YSS Board Meeting Minutes from December 2017

YSS Meeting, December 5, 2017, 12:30 pm

Present:  Elizabeth Timmins, Terry Ehle, Leah Langby, Sarah Cournoyer, Sue Abrahamson, Susie Menk, Tessa Michaelson-Schmidt, Emily Heideman

Absent:  Julie Kinney, Caitlin Schaffer

Terry called the meeting to order.  Susie motioned to approve the agenda, Sue seconded, agenda was approved.

Coding Program Resource:

Both Julie and Caitlin were absent, but they are working on it.  Tessa will be glad to link to it from the DPI Coding Resource.  Susie volunteered to help with this project, even from off the board.

Milwaukee Public Library:

Sarah and Terry have set up a meeting with Kelly Wochinske to talk to the Milwaukee Public Library Youth Services staff in February about YSS and the benefits of membership and involvement.  Sue will provide chocolate!  They will talk more about content closer to the date.

YSS Meet-Ups:

Some discussion of whether or not to have one after the Board Retreat in January.  Consensus was that there can’t be too many meet-ups, especially if non-board members can host.  It is also nice for people to be able to attend a meet-up and get to know the board members. 

WAPL:

Sarah sent an email to the WAPL Conference program people about why YSS could/should be involved in curating, soliciting, and vetting programs.  She wondered if she should wait to hear back from WAPL folks before sending out a call for submissions to YSS members, and we decided she should send something out letting people know that the YSS Board would love to help people if they were interested in submitting a program but didn’t quite know how to go about it, or needed some mentoring.  She is hoping to hear back from the WAPL folks before early January, and will wait to send out a formal call for submissions until after hearing back from WAPL.

Book Award Committee:

Judy Jones, chair, will be working with Terry to look over applications in early January.  Applications are open until the end of December.  Right now they have 5 applications for 2 positions.  One person said they had applied 3 times and had been rejected all the other times.  Some discussion ensued about what criteria are considered when selecting members, and the value of being explicit about what is considered when making selections for membership.  The chair will look into that for next year, when the application is made available.

Membership Survey:

Several suggestions were made (mainly by Tessa and Susie) for ways to make the survey easier to understand, more inclusive and welcoming to all youth services staff, and Susie suggested adding a question about the age range the respondents served.  Terry will take suggestions back to Linda, who will edit with her committee and then turn back to the board for approval before sending out.

Board Retreat:

Decided that the board retreat will be a good chance to delve into some meatier issues—maybe about the priorities, goals, and longer-range plans of YSS, and how they might fit with the larger WLA goals and priorities.  Decided to wait on the diversity discussion with CCBC until after the retreat, when we might have a better idea of the direction/priorities of YSS.  Those attending the January 12 Leadership Retreat for WLA will have a chance to get some information at that meeting to share to help shape the direction of the YSS Board Retreat.  Then discussed a bit about the Meet-Up after the retreat—votes for a hands-on component and book-talking.  Sue will coordinate lunch.

Meeting adjourned.