Newsletter Archive

"Whew! We did it! Summer is over and now we're right back into cooler weather, back to school activities, and our "regular" routines..." Read More 

"For the past eight years, I’ve had the pleasure and the privilege of serving Iowa’s libraries as your state-wide youth services consultant with the State Library of Iowa. In those eight years, I’ve seen a tremendous level of creativity, enthusiasm, and expertise among Iowa’s youth services librarians..." Read More

"YSS Members, I don’t know about you but I am ready for spring! Living in Pella, it is the start of being on Tulip Watch. Soon the town will be buzzing about if the tulips will come too early or will there be any lef for Tulip Time (just a litle plug, Tulip Time is May 3, 4 & 5)! Of course this also means Summer Reading Program is just around the corner..." Read More

Happy 2007….oh, wait 2017! I feel like I am in a time warp and I am back 10 years writing my welcome letter for the printed YSS newsletter. You are once again stuck with me for a year...Read More

The Kids First Conference is just around the corner, so if you have not yet registered be sure to do so by April 25. As always, there is a great lineup of sessions that cover a wide array of topics in youth and teen services, so it will be a great conference...Read More

As we near the end of 2016, I would like to encourage those of you who work with youth but have not yet joined the Youth Services Subdivision to consider joining. Membership is a bargain at only $5, if you are an ILA member. If you are wondering why you should join, here are three good reasons:...Read More

Greetings, YSS-ers! It’s that time of year when everything is pumpkin-spiced, and workshops and conferences are in full swing. This newsletter is dedicated to highlighting all the sessions YSS is sponsoring at ILA this year. We will have a booth in the exhibition hall, so be sure to stop by, pick up a button, and say “hello”! Read More

Happy Summer fellow YSS librarians! Remember last fall when Molly Garrett and I came round to your neck of the woods and got you all pumped for SRP 2016? And how hard it was to think about summer…in October and November? Boy I sure do – and I’m confident that each and every one of you are feeling a mixture of happiness, pride, nuttiness, and of course exhaustion right about now. Read More

The month of March always brings so many things: snow, rain, warmth, cold, basketball brackets (Rock Chalk!), and of course the growing sense of panic (or calm, for those of you who are supremely organized) that SUMMER READING IS COMING! Fear not friends...Read More

2016 is upon us, and I am looking forward to serving our subdivision as your new chair. I had the opportunity to meet many of you while touring around Iowa as co-presenter of the summer reading program workshops (YAY!!), and it was a rewarding experience to see the different parts making up this state I’ve called home for 5 years...Read More

Just when you thought your summer reading program was over and you could finally take a breather, you find out it is time to start thinking about next year. I call this time the year the big three- ILA, Performer’s Showcase, and the Summer Reading Workshop. Read More

First, let me say that the Kids First Conference was fantastic! I hope you were able to attend all or at least part of the conference. Merri did an excellent job of arranging all of our speakers and breakout sessions...Read More

Hello and Happy Spring to you all! I hope everyone is finally thawing out and ready to enjoy this season before the biggest season of all starts. It is coming faster than I would like! Recently, eighteen members of the combined Children's Librarians' and Teen Services' Advisory Councils met to have our annual meeting in Des Moines. Read More

Happy Winter to all of you! I hope this finds you well and helps to warm you from the Iowa cold! What a busy fall we have had with conferences and workshops! I am hopeful that you were able to attend either one or all! With ILA, the Summer Reading Workshops and the Performer’s Showcase now behind us...Read More

Hello! We here at the YSS are sure you’ve finished off yet another amazing summer reading program and we’d like to say, “ CONGRATULATIONS!” Whatever the number of programs (active or stealth), large crowds or small, science explosions or toddlers gone awry, we know you made a difference in the lives of someone in your community...Read More

Raise your hand if you are knee deep in summer reading! Feeling the pressure yet or are you as cool as a cucumber? Well, whatever boat you are in our biggest event of the year is almost upon us! I hope you had the opportunity to attend one the Summer Reading Program workshops in the fall...Read More

First, let me wish all of you a very Happy Holiday season, whichever of the holidays at this time of the year you celebrate. The planning session for next year’s ILA conference was held on November 8...Read More

Summer is at its height, according to the calendar, but the Iowa Library Association conference will be here before we know it...Read More

I hope you’re all enjoying spring time at your libraries! In Central Iowa we enjoyed one very warm, sunny day and a great deal of rain! At the recent Rainbow Science program for school-age children in Boone we explored how rainbows form and how to create them at home...Read More

As I look out the window it seems that old man winter has taken a nap and that has caused warmer weather.  No complaints hear.  As with every year, it is hard to believe how close we are to the start of the summer reading program...Read More

There is always a bit of lag time between when I write up my quarterly greeting to you all and the time we send out the newsletter. I know it sounds outdated when I read the published newsletter but it is “where I am at” when I sit at the keyboard and start typing away...Read More

I am looking out the window across from my office and it looks almost fall-like. The sky is cloudy and it is so chilly in the library from the air conditioning that I can almost believe that autumn is upon us. I know from my calendar that we still have six official weeks of summer and that if I were to step outside I would be blasted with a wall of hot, humid air. We are coming up though on my favorite time of year...Read More

Has anyone started counting the days until summer reading is over yet? Yes, I know – most you aren‘t even starting until sometime in June. I have been frantically scheduling volunteers to count, sort, and distribute the incentives, posters, reading logs, etc. for our six library locations...Read More

As I write this today, we are one day short of turning the calendar over to a new month. I was sitting in the Library‘s Natural Thirst Café this afternoon when a patron wandered by and pointed out that the grass was green! Read More

Well, it is November 24, Thanksgiving Eve. There was snow in northern and western Iowa last week and, just this morning, there was a crack of thunder followed by hail in Des Moines. Read More

Wow! Today is August 23. I was at the bus stop at 7:00 AM to “wave” my daughter off to her first day at middle school – a couple of quick (“is anyone looking”) photos, no public displays of affection, just a gentle pat on the back and she was hopping onto the bus in her black pants, black Hard Rock café sweater, black sneakers, black headband with silver studs, a bunch of black Goth jewelry...Read More

Our dedicated YSS newsletter editor is chomping at the bit for my June newsletter article and I am hyperventilating because it is June 1! We are quickly counting to summer reading in Des Moines. Read More

I just walked back from lunch in what I consider perfect weather. It is probably in the 70’s, the sun is shining, the sky is blue and there are signs of life in the dirt lining Grand Avenue. To me, this is the perfect weather...Read More