Building Professional Confidence through ALSC

Spring has sprung and it’s still never too early or too late to start getting involved with ALSC! As a Youth Services Librarian who joined ALSC right at the start of their career, I can tell you that contributing to this organization has been one of the biggest driving factors behind keeping me motivated and engaged in my profession- and I believe it can be that for anyone too!

Networking

Some of us love it, some of us not as much, but no one can deny the power of having a strong network of professional support. Don’t leave it to the extroverts to have all the fun! Linking up with lots of other youth librarians can be tough since we’re all scattered across the country, but luckily virtual meetings have made it easier than ever for us to get together and share our ideas and experiences.

One way you can start getting connected is by checking out upcoming We Are ALSC Chats (WAAC)! ALSC’s Membership Committee will be having another ‘Zoom Social’ type event on April 23, 2025 at 3pm ET/2pm CT, titled “Summer Reading Pep Rally: Getting Your Heart, Mind, and Body Ready for the Coming Storm”. Our Zoom sessions offer informal opportunities to meet with other youth library workers around a relevant or timely topic relating to our profession.

Committee Work

ALSC has nearly 60 committees, task forces, and discussion groups that anyone can get involved with! A list of committees can be found here, and signing up is as easy as filling out a volunteer form.

If you’re wondering about what committee work can do for you, here are a few cool things that I’ve been graced with after my first two years on the Library Service to Underserved Children and Their Caregivers Committee (LSUCTC):

• Presentation Experience
• Conference Experience (2024 ALSC National Institute)
• Lasting Connections
• CONFIDENCE!

Presenting Ideas

Whether or not presenting at a conference is a future goal of yours, committee work does lend itself naturally over to presenting, as many groups are often working on something that other professionals could stand to benefit or learn from. I never had aspirations to present at library conferences myself until I began volunteering on committees and discovered that I love learning from and sharing ideas with other library professionals!

Ultimately, if you’re hoping to gain confidence as a youth services library worker, I cannot recommend enough to get involved with ALSC! I myself have had such a wonderful time contributing to the organization, and I’ve already learned so much more than I ever would have if I only kept to myself and the resources available to me locally. Getting involved doesn’t have to be hard, either: join a virtual ALSC chat sometime, see where it takes you, and hopefully you’ll get as much out of the experience as I have!

Photo by Ewa Wojciechowska, ALSC member; pictured left to right at 2024 ALSC National Institute: Gabrielle Stoller, Ewa Wojciechowska, Georgette Spratling

This blog post relates to ALSC Core Competencies of: VII. Professionalism and Professional Development.

Ewa Wojciechowska is a Youth Services Librarian at the New Castle Public Library in Delaware and a member of ALSC’s Membership Committee. All views in this blog post are her own.

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 Spring has sprung and it’s still never too early or too late to start getting involved with ALSC! As a Youth Services Librarian who joined ALSC right at the start of their career, I can tell you that contributing to this organization has been one of the biggest driving factors behind keeping me motivated and engaged in my profession- and I believe it can be that for anyone too! Networking Some of us love it, some of us not as much, but no one can deny the power of having a strong network of professional support. Don’t leave it to the extroverts to have all the fun! Linking up with lots of other youth librarians can be tough since we’re all scattered across the country, but luckily virtual meetings have made it easier than ever for us to get together and share our ideas and experiences. One way you can…
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