So, You Want to Be a Consulting and Training Services Director for Libraries

This week, we have a guest writer, Sarah Sogigian who is the CATS (Consulting and Training Services) Director at the Massachusetts Library System. We asked her to share with our readers what it is like to be a CATS Director and impart any tips for those interested in pursuing a similar career path. Without further ado, here's her response:

When I started working in libraries over 20 years ago, never did I think either of these words would be in a title of a position I would hold: CATS (Consulting and Training Services) and Director. I don’t like cats. And I never aspired to be a library director. So how did I end up here? Good question. Looking back on my career path, I’ve had the opportunity to learn and apply all sorts of great opportunities, some of which I admit I didn’t realize at the time how lucky I was to have. Hindsight provides a great lens for perspective.

Background

My dream library jobs include being a librarian at the Herrick Film Library, an Event Planner at the Boston Public Library, and a cruise ship librarian. But I’m very happy where I have landed. I’ve been building my career since my first job as a Page at the Shrewsbury Public Library. After being a Circ Assistant, ILL Librarian, and Electronic Resources Librarian, I finally found the position I thought I was born to do till retirement: Young Adult Librarian. Turns out, I was born to do it for 4 years. I moved on and became the Youth Services Consultant at the Metrowest and Boston Regional Library Systems. My role at MLS started with the Great Regional Consolidation of 2010, as a Youth Services Advisor, then after 5 or so years, I applied and was promoted to the position I currently hold, supervising 7 full time and 1 part time staff members. Our super fabulous team creates the consulting and professional development services MLS provides to our 1,600 member libraries.

Key Roles

The biggest parts of my job include things I have always enjoyed doing: Learning from others, sharing my knowledge, organization, writing on walls, laughing, and including as many Buffy the Vampire Slayer references as I can. I try to approach everything I do with these key ingredients. I often plan and lead trainings internally for MLS staff, and a training is much more enjoyable if you use post it notes and write on the walls or use a Buffy MadLibs to demonstrate facilitation techniques.

Goal Setting

Goal setting is a big part of my ongoing planning…I can’t do anything without goals! Whether you supervise others or just want to give yourself a road to follow, goal setting will provide you with that line. When your mind begins to wander and you begin to feel overwhelmed, you have a compass to guide you back. It’s critical to your success and your library’s success. If you are unsure of where to begin, look to your library’s strategic plan. Base your goals off of what your library’s goals are. No need to be super specific; you can always adjust your goals and how you will accomplish them as you go. Leave room for things you can’t control.

When to Say No... And Yes

Another tip that took me a long time to understand is when to say no…and yes. It’s ok to say both! Stress can be very real and often we have the power to keep it at bay. Sometimes saying no to something you can’t take on at this moment is ok. But don’t forget to say yes, too! Saying yes to new opportunities helps you develop and keeps the dreaded work plateau at bay. Saying yes is what helps define your career path. And be ready to share your skills with some professional positions like committee work, elected positions, or volunteer opportunities. Sounds contradictory to saying no, doesn’t it? It’s really about knowing your personal limitations and aspirations.

Being a Supervisor

If you find yourself saying “it’s not my job”, then a supervisory role may not be for you. In the end, everything is your job. You are responsible for those you supervise and the work they do. To be a good manager or director, you’ll need to work with your team, not establish lines of them vs you. Some people feel once they get to a certain level or job title, that they can wipe their hands of old work and move on. For me, it’s not about doing the old work, but understanding it and remembering how the work impacts your team and your public. From there, you can build a service that positively impacts your library, your public, and your staff.

Finally, don’t feel there is a time where you will be “ready” for a supervisory role. You’ll never be ready and even if you are, there may not be a job open. If you are nervous and excited, it’s the time to apply. Learn as much as you can about what will be expected of you, but be ready to work and learn for others, including your staff. You’ll need their support as much as they will need yours.


Sarah Sogigian
Consulting and Training Services Director
Massachusetts Library System
508-357-2121 x311
sarah@masslibsystem.org
@sarahatmls

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Thank you to Sarah for her guidance and expertise! If you enjoyed this post, check out the rest in our "So You Want to Be a Librarian" series:

So You Want To Be a Teen Librarian
So You Want To Be a Reference Librarian
So You Want To Be a Children's Librarian
So You Want To Be a Children's Librarian: Programming and Events

SYWTBA Children's Librarian: Programming and Events

I hope you've taken the time to read our Overview article about being a children's librarian, and decided that this is the path you want to take. Because librarianship is such a huge topic, we thought it best to split it into manageable chunks. In addition to this article, we hope you will enjoy our take on Community Outreach and Collection Development.

In this article, we're going to talk about programming and library events, including storytime, active vs. passive programming, and time-saving tips.

Storytime 101

Note: Is it STORYTIME, or is it STORY TIME? That's totally your call. I've seen it both ways. My only request for you is that you keep it consistent, and don't spell it different ways in different places. 

The first thing you have to do is decide how many storytimes you want to have. In my current library, I have a Preschool Pals, a Baby Time, and an inclusive "everybody" storytime at our smaller branch location. These are all weekly. We also do a once-a-month Pajama Time, for working parents. The timing on this one can be tricky, because it has to give parents time to get home from work and have a family dinner, but not so late that it runs into bedtime routines. I'm currently trying for 6:30, but I've gone as late as 7:30; it all depends on your patrons' needs.

Once you've got the timing down, and have a room in which to hold it (preferably with a carpet or sitting pillows, because trying to get kids to sit still while in chairs is asking for a headache), you get to pick a theme, and books that fit. I also make sure to have thematic songs, felt-board, or finger plays between all the stories, and the same opening and closing songs each week (for continuity). I do 3-4 books for each storytime. Try to keep the books from being too long - just a sentence or two on a page - or nobody will be focused by the end of it.  I also make sure that we have a craft ready for all but the baby storytime, that isn't so complicated that parents have to help too much. If you have the space available, it's nice to be able to put on music and set out toys for the kids to play with, and let the parents visit with each other.

Some librarians have told me that they NEVER do songs, or they only read TWO books, and that's totally fine. It's all about what works for you. I find that keeping things moving (a story, and then we sing and dance and wiggle) helps keep the kids focused. 

Rookie mistakes include:

• Reading too fast, so the kids can't keep up (honestly, no matter how slow you're going, you can probably go a little slower)
• Not holding the book so the kids can see the pictures - it takes practice to read upside down, but you can always hold the book next to you and read that way
• Stopping the story entirely to get into a conversation about "did YOU ever go to the zoo?" and losing the whole pace of what you were doing (NOTE: I often do ask questions while reading, but I try to keep them to questions that will elicit one-word answers. "Do you think he'll be able to fix it? What color is that? How many monkeys are left?" If you ask a bunch of kids an open-ended question, their stories will last longer than your book does).
• In that same line of reasoning, expecting kids to answer your questions. I usually just keep it moving ("What color is this? That's right! It's blue!") even if they don't say anything.
  

Programs and Events

If you (or your director) are concerned more about circulation stats instead of programming, remember: the more people you get to physically walk through the library doors, the more books, DVDs, video games, etc. will be checked out. More programs = more visitors, and if they just so happen to see something they like on display, all the better.

You might not think about it until you try to plan a program, but knowing kids' schedules helps a lot. If you start a program at 4 p.m., does that give kids enough time to get off the bus from school, have a snack, and get to the library? Does your 11 a.m. storytime bump into nap time, giving you cranky, tired toddlers as your audience? Is there a huge soccer tournament the day of your big movie showing, that every kid in town will be playing in and therefore not at the library?

Other super-easy programs include:

• Movie days (just make sure you have a license!)
• Go all out and have a Library Party
• LEGO Club: dump out the bricks and let them play (Don't have any? Put out a call to action to the community. Chances are, you'll have parents and grandparents who can't wait to clean out their toy box, and you'll have a large collection of LEGOs in short order.
• Book-talk Book Clubs: Instead of trying to get everyone to read the same book, let people come in and talk about the awesome books they've read lately. They get to discuss what they like and get ideas of what else to read, and you don't have to spend your own time reading something you might not be interested in.
  

Know Your Limitations, and Don't Reinvent the Wheel

We all go into this career wanting to be everything to everyone, and have programs that suit every single patron. Mother-daughter book clubs! Storytimes for all different age levels! Science experiments! Arts and crafts! The problem is, there is only so much time in the day, and there just isn't a way to get to do everything you want to do (trust me; I've tried). This problem is worse if you have a small staff (or no staff), and/or if you're trying to do teen services at the same time. This is okay: don't burn yourself out. Figure out the programs that you consider to be essential (for me, preschool storytime and baby storytime), and how often you want to run them (weekly). Then, try to weed through the rest of your ideas to reach as many demographics as possible. I keep a folder of program ideas that I haven't gotten around to, so that if I have time and nothing planned, I can inspire myself. Here's the thing: if you want to do three different book clubs, that's fabulous, but that doesn't mean you have to make yourself crazy. Lots of books out there have discussion questions already 746-written! Do a quick Google search and save yourself the time of coming up with everything yourself. Also, lots of librarian blogs out there will have great ideas for arts & crafts, and you can't go wrong with Pinterest.

Active vs. Passive Programming

Remember: you are allowed to do passive programs. Set out materials for arts and crafts, but don't man the station; the kids can come and create while you work on other things. If the kids are too little to use the supplies on their own, they should have parents with them, anyway (but I still don't leave out scissors). I've been working towards starting a couple of STEAM tables, too: microscopes, magnifying glasses, Snap Circuits, and other science-y stuff the kids can play with while they're at the library. Also try:

• Baby playtime: put out toys and play music, let the babies play and parents visit. Especially great when you just don't have the time or staff to do a specific baby storytime

• Interactive bulletin boards: Invite kids to write their New Year's Resolutions on a snowflake, and staple it up on the board. This works with literally any shape and concept. Write what you're thankful for on a veggie and we'll fill a cornucopia. Write what book you're reading on a flower, and we'll "plant a garden."

• Puzzles, board games: Whether a program or an ongoing thing, you can always have puzzles and games out for kids to play.

• Coloring pages and easy word puzzles: Coloring pages are always a hit. I've also printed out crosswords and word searches with varying degrees of success. Pro Tip: Make coloring even more popular by taking old, worn out crayons and melting them in a silicone ice cube tray to make new, exciting crayons in fun shapes!

Have Fun with It

If you have fun with your library programs, the kids will, too. If you're not sure what kinds of things the kids your library like... ask! Or give it a try, and see who shows up. Remember, we're trying to foster a warm, welcoming, fun environment... and that goes for you, too!

We hope you enjoyed the second installment of So You Want to be a Children's Librarian. Check back again for part three!

So You Want To Be a Children's Librarian

So, you have read through our Teen Librarian and Public Library Reference Librarian articles, and you've decided that you'd rather work with children. Fabulous! I am a little partial to Youth Services myself, which encompasses both Children's and Teen Services; I've been a Children's/Youth Services Librarian for about 5 years now, and I think I've amassed some good insight. If you're just starting out, or considering going into Children's Librarianship, there are some things you should know.

Actually, there's a lot of things you should know. Enough that I've split this article into several parts: Programs and Events; Collection Development and Weeding; Community Outreach; and this lovely article, which will be an overview.

PLUS! Stay tuned: we have a special giveaway!

So, What Does This Job Entail?

I want to preface this topic by saying that being a children's librarian isn't an easy job. I'm not saying that it's harder than being any other kind of librarian, but I've spoken with a lot of people who will say things like:"oh, I'll just do Children's if I can't find anything else," or "it must be nice to read picture books all day." Let me be frank: children's librarians work just as hard as any other librarian out there.
You need to be able to:

• Recommend books and intelligently speak with patrons (and their parents) from birth through age 12 (or 18, for those of us in Youth Services) 
• Help with homework assignments, but not so much that you're actually doing the assignment for the student in question
• Help in finding age-appropriate materials - there's a big difference between a book for a second grader and a book for a fourth grader! Not to mention finding reading-level appropriate books for kids who don't read as well as their peers but don't want to feel babyish, or kids who read way ahead and aren't mature enough for topics in books at their reading level
• Provide storytimes and activities for a huge variety of ages, interests, attention spans, skill levels, and schedules
• Know what's popular and what's passe, and be able to judge what pop-culture books to buy 4 copies of and what to ignore because it'll blow over in a month
• Know enough about award winners to be able to successfully give a Newbery winner to a kid for a class assignment - AND make him want to read it
• Provide a safe, welcoming, fun environment for kids, teens, and parents
• Keep track of what's in your collection so you can give the right book to the right kid at the right time
• Keep in contact with the local schools, so you can have books ready on whichever topic kids will be coming in to learn about
• Run a storytime at a moment's notice

It also helps if you're able to:

• Discuss the minutiae of My Little Pony, Pokemon (yes, still), Harry Potter, and whatever the latest Disney title is
• Make friends with everyone, from toddlers to teenagers
• Burst into song with little to no provocation
• Know your way around a glue stick - arts and crafts projects are no joke
• Figure out what book someone is talking about from a garbled half-description (I actually love doing this. It makes me feel like a rockstar.)

"It's about knights of different colors and wishes and a cat!"

Still interested? Good! Let's continue.

Be Cheerful, and Make it a Happy Place

Because the other articles will discuss the ins and outs of work in the library, I thought we should take a moment here and talk about that atmosphere you want to cultivate. My goal is simple. As I tell people when they're getting stressed about late fines and dropped crayons and homework: This is a happy place.

I know it sounds silly, or maybe impossible - who is always happy? - but hear me out. We want to make the library a happy, welcoming place, to foster the love of reading, learning, and doing. Starting with babies and moving on up toward adulthood, we want people to want to be at the library.

Have you ever been to a restaurant and had a bad server, and you never want to go back there even if you like the food, because it just makes you so angry or depressed? Same thing. One bad experience can stick with a person - especially a child - and they might not want to come back. Try to keep your frustrations in check, a smile pasted on your face (even if it's a fake one), and be friendly and accessible. I find that a smile and a "Hello! Let me know if you have any questions!" when a patron walks in works wonders; just by doing that, you've let them know that you're available if they need or want something, but you're not going to hover and stare at them, and they're welcome to hang out, read, color, and enjoy their time.

It's The Best Job Ever

If all of these aspects of the job haven't scared you away, you're in luck: for those of us who like this kind of thing, this job is the best. Sure, we occasionally have to clean unknown sticky substances off the picture books, but we get to see the joy - pure joy! - on a kid's face when we tell them we have the new Wimpy Kid. We get to watch little guys slowly progress week after week, until they know all the hand motions to "The Wheels on the Bus." We get to tell stories, and sing songs, and do arts and crafts projects, and be a big part of people's lives. Personally, the fact that I actually want to get up in the morning is a huge bonus, and even if I had to do it all over again, I would still be a children's librarian.

Special Giveaway!

WIN ME!

As a thanks for reading and being part of our 5 Minute Librarian family, we have a special giveaway today! Thanks to Caitlin Casey from Little Bee Books, we have a signed copy of the awesome new nonfiction picture book, The Wonderful Habits of Rabbits, written by Douglas Florian and illustrated by Sonia Sanchez! To win it, please leave a comment on our Facebook page; one comment will be selected at random and the lucky winner will be notified. Good luck!

So You Want to Be a Reference Librarian

We here at the 5 Minute Librarian try to write for every type of librarian, from children's services through academia, and everything in between. We know that the world of librarianship is vast and varied, and we are but three people. As such, we have decided to speak to some librarians in other areas, and learn more about their particular specialties. This week, we reached out to the phenomenal Tina McEvoy, who works as the Assistant Director and Reference Librarian at the Lawrence Library in Pepperell, MA, to talk to us about her job, and what you might need to know if you aspire to be as awesome as she is.

So You Want to Work at a Public Library Reference Desk

I've worked at various reference desks, from community college and university libraries to small town public libraries, over the past 20 years. While some things have changed dramatically in that time (hello online databases!), many of the basics have remained constant. I'm going to assume that anyone looking for reference work is already a Google ninja and database super user. If you're not, you need to be!

This list is geared toward working in a public library. Everything on it is applicable to working in a college or university library as well, but academic libraries have the exciting extra challenges of faculty, course reserves, and incoming freshmen.

This is what I would tell anyone new to reference work:

Know Your Community

• If you are working in a town where you do not live, familiarize yourself with the geography of the community – where are the schools, stores, gas stations, post office, cemeteries, nearest hospital, etc. What towns are nearby? How do you get to the highway? What local newspapers are there? Is there a business association? Senior Center? Preschools? You should be able to answer any type of “Where is the ...” question quickly.

• Beyond the physical aspects of the community, you should find out more about who lives there. Check out the town demographics for a idea of the population makeup. Are there a lot of children, or maybe seniors? Do most people own a single family house, or rent an apartment? What is the average level of education and income? What languages are spoken at home? What  industries do people work in? Is there a large military presence? Then, pay attention to who comes in the building. Get to know the regulars – who's going to need help on the computers, who likes to see the newest mysteries, who wants you to save the coupon inserts from the newspapers. This makes the patrons feel welcome and wanted, and goes a long way to forging good feelings about the library in the community.
  
  
• If the town has any interesting history (famous residents, important businesses, Revolutionary War ties, etc.) read up on it! You must be able to hold your own in conversation with the town history buff, or the genealogy researchers who just arrived from Kansas to learn about their ancestor who was at Bunker Hill.

Know Your Building

• Be prepared to give impromptu tours of the building to new patrons or out of town visitors. Know when it was built, and by whom. Have a few interesting things to point out to people, or favorite spots for reading. Know what events are going on that day/week/month.
  
  

Know Your Collection

• Know your fiction and nonfiction collection. This is really, really important. I rarely ever use print reference material any more, and have drastically weeded the reference collection at my library, but I am always helping people find circulating nonfiction books to fill their needs. Walk the stacks as often as you can (offering roving reference help as you go!), and keep an eye on the reshelving carts. If you participate in collection development, you'll already have a good idea of what your collection has and what is new, if you don't do collection development then pop in to the cataloging area to see what's coming in. Make a note of what areas you have good coverage for, and what areas need help. You should be able to go right to the area for a particular topic, and have a good idea of what you're going to find there. For fiction, it's always helpful to have a few suggestions ready to go for that patron who just wants “something good to read”, even if reader's advisory is not usually your job.
  
  

Know Your Patron

• The patron will not usually ask for what they actually want/need (i.e., the customer is never right.) You need to nail the reference interview. The first question I always ask is “are you asking for someone else, or yourself?” Then I try to find out what they need the information for. So, someone comes in and asks where we keep the dog books. I could just tell them 636.7, or I could investigate more. Maybe they're looking for books on puppy training or different breeds – or maybe they're looking for a memoir about a guy who drove across the country with his dog that they saw on the Today show. If they are looking for a specific book, don't assume they have the title or author right. I always check first in Amazon, Ingram, or even Wikipedia to verify what it is first, then search my catalog.
• Keep in mind the types of questions that you can't answer (legal, medical) , and do not provide any more information than referrals to the proper professionals to answer those questions.

Know When to Teach and When to Do

• Know when to take the opportunity to teach someone how to do something, and when to just do it for them. If you have a parent with a child, and the parent is asking all the questions for the child, try to speak directly to the child. Make eye contact. Show them how you are searching the catalog, and then how to find something in the stacks. If you have a person who needs a certain tax form but has never used a computer you should ask them – do you want me to show you how to do it, or would you like me to just print it for you? If you, and the patron, have the time it can be a great opportunity to teach someone a new, useful skill – or you can make their day by having what they need in their hand in just a minute!

Know Your Technology

• You had better be able to clear a paper jam and change the toner, but you should also how to clear the printer queue, where to find the wifi printer's IP and then what to do with it. Know how to download ebooks through whatever system your library uses, but don't feel like you have to know how to use every different mobile device. Use social media to promote your library and reach out to patrons. Know how to use your projector, A/V equipment, fax machine, scanner, video game consoles, etc. 

Additional Tips

• Read the local news. Know what's going on in the town and state.
  
  
• Be prepared for constant interruptions – plan your work in short chunks, and keep lists. I find that reading book reviews, ordering books, and working on fliers are good tasks to do at the reference desk.
  
  
• Project confidence – you don't have to know all the answers, you just have to be willing to look for them!
  
  
• Respect your patrons and their right to privacy. Tempting as it may be, do not post hilarious stories about your weird patrons on social media. Don't gossip about them to your coworkers. Your patrons should be able to count on confidentiality.
  
  
• Learn how to disengage from overly chatty patrons. Have a plan for getting away from that patron who treats you like a bartender/therapist - “It's been nice seeing you, Sally, but I've got to get these papers over to the director!”

Tina McEvoy is the Assistant Director at the Lawrence Library in Pepperell, MA. She started her career as a periodicals acquisitions assistant, and then she caught a lucky break when she was offered one shift a week at the reference desk!

So You Want to Be a Teen Librarian

A friend of mine left our library this week to run her own youth service department. I am so happy for her and have no doubt that she'll do great. She asked me if I had any tips for being a teen librarian and I've been making a list all week. I thought I'd share with everyone what I've learned from my four+ years on the job.

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately!), it takes longer than 5 minutes to read. This first post is focused on Collection Development. I highly recommend every teen librarian starts there.

1. Weed First

Once you start programming, it is really hard to stop. Before you jump down that rabbit hole, use your first month to take a hard look at the collection you inherited. Run reports to see what is popular with your current teens and weed the old books that aren't circulating. Your circulation numbers will dramatically improve when you drop the dead weight. It is a win right out of the gate!

2. Schedule Reoccuring OPAC Lists

If you can, make reoccuring lists of items that circulate well, ones that aren't, and those that are missing/lost/billed. Your OPAC (the program your library uses to keep track of circulations) should have an option to continuously run the list after X many days, so you'll be easily updated without any work on your end. (Just make sure you check out that list when it arrives in the inbox!) I have to weed my collection at least twice a year. Depending on how big your budget is and how much space you have, you'll need to do more or less. Whatever you do, DON'T weed right before your busiest times (for us, that is two months before Summer Reading... And all summer). I, uh, learned that the hard way.

3. Keep an Eye on Missing/Billed

Don't forget about your missing and billed items. The general rule in our library is to give missing items six months to return, but you might decide having a second copy sooner isn't a bad idea. If you think you'll get a lot of circulations, it could be worth the money.

4. Harness the Power of Popular Reads

Take the books that circulated well over the past two years and make sure you are very familiar with them. Read them if you can, speedread them if you can't (see next tip below).  Make a list of programming ideas tied to what your teens like. Make book list recommendations off of these popular books so you are prepared for the big requests and can easily talk to your teens about their favorite reads and can quickly make your own recommendations. We have a three part series on how to use NoveList, if you're lucky to have access to that resource!

5. Learn the Art of Speedreading

I wish I took the time to learn this because it is impossible to read every book you order and honestly, there are genres I can't convince myself to read. Speedreading isn't reading -- it is getting cozy with a book and paying attention to their reader advisory elements. In a nut shell, it is reading a few chapters, skimming, reading the middle, skimming, and reading the end. Georgine Olson shared great tips on how specifically to do this, highlighting things to pay attention to and different ways to improve your speedreading skills.

Since you're going through dozens of books a week, you'll want to create some kind of spreadsheet (or use an online program like Goodreads) and take notes. Your future self will thank you, especially when it comes to readers advisory.

6. Become BFFs with Your Book Vendor

We wrote a whole post (7 Time Saving Tips for Ordering Books) about the benefits of using book vendors like Ingram and Baker & Taylor. They have cool features like giving full text reviews and will put books into automatic lists for you -- so every two weeks, you'll have a pre-made cart of books that got 5 stars. You can have them waiting for you to go through them -- or you can have them automatically ordered. Huge time saver! No more wasting time typing in ISBNs and wondering if you had already ordered it or decided against it.

7. Use Great Websites for Collection Development

Outside of the great journals (and, yes, VOYA is a necessity! With the above tip, you can now just read that journal for the articles and skip all the reviews), you should bookmark these great websites:

• YA Lit. http://yalit.com/ For all YA Book Release Dates
• Epic Reads. http://www.epicreads.com/ Great book lists about what's hot and coming out soon.
• FictFact. http://www.fictfact.com/ Put your popular series into this database and they'll let you know when the new books come out.
• No Flying No Tights. http://noflyingnotights.com/category/teens/ Keep up with graphic novels and manga
• Fantastic Fiction. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/ We also wrote a post about this, but it is THE best place to go for author and book information. It clearly states what books the author wrote, when they were published, if it was hardcover/paperback/ebook, when future releases are coming, and what number it is in the series. Unfortunately, they don't cover graphic novels.

8. Participate in the Discussion

Don't miss these three great ways to stay on top of new and great reads:

Email

• YALSA Book Discussions -- sign up: http://lists.ala.org/wws/info/yalsa-bk
• Graphic Novel for Libraries -- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gn4lib/

Twitter

• The 2nd Sunday of the month (8-9pm CST), join other teen librarians to talk about YA Lit. Use the hashtag #readYAlit. You can find archived conversations on wikispaces: http://yalovechat.wikispaces.com/

9. Books for Browsing or School Required Reading

If your library is part of a consortium (or multiple library network), you're probably required to have the first copy of all your books as holdable. What this means is that anyone in your library system can request your library's book. It is a great service to those who know how to use your system. Unfortunately, it doesn't work so well if your teens like to browse and don't feel comfortable asking for help if they don't see it on the shelf.

What many librarians don't know is that you may NOT have to make second copies holdable in your consortium. If you want to make sure a book is available for browsing, buy a second copy and  make it unholdable. This is especially useful if your school required summer reading list is a popular book (<<cough>>Fault in Our Stars<<cough>>).

10. Keep Looking Forward

Don't get overwhelmed by how large your collection is. Since teens are constantly growing into and out of your age group, many of these books will be weeded off your shelves in no time. (I can't tell you how many times I think I just ordered that book to realize it was a few years ago.) Get to know your popular reads and similar books for making recommendations. Spend the rest of your time focusing on new books. In no time, you'll be an expert of what's on your shelves. (For a list of ways to get ARCs -- Advanced Reader Copies of books yet to be published -- check out our awesome post.)

Best of luck to all of you starting out!