30 Days of Working for and with Teens for Social Justice

This month on YALSAblog and the Hub, we're focusing on social justice. Be sure to follow along with both blogs as they explore this topic, and how to work for and with teens.

Think about your library’s population: Is it diverse? If you answered no, why don’t you think the population is diverse? Keep in mind that diversity is not always something you can see, like skin color, a hijab, or a wheelchair.   

Read over this site, and try to accomplish the challenge posed: 

“Commit to taking 3 actions in the next month, and share these with a trusted friend, colleague, or family member in order to increase your accountability to follow through on your commitment.  Can you take at least one action in the next two weeks in the Ally or Accomplice category?”

Read the full post here.

Inclusive Summer Reading Programs - YALSAblog

I was recently accepted to write for YALSAblog, and I couldn't be more thrilled! Most of my posts will focus on providing services to teens with disabilities. The first one has tips on making your library's summer reading program inclusive.

Whether you know the teens that frequent your library or not, disabilities can be hard to see. If you’re lucky, teens and their parents may be open about disabilities and how you can help them get the most out of their library experience. And if you’re not lucky, well, sometimes you'll deal with behaviors or unsatisfying encounters that make you wonder if you helped the patron at all. Thankfully, making your summer reading activities seem inviting to teens with disabilities is easy to do. With just a few tweaks to what you already have in place, your program can be inclusive! This way, it doesn’t matter if you know what disabilities you’re dealing with, or if you’re just taking a wild guess.

Read the whole article here!