Selection Committees: Lessons Learned

My first experience with selection committees was as a member of BFYA 2014. For those not familiar with BFYA, it is a YALSA list put out annually that features fiction books "recommended for ages 12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens". I had no idea what I was getting in to!

I've always considered myself a voracious reader but I can honestly say that I have never read so many books in a year as I did that first year on BFYA. The official nomination list came in at 175 titles with a final list of 98 titles. But that number does not include all the books that I read but didn't nominate. Adding in the books I read but did not nominate, I probably finished around 200 titles in 2013. My second year on BFYA brought only 113 official nominations and a final list of 58 titles. Next I served on Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, which is a completely different beast than BFYA. The charge of Quick Picks is to suggest titles "that teens, ages 12-18, will pick up on their own and read for pleasure". For the 2016 List we had 181 nominations with 67 final titles and 2 series.

Lessons Learned:
Be prepared to read more than you ever have before!
If you are serving on a selection committee you are likely to read a minimum of 150 books in a year. Remember - you must read every nomination and you will be reading non-nominated books looking for titles to nominate. You won't have time to read non-nominated titles for a majority of the year. You won't have time to stay current on your favorite television shows. You may have to be "rude" and have your nose in a book during family holidays since voting meetings occur in January/February at ALA Midwinter.

Stay on top of nominations.
Stop and read titles as they are nominated by other committee members. Try to have all titles that are nominated before ALA Annual read by the time your committee meets at Annual. It is good practice to alternate between reading a nomination and then a potential nomination. Nothing is more frustrating at the end of a long year of reading than to have a book you really want on a list fall short because some committee members weren't able to read that title.

Take notes!
You need to be able to discuss - in detail - titles that you read nine months and dozens of books ago. Take detailed notes so that you remember characters, plots, and your pros and cons of each title. There are multiple ways of doing this but if you would like a copy of my notes template email me and I'll send you a copy.

Prepare for the final reading sprint.
You will likely need to build time into your schedule for the final reading sprint to finish all nominated titles. (Especially if you are procrastinator like me.) For the last two years of committee work I planned to use a few days vacation in January that were dedicated to finishing nominations. During these days I was often reading 3-4 titles a day. (I don't recommend this as it leads to extreme eye strain!)

Participate in the discussions and get teen feedback!
Don't be afraid to express your opinion about a title. The people serving on these committees are bibliophiles just like you and generous discussion leads to a much better final list. Each of the committees listed above consider teen appeal/interest as part of their selection criteria, so make sure to ask your teens what their thoughts are on current teen titles.

Network with your fellow committee members.
Committee work is a great place to meet people from around the country and is a phenomenal way to network. Participate in online discussions, get their contact information and keep in touch. You'll make friends and colleges and you never know where those relationships can lead.

Make space for all the books!
Each year that I've served on one of these committees I've received over 500 books from publishers hoping that their titles will be nominated. I highly recommend creating an inventory of the titles you receive and setting aside substantial shelf space in advance.  You may also want to invest in a collapsable dolly for transporting all the packages if they are not delivered directly to your front door.

Selection Committee work is a lot of work but it is also a lot of fun and I highly recommend participation. There are opportunities at both state and national levels, so check out your options and look into volunteer opportunities.

Cheers,
Rebecca
Best Fiction for Young Adults (BFYA) - 2013 & 2014
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (Quick Picks) - 2015

Program FAIL. Now What?

One of the hardest parts of working with teens is coming to terms with failure.  Teens are fickle creatures and failing is familiar territory for anyone working with this age group. There are certainly ways to mitigate missteps but make no mistake; you will fail at times. And that's okay.

Some of the most valuable lessons you can teach your teens is adaptation and perseverance. Failure of a program or project is not necessarily a reflection on you.

Be flexible!

Adaptation is the name of the game when you work with teens. Willingness to scrap a program mid-execution can mean the difference between lukewarm reception and rave reviews. Similarly, planning programs over a wide range of subjects, styles and times can lead to program attendance you may have only dreamed about. I recommend trying a new program once a month. If your teens don't embrace it then move it to the back of your "Program Ideas List" and try it again in a year. Remember that working with teens means that you get a new "crop" every few years - your new teens may love a program that your current teens found 'meh'.

If you're looking for program inspiration Pinterest is your best friend. CAUTION: Pinterest can also be an enormous time-suck so make sure that you stay focused on what it is you are actually looking for! Many a librarian has lost hours at a time to the sweet siren call of pinning. But in all seriousness, there are tons of ideas on Pinterest and they tend to come with helpful pictures. Another source for ideas is YALSA's listserv (I highly recommend subscription) as well as individual YA Librarian's blogs. (There's a list of recommended blogs under the Resources tab.)

Keep on trying!
Programming is a tricky beast; a program that is wildly successful one month may flop horribly the next time you schedule it. Don't be discouraged if/when this happens. I often give a program two or three attempts before abandoning it completely. Teens don't always have control of their schedules and transportation and, frankly, attending a library program is low on the totem pole of school, sports, church and family obligations. It's hard not to feel personally attacked when something you've worked so hard on fails to have the expected outcome. But uneven attendance and program popularity are sometimes part of life when your working with teens. Often the teens that I am personally closest to, who I've promoted to and who have expressed excitement about a program are the ones who forget to attend. Keeping teens' attention is difficult, no matter how wonderful your presence, programming and library.

As I mentioned earlier, I often will give a program two or three attempts before dismissing the idea. And I might give it another shot in a year or two when I've got a different group of teens! One of the bittersweet aspects of YA Librarianship is that your teens move on and a new group of teens comes into play. Remember to try different programs with your teens.

So what was your biggest flop? What do you think you could do next time?

What They Didn't Teach In Library School: Mistakes As Opportunities

'What They Didn't Teach In Library School' is a series of guest-authored posts,

written by YA Librarians from around the country, highlighting situations or skills

that were never addressed in formal Library School, but that are integral to librarianship.

Mistakes as Opportunities

by Emily Warner

When one hears the word “mistake”, it often implies that a person did something wrong.  For example, “I made a mistake in hiring that person”, or, “I made a mistake in eating that extra piece of pie at Christmas dinner”.  While some mistakes are genuinely something wrong, I think that at other times, mistakes can be seen as learning opportunities… and as a chance to grow and develop as both a person and a professional. 

Being ever the perfectionist, I hold myself to very high standards when it comes to both my personal and my professional lives.  I hate making mistakes and feeling like I’m somehow less of a person or less of a librarian when I do something "wrong".  It’s taken me a long time, to realize, understand, and feel comfortable with the idea that it’s really okay to make a mistake… or three… along the way.  When I started work in my current library, I had never worked with high school students; my professional background focused mainly on librarianship in elementary schools (grades Prekindergarten- 8th Grade).  I was TERRIFIED that I would say the wrong thing, wear the wrong thing - be, in some way, "wrong" for working with teens.  It wasn’t until the school year was almost over that a student informed me that I was, and I quote, “the best, coolest librarian there is”.  That was when I realized that building relationships with your teens (and patrons in general) can cover a myriad of mistakes. And along the way, I did make mistakes, I did occasionally say the wrong thing, and even more occasionally I did wear the wrong thing, but my teens don't hold that against me.  Yes, mistakes happen- even to the best of us- and I couldn’t be more proud to say that I too have made many mistakes. Without them, I wouldn’t have learned that I really love working with teenagers, and connecting them with the right book at just the right moment in their lives.

The most crucial thing I wish I had learned in library school wasn't anything I could learn from books, projects, or group work, but rather the understanding that you ARE going to make mistakes.  And that's okay.  I think that if someone had just spent some time talking about how to forgive yourself, learn from the "wrong", and take the opportunity to grow, I would have been more prepared for real life librarianship.  Because, after all, making mistakes is the best way to grow.

About Emily:
After earning my Master’s Degree in Library Science, I worked for 5 years as an elementary school library media specialist.  For the past 3 years, I’ve worked as a librarian at a boarding high school near where I live.  When I’m not in the library, I enjoy playing the violin in a local orchestra, working with the school’s drama department on their costumes, cooking, and relaxing with my friends and family.

Want more posts on issues not covered in Library School?

Check out Teen Librarian Toolbox's series Behind the Scenes @ the Library.

What They Didn't Teach In Library School Post Schedule
January 1, 2013 - Overcoming the Pied Piper Syndrome
January 16, 2013 - Finding Balance - The Enforcer vs. The YA Librarian
January 23, 2013 - Dealing with Peeps Not Like Me
January 30, 2013 - Mousy & Mild Won't Cut It
February 6, 2013 - Community Service and the Library
February 13, 2013 - Dealing with the Angry Folk
February 20, 2013 - Mistakes as Opportunities
February 27, 2013 - Librarians as Social Workers
March 6, 2013 - Adapt or Perish
March 13, 2013 - No Do-Overs
March 20, 2013 - Promotion & Programming

What They Didn't Teach In Library School: Mousy & Mild Won't Cut It

'What They Didn't Teach In Library School' is a series of guest-authored posts,

written by YA Librarians from around the country, highlighting situations or skills

that were never addressed in formal Library School, but that are integral to librarianship.

 

 

Mousy and Mild Won't Cut It

by Stephanie Sweeney

My favorite professors have always been the ones who explain how it works in the real world. I understand theory is important, but sometimes it isn’t practical. I learned all the basics in library school about how to run a library, but patron interaction strategies were limited. I don’t recall much beyond the “reference interview.” However, the people skills that are required for dealing with patrons on a daily basis are critical to maintaining a positive and effective library.

Dealing with strangers does not come naturally to all of us. I will be the first to admit that while I will take on leadership roles and have no problem instructing a class, confrontation or initiating conversation with a stranger is not on my Top 10 list of fun things to do. If you want a strongly worded blog post or letter, I’m your gal. Lobbying legislators face to face? Not my skill set. It has been a long time since I have been described as mousy and feel that I have grown out of this issue to a certain extent as I grow older, but it still pops up now and then. So, why is this an issue in librarianship?

There is a stereotype that librarians are mousy, timid people. Now, you and I both know that isn’t true. Well, most of the time. If you are going into librarianship you need to understand something - you are going to be dealing with people. A lot of them. On a daily basis.

Librarianship, unless you are in a back room cataloging or digitizing, is not for the timid. And certainly don’t go into Children’s and Young Adult librarianship if you aren’t ready to corral toddlers during storytime or stand up to the teen boy who is towering over you. Kids are cute and teens are quirky, but they are also fickle, loud, energetic and travel in packs, so you will most likely be outnumbered at any given time.

Each interaction with a patron is a different experience. They will be irate, needy, happy, confused, in a hurry, and myriad other moods. Librarianship is customer service and sometimes you just have to bite your tongue and smile. Public relations is an area that tends to be an elective in library programs. I don’t recall one course where it was taught beyond planning a program in a Children’s or Young Adult literature course. As countless professional journals have featured lately, public relations and advocacy are critical to library survival. One of the most important public relations opportunities is often one of the most forgotten - direct interaction with the patrons.

Every encounter with a patron is chance to present a positive or negative image of your library (and libraries as an institution). Being rude or snarky has no place in this interaction. First of all, it’s just unnecessary and potentially detrimental to your library's continued existence - think of how many business you no longer patronize because of poor experiences there. The library is a public service and is funded by public money. You never know who you are dealing with and the impact your interaction with that person may have on your library. Does that mean that you should allow others to walk all over you or treat everyone with kid gloves just in case the person is the mayor’s sister-in-law? Certainly not.  But assertive does not mean aggressive or rude.  Treating the patron with professionalism and respect, even when you have to bite your tongue, is one of the most important skills a librarian can possess.  I learned how to deal with patrons on the job, but would have appreciated if this issue had been addressed more in library science programs. Role-playing, discussions, and even instruction about "real library" situations from active librarians would be an invaluable addition to library school programs.  However, as long as you keep respect and professionalism in mind, you can learn the skills you need while in the trenches.

About Stephanie
Stephanie Sweeney has been a secondary school library media specialist since 2003 and is an adjunct instructor in library science and educational technology. She is on Twitter @liberrygurl and writes the blog Thoughts from a LiberryGurl.

What They Didn't Teach In Library School: Dealing with the Angry People

'What They Didn't Teach In Library School' is a series of guest-authored posts,

written by YA Librarians from around the country, highlighting situations or skills

that were never addressed in formal Library School, but that are integral to librarianship.

 

 

Dealing with the Angry People

by Viviana Valencia

 

Any service that serves the public has to deal with the occasional upset person.  People who are happy rarely take the time to communicate their feelings, while someone who is frustrated or deeply annoyed is more than happy to share.  Handling angry patrons is a skill that any librarian, but especially public librarians, must embrace.  At my branch, mostly customer irritation is caused by Circulation issues and, at my small branch, Librarians do the same work as Library Assistants or Library Clerks - so we're dealing with angry customers quite often.

  

Many of the customer service problems I've encountered were not covered in school and I did not learn how to handle angry customers until I was on the job. After SEVERAL mistakes I've discovered the following are helpful when handling an angry customer:

• Never show the patron that they are affecting your own temper. Always try to show empathy but not react along with them in anger, or allow your irritation or frustration to show.
• Before you make any decisions or if you have any questions always go to a supervisor.
• If the patron is being truly belligerent, you need to get a supervisor. Just because you work in public service does not mean you are the public's doormat.

Often, if it is a minor issue, such as a problem with a small fine, waiving it once is more beneficial than possibly losing a customer over 10cents. However, there are plenty of customers who scam or abuse the system, so you should always a note of the fine waiver and inform your supervisor.  If you do not have the power to waive a minor fine, the customer may need to speak directly with a manager.

 

Remember, the Public Library's job is to serve the public - alienating the very people you are trying to serve is a good way to loose public support of libraries.

 

About Viviana

Viviana Valencia-Serrano is 26 years old and pretty new to working as an official Librarian but has a long history with libraries. She is currently a Youth Services Librarian at a small branch in Debary, Florida where all library staff do a little of everything. Viviana's branch has a 'one desk' system, so Reference Services, Children Services (including Programming), Teen Services, Circulation and Computer Services are all handled at the same desk. At age 12 Viviana started in libraries as a Student Volunteer, then became Student Worker at the age of 16 and again at 19. After finishing her undergraduate degree, Viviana earned her MLIS at the University of South Florida.

Want more posts on issues not covered in Library School?

Check out Teen Librarian Toolbox's series Behind the Scenes @ the Library.

What They Didn't Teach In Library School Post Schedule

January 1, 2013 - Overcoming the Pied Piper Syndrome

January 16, 2013 - Finding Balance - The Enforcer vs. The YA Librarian

January 23, 2013 - Dealing with Peeps Not Like Me

January 30, 2013 - Mousy & Mild Won't Cut It

February 6, 2013 - Community Service and the Library

February 13, 2013 - Dealing with the Angry Folk

February 20, 2013 - Mistakes as Opportunities

February 27, 2013 - Librarians as Social Workers

March 6, 2013 - Adapt or Perish

March 13, 2013 - No Do-Overs

March 20, 2013 - Promotion & Programming



What They Didn't Teach in Library School: Finding Balance - The Enforcer vs. The YA Librarian

'What They Didn't Teach In Library School' is a series of guest-authored posts,

written by YA Librarians from around the country, highlighting situations or skills

that were never addressed in formal Library School, but that are integral to librarianship.

What They Didn't Teach in Library School:

Finding Balance - The Enforcer vs. The YA Librarian

by Emily Passey

One thing I wish I’d learned in library school is how to be an authority figure without being The Man.

As youth services librarians we are in a tricky position when it comes to enforcing rules with children and teens in the library. For many of us, youth services librarianship is about providing that special third space - a safe, alternative resource for kids outside of school and home. But for all that I learned in grad school about my important role in creating that safe space, I am left with this burning question: what does authority look like in the library? How can I model the library as a welcoming environment while also enforcing the rules?

At my small public library in a densely populated suburb of Milwaukee, we have a steady flow of after-schoolers whose ages range from kindergarten through 12th grade. They come from three different schools, two public and one private, and bring a host of personalities, backgrounds, experiences and interests. Let’s face it, they also bring a host of behavioral problems, and, almost universally, it seems they bring a mindset that the library is a space without rules or boundaries. Most have been coming to my library for years, and in that time have been under the watch of several different librarians who have done their utmost to enforce our behavioral guidelines. I’ve learned first hand from the younger kids (K-7) that they do not like the ways that the rules have been enforced at the library, although I would guess this is at least partially attributable to their general dislike of our behavioral policy. Yet their frankness about their experience at the library has lead me to think deeply about how we could be enforcing our rules differently.

It seems to me that the problem is thus: when kids act up, they don’t expect to be told by a mere librarian to shape up or ship out. We’re their pals and their book finders, not their teachers or their parents. We don’t give detention or send home report cards. We definitely don’t ground kids. But when it comes time to lay down the law my persona as Friendly Computer Assistant/Homework Helper/Non-Judgemental Inquirer About Their Daily Lives does not go far in enforcing my requests for them to change their behavior. They often remain defiant, not seeing any of us librarians as legitimate rule-enforcers.

While I need to communicate that bad behavior will not be tolerated, I do not want to become the stereotypical "shushing librarian" of generations past. But I do have a behavioral policy - which predates my employment - to enforce, whether I like it or not. I don’t want to banish kids even momentarily from the safe haven of the library. I definitely don’t want them to get it into their easily-influenced heads that the library is a boring, quiet place where the librarian is always breathing down their necks about everything little infraction. Yikes - that is the opposite of what I feel my duty as a librarian entails! But, as I tell the kids every day, “in the library there are rules,” and when the disregard of them could harm other children, I have to step in to the situation and that sometimes means being or calling, I kid you not, the police.

Daily I must figure out how to be an effective authority figure and police the behavioral issues that plague our after school hours, while not falling into the trap of being “The Man.” I want to nurture in these kids a love of the library as a place to hang out and use the computer and find a little non-judgemental adult interaction.  But that desire to nurture must be balanced with enforcement of the rules they must follow if they want to be allowed to use this special place. My trial and error method includes a healthy dose of the word “respect,” and a lot of talking to them about working out problems amongst themselves, treating each other and the library well, and bringing a good attitude every day.

My dream is that the after school crowd grows up to be my Teen Advisory Board, but the only way to make that happen is to build strong bonds founded on their respect of the library and of my authority and my respect of them. I’m in it for the long haul because I just can’t help but feel a deep attachment to the little band of misfits who call my library home for a few hours everyday.

About Emily
Emily Passey is Young Adult Librarian at Shorewood Public Library in Shorewood, WI, a suburb of Milwaukee. She graduated from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in May 2012 with her Masters in Library & Information Science.  Emily writes and manages her library's teen blog, Shorewood Library Teens and also manages the social media for her library which is currently just in the form of a Facebook page but is growing all the time! She is currently reading Waiting by Carol Lynch Williams and Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers.

Want more posts on issues not covered in Library School?

Check out Teen Librarian Toolbox's series Behind the Scenes @ the Library.

 

What They Didn't Teach In Library School Post Schedule

January 1, 2013 - Overcoming the Pied Piper Syndrome

January 16, 2013 - Finding Balance - The Enforcer vs. The YA Librarian

January 23, 2013 - Dealing with Peeps Not Like Me

January 30, 2013 - Mousy & Mild Won't Cut It

Feburary 6, 2013 - Community Service and the Library

February 13, 2013 - Dealing with the Angry Folk

February 20, 2013 - Mistakes as Opportunities

February 27, 2013 - Librarians as Social Workers

March 6, 2013 - Adapt or Perish

March 13, 2013 - No Do-Overs

March 20, 2013 - Promotion & Programming

Parents & the Teen Librarian

Parents can be a tricky issue when working with teens.  They run the gamut from completely absent to helicopter parents.  The trick is to figure out what kind of parent you are dealing with and address that issue individually.

The Cling-Ons
These parents are incapable of leaving their "child" alone; they keep their offspring within sight at all times and often seem to overpower them to a certain extent.  While this can be very frustrating for a YA Librarian you need to remember that you don't necessarily know the motivation behind the parent's actions.  There could be a background reason why the parents feels they need to be present.  There could be medical, legal or safety reasons.  Your job is to provide the best YA programming/library experience possible - even if it means a parent is in the room.

Now, there are clingy parents who don't present much of a problem to the running of the event.  I've got one mother who never leaves her daughter alone at a program, but will bring her laptop and set up in a corner of the room to work.  She doesn't try to participate in the program and I sometimes actually forget she is present.  There have also been times when an extra adult has come in handy and she's helped out.

Then there is the opposite.  The parent who stays in the program and tries to be an active participant.  What do you do then?  The best approach I've found is to just talk to them.  Explain to them that the program is for teens and having an adult try to actively participate has a negative impact on the teens' experience.  Most of the time the parent is willing to move off to the side.  You can also try distracting them by starting a conversation and letting them talk to you rather than pay attention to their teen (of course, this only works if you aren't having to provide a lot of instruction in your program).

The Extremely Conservative
If you work with teens chances are you've come into contact with the uber-conservative parent.  They are the ones that won't allow their teen to attend any program featuring zombies or vampires, who ask for "clean" books for their teens and forbid their children from having anything to do with Harry Potter.  You job is to provide for EVERY teen, this means dealing with both liberal and conservative extremes.  Try to keep this in mind when you are planning programs and teen events.  By "keep in mind" I don't mean cater to a specific family's needs, but make sure to offer some programming that ANY teen can attend.  I've found the best way to deal with the conservative parents is to just talk to them.  Once they know that you aren't out to subvert the values they are trying to instill in their child they are far more likely to allow their teens to attend most programs.

The Absent
I find this group of parents to be the most difficult simply because I never see them!  The Absent parent is one whose teen always shows up at the library by themselves and often for the majority of the day.  One trick I've found for actually meeting the parents of my teens to to host several after-hours programs throughout the year.  Teens who participate are required to be signed in and out by an adult and have a permission form, so I get to actually talk to a parent I might not otherwise see.

Truthfully, the best thing you can do as a YA Librarian is try to get to know the parents of your teens as much as possible.  When the parents know you and know what you have to offer their teen they are far more likely to encourage their teen to participate in library programs.

YA Books to Movies: The List!

I am launching a new tab (located at the top of this blog near the "About" tab specifically dedicated to tracking Books-to-Movies with TEEN appeal!

This list will be continuously updated, so if you don't see a title that you think should be on the list please either email me (lunanshee at gmail) or leave a comment.

My hope is that this list makes programming easier for YA Librarians and anyone who works with teens.

Cheers,
Rebecca

It's Not You, Just the Nature of the Beast

Working with teens and tweens can be one of the most rewarding jobs available.  It can also be the most frustrating.  I have often found myself facing disappointment at the turnout for Teen Programs at my library and, in frustration, reached out to my fellow YA Librarians to figure out the secret to successful Teen Programming.  The results?  We ALL experienced those feelings of failure and frustration - especially when new to the job.

Here's what I've learned in my 5+ years of working with teens - It's not you, it's them.

More often than not it is not you or your program that is the problem, but the teens themselves.  Young Adults often do NOT have control over their schedules.  Commitments to school, extra curricular activities, clubs, church and other activities take up the majority of time for many Young Adults.  This is especially true for teens before they get a drivers licence when they are dependent on friends or family for transportation.  Visiting the library is not a priority for many parents once their children progress out of storytime and school age activities.  If you want a strong Young Adult program, you and your fellow staff members must train parents to keep their offspring involved in library programs beyond childhood.

How does one do this?
Your Children's Department is probably already set up and running - storytimes, after school activities etc.  Libraries tend to start loosing participation of youth in 4th or 5th grade as they age out of the Children's activities and are not presented with appealing alternatives.  Create a Tween Program to address this situation!  Build on popular Children's activities to funnel active youth into feed from Children's programs all the way to Young Adult.  I have found that the more "exclusive" you are the more popular the program will be (i.e. only Tweens are allowed in Tween Programs and only Teens in Young Adult programs).  This way children can look toward the Tween Programs with anticipation while the Tweens look toward the Young Adult Programs.  While exclusivity is essential to building a Tween/Teen program there should be some opportunity for crossover between tweens & teens.  Create some programs that allow the tweens and teens to interact and form bonds.

What kind of programming works?
This is actually a trick question.  Every library and community is different and a variety of programming should be experimented with to determine what works for your library.  Above all: DO NOT BECOME DISCOURAGED!  If you have only three teens at a program that's okay.  If you have 50, even better! 

The secret to working with youth is understanding that it isn't personal.  This is especially hard for me to remember because I AM personally invested in providing the best programming I can for the teens of my community.  If you host an activity that only has a couple teens talk to them, find out what they like/dislike about the program.  Then try the program again in a few months.  I've found that an activity might work great once and utterly flop the next time - and the opposite as well.  Don't be afraid to try new things and to reach out to teens.

DON'T BE AFRAID OF FAILURE, IT IS JUST A PRELUDE TO SUCCESS.

So Many Books, So Little Time

Best Book I've Read This Week!

In the past week I've read about 5 books and somehow I still don't feel like I've had enough time to really read. Strange isn't it? Seems like I should be satisfied with that amount of reading - many people would consider 5 books in a week somewhat excessive. :)

But it is odd, since a large part of my job consists of suggesting appropriate titles to a wide variety of both teen and adult readers I sometimes feel like there is consistent pressure to have a book in hand. Especially for YA materials.  In my branch I am the only person who works with teens (programming, readers advisory, etc) and I try to stay on top of new YA titles coming into the system.  Since another part of my job is materials selection and working on professional committees (Spirit of Texas High School Reading Program) I also attempt to keep up with new releases, upcoming releases and continuations of series.  Reading could easily be a full-time job for me!  [And one I'd like better some days if I could just read, suggest books and run programs.]

What is it that a YA Librarian is supposed to do with an infinite number of books and a finite amount of time?!