Aurora librarian thrilled to win a seat on Young Adult Library Services Association

Teens. Are they just older children, or younger adults?

According to YALSA, which is a division of the American Library Association and stands for Young Adult Library Services Association, teens are in a developmental stage that requires a unique approach to understanding them, connecting with them and serving them.

And, the needs of younger teens (ages 13 to 15) vary from those of older teens (ages 16 to 18).

Aurora Public Library is proud to announce that Selection Specialist Colleen Seisser has been elected to the YALSA Board of Directors for a three-year term as a director at large.

Seisser's position at the library includes selection of materials for teens at all library locations.

The Arlington Heights resident has been a YALSA member for 10 years. She joined even before she started library school. Her career in libraries started when she was a junior in high school. She worked as a shelver at Arlington Heights Memorial Public Library.

"I had five years of collection management and page activities. When I got my undergrad degree (in art history), I was going to look at museum work, but luckily, I got a job working in a middle school in Winnetka. That was where I was introduced to teen culture in libraries."

Seisser worked with Julie Halpern (now a young adult author) at the middle school.

"She opened my eyes," Seisser said. "I got more involved in programming and catering to teens' interests. I loved the literature that existed for teens and I really liked their interests, like crafting and playing games and doing fun pop culture programs.

"I couldn't relate to children's services or adult services. I feel very lucky to have discovered this. The original idea was for me to go into archival work and restoration. Then I found out, 'Oh, this exists? Teens? Duh!'"

Five months before receiving her master's degree in library and information science from Dominican University in 2009, Seisser was hired to work at Deerfield Public Library where she was tasked with creating the Young Adult Services department.

"I relied heavily on YALSA for direction on starting a Teen Advisory Board and for developing the collection," she said. "All they had were some books in their youth collection for up to eighth grade."

Although it was a tall order, Seisser said it was also "super exciting.

"It was my first job and I got to make it all," she said. "New librarian Colleen was chomping at the bit to do this."

Seisser worked for Karen Kleckner Keefe at Deerfield. She is now the executive director of Hinsdale Public Library.

"She was my first mentor. She supported me. It was easy to learn from her and succeed with her help. She was also the first person to direct me to YALSA. They have so many resources. Because there was no collection for teens, I went to YALSA's collection list for the last three to five years to see the best teen fiction, popular paperbacks and great graphic novels. On top of that, they had webinars for members to access. For someone who had never done a teen program before, it was great having someone there say, 'Here's how you do it.' They have an email list serve so you can be in touch with other teen librarians across the nation."

Because YALSA was so helpful to her, it was Seisser's goal to serve on committees. "I saw the resources and the people that I could connect with, and I wanted to stay involved," she said.

Her first assignment was on the Local Arrangements Committee for the ALA conference. The task was to put together arrangements for conference-goers who needed to know where to stay, where to eat, how to get around and interesting places to visit.

Next she worked on the Amazing Audiobooks Committee, which she ended up chairing. She also worked on the website advisory committee and currently is chair of the division and membership promotion committee.

"It's been a lot of work trying to figure out what our members and prospective members need and want," she said.

When a former board liaison suggested she run for election, Seisser decided she was ready. "With her encouragement, I applied last summer for board election and made the ballot."

Last week, Seisser found out she had won a seat on the board.

After her tenure at Deerfield, Seisser served as the teen services librarian for Mount Prospect Public Library.

"At Mount Prospect, I could do anything and get an audience. My favorite thing was to do craft programs.

"As a teen librarian, you have to be an expert on everything. You have to be authentic. You have to be honest. And you have to be passionate because you often feel like you are by yourself. You often feel you are alone on the island. And you have to have a thick skin and be very well organized and flexible.

"From my point of view, every teen librarian is very different. Some get totally immersed in their culture and others are just there to facilitate ways for teens to succeed. The community also dictates if you are going to succeed.

"At Deerfield, for example, the teens had to study, play sports and get into college. I knew I needed to bring in study lounges and an ACT prep program. I needed to do education support there, but I also did a Harry Potter Fan Fest."

Seisser said she felt proud and valued when she was able to teach a teen something, open up their worldview or allow them access to something they weren't getting at home or in school.

"Creating a community, a safe place, is so fulfilling and I was so proud. I realized how much I actually contribute to a community. You are the entity the teens turn to when they need resources or a sense of community where they can feel safe."

After a number of years working with teens, Seisser said, she decided she wanted to "see what else was out there."

"I wanted to use my skills to help teens, and I wanted to keep my connection in some way. The position at Aurora Public Library seemed like the exact thing I was looking for. And it especially caught my eye that I would select teen materials."

Seisser is excited about being sworn in to her position in June at the American Library Association annual conference in New Orleans.

Her supervisor at Aurora Public Library, Leigh Mauer, said, "Colleen has such a good understanding of how public libraries work, from both the staff and public point of view. I value her ideas and vision for collection development, workflow, and overall organization. And she is incredibly articulate! She's a great asset to our library, and will shine on the YALSA board of directors."

Seisser knows that her new board position will bring a lot to the library. "Just by connection, I will have more resources to offer teen librarians."

She also feels lucky to see a new side of libraries. She has never been on a board before, so she knows she will learn a lot, including how to work within a nonprofit.

"In general, it will be eye-opening just to see the impact libraries have," she said.

YALSA's current membership stands at more than 4,800. Founded in 1957, it is headquartered in Chicago and is a 501(c)3 charitable association.