About YSS

What is YSS?

YSS is the Youth Services Section of the New York Library Association. We are the librarians, library assistants, retirees, students, trustees, and volunteers who are dedicated to the literacy, information, reading, and recreation needs of youth in public and school libraries.

YSS 5-Year Goals and Objectives, 2018 - 2023

Click on the link above for complete goals and objectives.

YSS will foster inclusion and diversity in membership and services.
YSS will champion library services for families, children, and teens.
YSS will actively develop new generations of youth services leaders.

Why Join?

YSS as your personal support system is devoted to:

Providing quality library service to children and young adults throughout New York State.
Keeping you informed of the section’s current issues and events.
Providing opportunities for professional enrichment through coordination of conferences, workshops, publications and scholarships.
Being your advocate for youth services and youth service specialists in New York State.

Click here to download our brochure that outlines the benefits of membership.

Want to get more involved?

YSS is always looking for members to serve on committees, board positions and to help at events. Click here to fill out the active member form.

Get Involved in YSS

To begin, fill out the Active Member Form. There are many ways to get involved, from being an active board or committee member to helping with specific events and projects.

YSS Executive Board

With the exception of Spring Conference Director, these positions require a 3 year commitment.

*NEW* YSS NYLA Council Representative
The YSS NYLA Council Representative is a voting member of the Executive Board. He/she/they must have served as a former officer, committee member or liaison for YSS. The YSS NYLA Council Representative serves as the section representative to NYLA Council presents written and oral reports of Section activities at each NYLA Council meeting. The Representative will attends all NYLA Council Meetings, including the Incoming/Outgoing NYLA Council Meeting at the Fall Conference. This is a 3 year commitment.

Spring Conference Director
The Spring Conference Director nominates a committee of people to help plan the YSS Spring Conference. He/she/they will oversee the Spring Conference in their 2nd year in this position. This is a 2 year commitment.

1st Vice President/President-Elect
The 1st VP is in charge of overseeing the work of all the YSS Committees and appoints new people to serve on YSS Committees. During the 2nd year, the 1st VP becomes the President, who represents YSS on NYLA Council and oversees all YSS activities. The 3rd year of the term is served as Past President. He/she/they plans the YSS Past Presidents’ Dinner [night before YSS Spring Conference] and gathers a slate to run for YSS offices.

2nd Vice President/Membership
Member of the NYLA Membership Committee; duties include welcoming new YSS members, reminding lapsed members to renew their membership, choosing/ordering the YSS member gift [handed out at the YSS Booth], and getting information from “Active Member” applications to the correct people on the YSS Board.

Secretary
Responsible for keeping up-to-date contact info for board and committee members, compiling/distributing agendas/reports and taking minutes for the YSS Board and Membership meetings, coordinating YSS election materials, sending notices of election results, sending welcome packets (with term information, etc.) to the incoming board members, and also submitting relevant documents to the YSS Archivist.

Treasurer
Prepares quarterly financial reports for YSS Board review and approval and prepares/presents an annual financial report to YSS members at the [fall] YSS Membership Meeting. Attention to detail, organizational skills, and ability to meet deadlines are important. Good math skills and familiarity with using Excel are helpful; accounting/ finance background not required.

Non-Voting YSS Board Positions

These positions have unspecified term limits.

Archivist
Keeps archival records of YSS meeting minutes, publications, and any other relevant documents. Also responsible for storage and distribution of Empire State Award medallions.

CE Committee Liaison
Member of the NYLA CE Committee; brings forth YSS concerns/ideas and reports back to YSS with committee recommendations/upcoming CEs [on day before NYLA Annual Conference].

Fall Conference Curation Planning Chair
See description in YSS Fall Conference Curation Planning Committee.

Legislative Liaison
Member of the NYLA Leg. Committee; brings forth concerns of YSS Board so advocacy efforts can be made toward helping libraries to better serve the families and children of NYS.

Newsletter Editor
The duties of the Newsletter Editor include collecting articles from board and committee members and editing them together to form a cohesive, well designed newsletter for YSS members. Newsletters are quarterly, and there is a 2 week time frame in which the editor needs to work. Experience with layouts and publication software is useful for this position.

Web Liaison
Member of the NYLA Web Committee; trained by NYLA to manage YSS page on NYLA website. Also responsible for maintaining a YSS presence on social media (e.g. Facebook) and managing/ providing access to online file sharing (i.e. Google Drive) for YSS Committee and Executive Board Members. Experience with web design and coding is a useful skill for this postion.

YSS Committees

When you join a committee, you are making a 3 year commitment. You will learn and help out during your 1st year, become committee chair for your 2nd year, and mentor the newer members of the committee during your 3rd year.

Fall Conference Curation Committee
Coordinates/plans the YSS events and workshops for the NYLA Annual [fall] Conference.

Empire State Award Committee
Selects the ESA winner from YSS member nominations; plans the ESA luncheon for NYLA [fall] Conference. Pied Piper Award Committee Responsible for advertising, collecting submissions, and selecting a winning library from submissions of library programming/marketing excellence.

Marketing Committee
The Marketing Committee will work to promote YSS as a section and the field of Youth Services in the digital age. The committee will aim to strengthen professional development and give greater networking opportunities among individuals in the field.

Scholarship Committee
Responsible for marketing, collecting submissions, and selecting winners for the Spring Conference Scholarships and the Ann Gibson Scholarship.

Pied Piper Award Committee
Responsible for marketing, collecting submissions, and selecting the winner of the Pied Piper Award.

Youth Advocacy Committee
Joint committee betweeen SSL and YSS. To evolve a strong and results-oriented partnership in advocacy for the value of robust library service for youth.

More questions? Contact the 2nd Vice President for additional membership information.

Inside YSS