YSS Chair's Corner - Spring/Summer 2024

This seasonal YSS board meeting update is from Cathy Pescinski, our YSS 2024 Chair and Teen Librarian at Shawano County Library.

Greetings from the YSS Board! 

We have been busy trying to create helpful content and resources for the youth service librarians. Jessica Oakland, physical therapist, and Hannah Delaney, speech-language pathologist, from Progressive Beginnings Rehab Agency, discussed how to incorporate OT/PT/ST into libraries and library programs, and the fun and creative ways we can promote child development through activities, songs, and crafts at a YSS Presents Webinar in May. 

Our next meeting is Friday, September 27 at 1 pm. If you would like to attend to see what we discuss, please contact me for the Zoom link or if you have any questions, concerns, or input you would like to add to our meeting or about YSS in general, let me know. We are here to represent all of you and to develop meaningful resources for the membership. Please, always feel free to reach out to any of us for more information, stop us and say hi at any conference, or drop in on one of the YSS socials.

The next YSS Presents webinar will be Thursday, November 14^th from 3-4pm.  Islands of Brilliance is a Milwaukee-based non-profit that uses art and creative technologies to empower autistic and neurodivergent individuals and open pathways to employment and independence. The Fellowship is one of the newest programs from IOB, which focuses on transition-age participants in six mid and small-size cities across the state. In this webinar, three staff members will share insights about The Fellowship program design and implementation, as well as key insights about supporting and engaging neurodivergent youth and young adults within community spaces. Registration is currently open (https://wla.memberclicks.net/yss). It is free for WLA members and $25 for those who are not members.

The Virtual Performer’s Showcase is set for Tuesday, December 3rd! We are working to seek out all new performers for this year! If you had a particularly good performer this year, please contact me (cpescinski@shawanolibrary.org) or Laura Sauser (sauser@wisconsinlibraries.org) in the WLA office. Registration for attendees will open in October. 

WE NEED YOU! We are coming up on election time for the YSS Board. If you would like a way to connect with fellow youth service staff in Wisconsin and get the inside track on developments in WLA, YSS, and DPI you should join us! We will have several two-year, at large Board positions and the secretary position open as well as the chair-elect which is a three-year term. If you have any questions about any of these positions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or any of the YSS Board members. The time commitment is minimal, all meetings (except the annual meeting at the WLA conference) are online. Please consider adding your voice to WLA's Youth Services Section. You can fill out a nomination form at https://wla.memberclicks.net/nomination2024.

Stay tuned for information on the YSS social at the WLA conference in November and mark your calendar for the YSS breakfast/meeting on Thursday morning of the conference. Everyone is welcome - you do not need to be a Board member to attend!

[Note: Want to read the February-May 2024 YSS board minutes? YSS members (after logging in) can access the 2024 YSS board minutes as well as previous years’ minutes at the YSS page of the Wisconsin Library Association website. Do you want to read the minutes but are not a YSS member? Please consider becoming a member by joining WLA so you can stay updated on all the YSS action.]