Is It You? Looking for YSS Blog Contributors!

Before I begin, I want to give a big shout-out and thank you to blog contributor Kim Niesing from the Monarch Library System. She will be starting a new non-youth-related library job in a week in Eau Claire so she must bid her YSS blog writing gig good-bye. We have enjoyed her weekly Wednesday contributions over the past 7 months and wish her the best of luck in her new job!

Now we need you!

Currently our stellar blogging line-up consists of Katherine Schoofs with monthly posts; Susie Menk (Just Wondering monthly column); Ashley Borman (Throw-It Thursdays monthly column); Lindy Liedl (Virtual Variety monthly column); the Teen Services Networking group for occasional columns; Claire Parrish (Claire's Corner monthly-ish column) and me with 3-4 posts weekly.

That leaves us with opportunities for you, dear readers, to mull over the possibility of joining our merry band of blog contributors. You can grab a weekday or a once or twice-a-month slot to contribute. Or you can do random blog posts as the spirit moves you.

And what might you write brief blog posts on?

• sharing youth related links and/or resources you come across in the line of your working day

• mini 3-5 item booklists with a sentence-long annotations - on any subject and for any age birth-age 18

• describing successful programs or outreach efforts (no matter the size of your library!)

• events, workshops, webinars, conferences in WI related to youth services (even if not in libraries)

• innovative ideas that help you run your youth area better

• fun things you find on the internet relating to youth librarianship

• opinion pieces on any aspect of teen or children's services

• child development tips

• best practices

• self-care tips

• COVID era adaptations and victories

• fundraising wins

Well, I could go on and on. We have loved the varied voices on the blog for the last ten years. And I truly need you. As a retired youth person, I am getting further from current practice. So voices of people working now are super important to keep the blog's finger on the pulse of youth services in our state.

Please consider lending us a bit of your time as a volunteer blogger for the Youth Services Section blog. We'd love to have you! Just send an email to me lochwouters at gmail dot com and we'll take it from there to find a convenient way for you to contribute. We'll get you set up on the blog (pretty easy and off you'll go!) or you can just send your post in as a doc and we'll mount it.