Post a Comment