Young Adult-Centric Special Interest Group, Anyone?

Are you interested in young adult services?  Want to connect with other motivated, like-minded folks to provide resources, support, and general good cheer?

YSS would LOVE to start a young adult-centric special interest group (SIG)...but we need your help!  We're looking for interested parties ready to get this SIG up and running.  If you--or someone you know--is willing to help create a new, super rad special interest group all about teens and those who love and work with them, email us at yssection@gmail.com!

Want to know more about SIGs?  Click HERE to visit the WLA Special Interest Groups page!

Join the WLA Mentorship Program!  WLA is pleased to announce the launch of a new statewide mentorship program. We are seeking applications for members interested in participating as a mentor or mentee in the WLA Mentorship Program’s pilot year. WLA has a mission to engage, inspire, and advocate for library workers and supporters to improve and promote library services for the people of Wisconsin. In line with that mission, the WLA Mentorship Program is designed to provide encouragement, support, and guidance to library staff seeking professional growth through connections with experienced colleagues within a structured mentoring program. Mentees gain experience from knowledgeable library colleagues while becoming further involved in the statewide professional association. Mentors gain opportunities to give back to the profession, model volunteerism, and help influence the future of librarianship. Any WLA member may apply to the year-long program. There is no additional cost to participate. Each mentor/mentee pair will work with a Leadership Committee liaison to set goals and develop a productive, professional relationship. Applications are due March 2. In this inaugural year, we are enrolling a limited number of partnerships. For more information about the WLA Mentorship Program and to see the program outline application, visit the website. LEARN MORE APPLY TODAY

YSS Retreat 2017 - A Brief Retrospective

At the end of January 2017, the YSS Board held a retreat at the Waupaca Public Library. The afternoon session was open to YSS members and we were joined by a good number of them, many who had traveled a far distance to meet with their peers in youth services and to participate in discussion and professional development. The YSS Board hopes to host more of these types of activities in the future.

Here's a brief overview of some highlights from that event:

Introductions - A round robin of introductions and a quick round of "Never Have I Ever" to break the ice.

WLA Preconference 2017 - After successful previous events, the YSS Board is busy working on this year's preconference programming.

YSS Resources - Since you are reading this, you know about the blog. However, YSS offers many other resources, too, like the YSS Powerhouse Presents series of webinars, the Early Literacy calendars, the 52 Weeks of YA Programming, and a list of useful links for librarians. You can access these items on the YSS page of the WLA website.

Peer Connections - YSS hosts socials and meetings at the WLA Conference and at WAPL each year. There are plans in the works for regional meet-ups and YSS retreats in the future.

Many wonderful ideas for additional projects and opportunities were gathered at the retreat from our membership. We'll keep you posted on these and put out calls for volunteers to help make these ideas happen. Members matter and new members are always welcome!

Remember you can reach out to any YSS Board members by email. Our names are listed in the column on the right and link to our emails.