Check out who is running for YSS Director-At-Large!
We asked our candidates to give us a statement about themselves and why they feel they would be a great Director-At-Large, and we also asked each candidate to describe his or herself using 3 children's or YA lit characters.
Melissa Carollo
Sun Prairie Public Library
Candidate Statement:
I am excited to be asked to run for YSS Director at Large. YSS has provided me with valuable guidance, knowledgeable peers, and myriad learning opportunities, and I am grateful for an opportunity to give back. Twelve years ago, I began my library career as a Teen and Reference Librarian in a small, rural community, then worked as a Reference Librarian and Adult Program Coordinator in a much larger community, and am now I am back where my heart really wanted me to be—the Teen Librarian in an extremely active Children’s department at Sun Prairie Public Library. I consider myself very lucky to have such a wide variety of experiences in my career, and would be so happy to share that with the YSS community.
It’s been an honor to be supported by YSS, and to share my experiences and ideas in presentations at WLA conferences over the years. I have also served on the WLA Awards and Honors Committee for four years. Reading nominations for awards and honors has allowed me to peek into the lives and activities of librarians and libraries all over the state—libraries of all sizes and kinds. I look at the opportunity of being YSS Director at Large as a way to focus on youth services librarians and libraries, which is my passion. This would be an opportunity not only to see what others are doing, but to help and to learn from them as well. It would be an honor to be selected. Thank you for the opportunity to run.
Three Characters:
Lucy Pevensie from The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Lucy is caring, infinitely curious, and terrifically loyal. I've always found her charming and appealing.
Radar from Paper Towns. He's intelligent, easygoing, and funny. I just want to be friends with radar.
Turtle Wexler from The Westing Game is bold, outspoken, and again, extremely loyal. I never tire of her antics and intelligence.
Murray Johnson
Everett Roehl Marshfield Public Library in Marshfield, Wisconsin
Candidate Statement:
I’m Murray Johnson and I’m the Youth Services Managing Librarian at Everett Roehl Marshfield Public Library in Marshfield, Wisconsin. I’ve been here for a year and a half. I was a Library Associate in the Youth Services Department at the Portage County Public Library in Stevens Point for seven years. I graduated from UW-Madison in December of 2018 with my Library and Information studies degree. I still live in Point and commute to Marshfield, which allows me go through a lot of audiobooks. I don’t favor a particular genre as I read what interests me and what I think my patrons might want to pull off the shelf.
I
have a few reasons why I am interested in the Director-At-Large position for
YSS. One, it will enable me to work with
peers across Wisconsin and learn what other Youth Services departments are
doing in their communities and also what are the struggles and opportunities my
colleagues are dealing with on a daily basis.
Two, the COVID 19 pandemic has caused youth and children services
librarians to step up to the plate and delivery a variety of virtual
programming for young patrons. I want to
be part of the conversation in how we in our section can continue to do that
well and to figure out how to serve those in our individual communities who do
not have access to internet and social media.
Finally, I believe the section needs to explore what the “New Normal”
might be and even need to be for our departments and our libraries once the
pandemic ends. I look forward to the
opportunity to listen and to serve you in the coming years.
Three Characters:
I see myself with the curiosity of Willy Wonka, who was always
striving to make things better and was not afraid to experiment and try
something new. I see a parallel with that in Youth Services work in terms
of not doing something different for change’s sake but knowing what new thing
or things in which your youth community is engaged. If the community at large
is not providing an outlet for that new thing, then maybe the library can be
that place of engagement. Mr. Wonka also made a home for the Oompa-Loompas.
We as librarians must make sure every patron no matter their background or
story feels welcomed, included, and served within our confines.
One of my new heroes is Bruce from the Mother Bruce picture books. He’s a grumpy bear and he wants to be left alone with his daily meal of eggs. He becomes a reluctant adoptive mother to four new goslings and he makes the best of the situation and gives the goslings what they need. Again as a Youth Services Librarian new things come up (hatch) and I need to deal with them as best as I can whether those things come from co-workers, patrons, or the world at large, like the CORONAVIRUS – 19.
Finally, when the day or the week is done I am much like Ferdinand the bull who just
wants to sit under his cork tree and smell the flowers and take time for myself.
North Shore Public Library (Serving Bay Side, Fox Point, Glendale, and River Hills.)
I am the Head of Youth Services at the North Shore Library (Milwaukee County) where I get to manage all things children and teen and collaborate with other library departments to shape big-picture planning. Over the past 10 years, I have explored all aspects of youth librarianship and non-traditional services. As a children’s librarian at the Seattle Public Library, I was involved with such projects as outreach to city-sanctioned tent encampments, teaching coding and robotics to families in temporary housing and was on the team to create the city-wide summer reading program that reached thousands. As the Management Librarian of the Central Library Children’s Room, I was part of the team that set-up regular visits to the Vel R. Phillips Juvenile Justice Center to reach the court-involved youth.
I believe these experiences coupled with my ability to facilitate collaboration, train staff and create a team environment colleagues make me a great fit for the position. I am an action-oriented person who enjoys problem solving, professional challenges and consistently working on long-term projects and outcomes. I am interested in the opportunity to collaborate, plan, brainstorm and share with others in the field while creating a space for learning for everyone.
Three Characters:
I would describe myself as a little bit Claudia Kishi (The Baby-Sitters Club) because I like being creative and expressing myself, a little bit Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games) because I don’t give up easily and a little bit Piggie (from Elephant and Piggie) because I can get really excited about things, maybe a little too excited!
Taylor Wilcox
Waupaca Public Library
Candidate Statement:
My name is Taylor Wilcox and I’ve been the Teen Services Librarian at the Waupaca Area Public Library for nearly three years now. The main reason that I want to become a Director-At-Large for the Youth Services Section is because I want the opportunity to create strong connections with other librarians. When I started in my position, I found it very difficult to find other Teen Services Librarians from Wisconsin. I joined groups and browsed blogs to learn from librarians around the country, but always hoped that I could meet others from my state- people who were nearby. I found the YSS through Sue, and was immediately thrilled to find other people that I could connect with and learn from them. Over the quarantine, I’ve taken it upon myself to set up a series of monthly Zoom meetings where Teen Librarians from Wisconsin can talk with one another, share ideas, and unpack their brains with people who understand them. I feel so fortunate knowing that if I have any questions, I can send it to them at any point and ask for feedback. It is because of what I saw happening with our YSS that I felt confident enough to start these meetings.
Three Characters:
Neville Longbottom has always been a character that I admired and appreciated from the start of the Harry Potter series because I don’t give up easily and want to become the best version of myself. Like Neville, I also always want to do what’s right, even if it isn’t always the easiest path to go down or means that I might need to stand up to my friends. Next would be Nathan Allen from Mason Deaver’s I Wish You All The Best. Dear Nathan carries the same kind of kindness and positive energy that I aspire toward each day. Last, but certainly not least, I am mentioning Liesel Meminger from Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, because both she and I not only share love of books, but a deep love for writing as well.
