Meet Your YSS Board Candidates - Secretary

WLA elections are coming up and YSS has a strong slate of wonderful candidate-members for our YSS board. Today we introduce our candidates for the two year position of Secretary. Watch for your ballot in the next month or so. And don't forget to vote!!

Kim Niesing

Youth Services Consultant/Database Management Librarian, Monarch Library System

Hi! My name is Kim Niesing. I work at the Monarch Library System as a youth services consultant and as a database management librarian (enhancing records in the shared catalog, etc.). Previously, I worked as a youth services librarian at the Plymouth Public Library.  I have a bachelor's degree in elementary education and a master's degree in library science. I love both connecting with people and working behind the scenes to plan out ideas and all the details that make an idea successful; the library profession is great at offering this variety.

I love my work as a youth services consultant because I thrive in opportunities to support others—whether that support looks like working with people directly, offering educational opportunities, or creating spaces for library staff to connect with each other. I enjoy thoughtfully sharing content using methods that connect with library staff who are both very busy and have very diverse needs. I think the YSS group provides a similar service to youth services staff—working as a support and educational agency for Wisconsin libraries. I would be honored to work in a position that reaches the Wisconsin community and to give back to an organization and individuals who have given me so much support and inspiration.

Caitlin Schaeffer

Youth Services Librarian, Oconomowoc Public Library

Caitlin as Rosie the Riveter

Hello! I have worked in the wonderful world of libraries for a little over eight years now, the past seven as the Youth Services Librarian in Oconomowoc, WI. It’s pretty great working with library patrons of all ages, but I have a particular soft spot for those stinky specimens we call teenagers. Creating safe, equitable library spaces and programs is a passion of mine, as well as teaching and practicing consent with kids of all ages. As a second-time member of the YSS Board, I would come in ready to be of service and tackle whatever zany projects come to our collective mind! If there is a will to make something happen, I am the person to help find the way to make it a reality. I love being a part of the magic that happens when youth services librarians come together to support, uplift, and serve each other. It’s so fulfilling being a part of a professional community that understands that when one succeeds, we all succeed, so let’s share and care and do everything we can for the librarians, students, and families of Wisconsin. Three years of my time, passion, and energy? Happy to do it!