The next step

I'm going to try my darndest to keep up with this blog because it is a good exercise for me to keep my thoughts in order. So much has happened, which is why I have not posted as frequently as I'd like to be posting.

First off, advocacy update: we will be presenting to the higher-ups some ideas for staffing models in terms of teen services. After gathering a ton of data regarding teens in our county, I am putting together a proposal draft which will then be sent to another committee to be considered.

This is somewhat perfect timing because due to the decreased property tax and local option income taxes, we are in an absolute budget crisis meaning we are now discussing a total re-structuring of our system. It's a massive challenge for us as an organization. There has been lots of talk of challenging the "sacred cows" and figuring out what the core values are for the system. A true challenge.

I have the honor of serving on this committee as requested by the director so I will have a unique insight into how exactly a large library system is funded and managed and how these hard decisions are made.

It's such an interesting era to be a librarian. So many libraries across the country are already at bare bones services and struggle just to keep the doors open to the public. In this day and age of technological innovation, our society changes on a day to day basis and it's hard to keep up and meet the needs of our patrons.

Okay, back to taking care of business.

Bear with me here...

Well, folks, this is hard. This is really, really hard. The process I am going through is like nothing I've ever done before and as I alluded to in my previous post, I am coming up against professional challenges I never even really knew existed. I am finding I am so passionate about advocating for teen services that it is both a blessing and a curse. I love to talk to people about it and I love planning for future programs and services. However, I can't help but be upset and discouraged at what the universe sometimes throws this way.

On top of trying to stay positive, I am now finding it hard to keep my thoughts and ideas organized. I want to think "big picture" but I have to also think logistical and reality. And on top of all that, I have a branch to run and maintain. My level of professional stress is higher than I can handle right now.

Don't get me wrong, it still goes to say that I love what I do and I have never cared more deeply about my career. But it doesn't make the day-to-day stuff any easier. Perspective is so important. Motivation and Positivity are both so crucial. How do I maintain a normal and possible pace?

Now onto a completely different topic, I am very excited to see all the best-of-the-year lists that are being published right now. I'm going to work on my own at some point, though it'll be quite short and won't be limited to those published this year. :)

So many new books to read! A few I've spotted on several lists are as follows (note they are mostly kids and teen titles):

**Bray, Libba. Going bovine.
**Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone shines my shoes. I read the first book of hers and LOVED it!
**Kelly, Jacqueline. The evolution of Calpurnia Tate.

I see lists everywhere but I especially love the list that School Library Journal publishes and of course YALSA's Best Books for Young Adults of 2009.

Feeling overwhelmed

It's hard not to feel overwhelmed right now. The full scope of this project hit me like a ton of bricks today and my reaction was nothing less than paralyzing fear. We are going up against years and years worth of barriers both in and out of the system.

This picture very accurately describes what I feel like. An angry little bird screaming "listen to meeeee!" (from Daily Squee).
My current mission is to try to stay focused and positive amidst strong resistance and negativity. This is NOT something I have any skill in whatsoever. I tend to suck up emotion like a sponge. I need to find my Pollyanna hat. A very good friend of mine said "you need to become Sassy the performer." She has seen me prepare and give programs and presentations for libraries before and the persona I become is quite different from my everyday Sassy. I think there's a lot to be said for her advice. If I can somehow divorce myself of my own usual reactions and just channel the performance side of myself, I might be able to get through it without becoming negative and defensive.
Sometimes when I'm as stressed as I feel right now, I go to one of my favorite sites and believe it or not, it helps. There's not much more therapeutic than cute animals and funny quips.

A meeting

I decided to request a meeting with the head of the library system to discuss my project of advocating for support for teen services. I know that not only would she be able and more than willing to offer good advice, she would also be able to shed a little light on what obstacles I may encounter on this journey. I haven't the slightest clue of what the Library Board is up against and it will be very helpful to gain her insight on this process.

It's not until January but I'm already looking forward to it!

A long road ahead

I have now heard from 5 separate libraries about how their teen services departments are organized, how much programming they offer and how much (or how little) support they have from their respective administrations.

I spoke on the phone with teen librarians from Washington and Ohio and emailed with librarians from all over. Such inspiring conversations! They are all in very different situations with their own challenges and achievments.

What this is making me realize is just how much work needs to be done. It is such an underserved population across the board but especially so in the system I am in. I look forward to sharing ideas with our administration. We have the capacity to have amazing, innovative programs for teens and I have no doubt we will get there eventually. It's just going to take some time and everyone's favorite: change.

One conversation I have on a frequent basis with other teen services librarians is the frustration we experience when advocating for more support. It can be such a simple change from a logistical standpoint, but such a seemingly insurmountable obstacle since the inherent problem is not logistics, it's overall attitude and resistance to serving teens. It's very challenging not to get overwhelmed, jaded and completely discouraged by some of the comments people make about something we are so passionate about.

But if nothing else, we've got drive to make up for all of that. We won't be shutting up anytime soon.

With a little help from my (librarian) friends

I have now contacted 10 libraries across the country asking them how their teen services departments (if applicable) are organized. I sought these ten libraries out specifically because a) I know they have successful teen services from personal experience or word of mouth, or b) they are grouped in the same category as this library by Hennen's American Public Library Ratings or by Library Journal's Public Library Ratings by size, population, statistics, and many other factors.

These are the libraries I have contacted:

• Baltimore County Public Library (MD)
• Boone County Public Library (KY)
• Campbell County Public Library (KY)
• The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County (OH)
• Cuyahoga County Public Library (OH)
• Columbus Metropolitan Library (OH)
• Denver Public Library (CO)
• Hennepin County Public Library (MN)
• King County Public Library (WA)
• Multnomah County Public Library (OR)

I still may add more libraries to the list including Seattle Public Library, Chicago, Salt Lake County and maybe more. But at this point I'm thinking the information I will receive from these libraries will give me enough data to start thinking about how we would like to organize things here.

Step 1 of....?

It has begun. I started the huge process of advocating for more support for teen services at the library. The library I work at is so incredible, I know we could be providing such amazing services for teens in our communities. Already we have several branches that provide high quality programming for teens, why don't we all? Why are there so few teen spaces?

These and many other questions have been occupying my mind on a day-to-day basis both in and outside of work. In no particular order, these are the questions I am currently researching:
How many teens (age 12-18) reside in this county?

• How many are library cardholders?
• How many of our library staff specialize in teen services?
• What is the graduation rate for our county?
• What is the drop-out rate?
• How many organizations serve teens in our county?

Another question that is just as important is how do other libraries our size work with teens? I am contacting around 10 libraries across the country and asking them questions about budget, programming, staffing models, etc. to use for this research.
This is something I am going to propose the Teen Services Committee when we have our next as something that we should potentially work on this year. In addition to the previous questions, the final and probably most important question is, what do we want? What specifically is it we are asking the library to provide? Is it just a matter of money? Is it to create positions? Is it having a strong voice in decision making? These are things we must be considering when embarking on this journey. It's going to be a very, very, very long one.
But I can say this, I have never felt more energized as a librarian and library advocate than I do right now.

A newfound interest

It's a rough time out there for libraries right now. It's rough for everyone and especially all non-profits but since this is my field, I have a particular interest in this. These are a few articles I've been reading recently in the news about other states that are in difficult situations. I'm lucky to be in a system that is not in the same dire straits as these are but we are nevertheless feeling the crunch.

California
A Critical Situation in California
Many Libraries Go Quiet as Local Budget Cuts Deepen
Grads at UCS Bash Tuition Hike


Pennsylvania
Arendtsville Library to Close
Budget Cuts to Affect Local Library Branches


Massachusetts
Cuts in MA Library Aid, Possible Closing of State Library Generate Protests
State budget cuts force end to Bookmobile

So what is my newfound interest you ask? Advocacy. Library advocacy, to be exact. I have discovered I have really enjoyed reading about what it takes to make a library run and how libraries are dealing with the current recession. I don't enjoy reading about libraries in hard times but I enjoy thinking about how it's librarians and other people in the community that often work the hardest to try to explain to the policy makers how important libraries are to our communities.
In particular one area of advocacy that I have a very strong drive for is young adult services. It is a notoriously under-funded and underserved group of library goers and most teen librarians face tough hurdles when asking for program funding, teen spaces in libraries or even teen book collections. It's a challenge but based on what I've seen just during my short time in this field, there's significant change already across the country.
It's up to us to make our voices heard. It's up to us to know what our community needs and wants and it's up to us to find a way to provide that to our communities. Libraries are at a critical point right now. We have record numbers of people in our doors with needs that the library are desperately trying to keep up with. It's not just books and research, or even internet access. It's up to us to continue the change toward the future.

Yay judge!

Judge Overrules Philadelphia Branch Closings

Go team libraries!

The last resort for any library

Philadelphia Closing 11 Branches

from Library Journal, Dec 2008

In Indiana, a Consolidation Battle

from Library Journal, Dec 2008

This is when you know it's hard times.