The Power of Empathy session will focus on the development of the three-week empathy and de-escalation training that the youth services staff underwent at the Smith Public Library. Focus will be on meaningfully engaging with teen patrons to help avoid heated confrontations and calling law enforcement, as well as working to provide teens with a safe space to be themselves without forcing them to meet behavioral expectations. Special attention will be paid to active listening and empathy mapping.

Kelsey Sidwell,
Teen Services Librarian, Smith Public Library
Native Ohioan and Texan of 11 years , Kelsey Sidwell (she/her) earned her master’s degree in library science from the University of North Texas in 2018, and has a bachelor’s degree in English from Ohio University. She has been the teen services librarian at the Smith Public Library in Wylie, TX for three years, and has been working in libraries for over a decade. She currently lives in McKinney, TX with her partner and spends her free time doing pottery and reading almost exclusively fantasy books.

This session will help library staff identify the core needs of applying to college and outline best practices for programming, collection development, and more. Based on the presenter’s own background of using public library resources to get into Yale, the program will help inspire teen librarians to step up their role in helping make college admissions a more accessible space in small and large libraries.

Aryssa Damron,
Library Associate, D.C. Public Library

What goes into choosing titles for the Best Fiction for Young Adults, Amazing Audiobooks, Quick Picks, and Great Graphic Novels Selection Lists? Learn more about these lists, and just what it takes to serve on a Selection List Committee. Past committee members and chairs will share advice on how to volunteer for and successfully serve on one of these committees, and offer a Q&A session for participants.

Rebecca Baldwin
Rebecca Baldwin has worked in teen services at public libraries for over ten years. In 2020 she chaired the Margaret A. Edwards Award. Currently, she is the Teen Services Librarian at the North Royalton Branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library.

 
 

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Erin Durrett
Erin Durrett is a Teen Services Librarian at the Clinton-Macomb Public Library. She has been working in libraries since 2002, and advocating for teen patrons is one of her passions. She has served on various YALSA committees and Co-Chairs the National Teen Lock-in. She was the first person to represent ALA in the I Am ALA campaign. She loves audiobooks, graphic novels, 3D printing and tech gadgets.

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Tina Lerno
Tina Lernø is a Librarian II for the City of Los Angeles and part of the Library’s Digital Content team where she is responsible for web content and design, with a focus on teen user needs and comics advocacy. Before becoming a librarian, Tina worked in the world of television animation doing color design on shows such as Harold and the Purple Crayon, Jackie Chan Adventures, and The Boondocks.

Tina is the past chair of the GGNFTs committee for YALSA and is currently an active member of GNCRT and REFORMA. She is a native of Los Angeles, CA. where she currently resides with her two children and her three cats. Her vast vinyl record collection makes an excellent backdrop for sewing, puzzling, and reading comics, and she reads about 500 books a year!

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Jessica Hilbum Schwartz
Jessica Hilbun Schwartz is the Teen Services Librarian at the Louisville Public Library in Louisville, CO. She has worked in teen library services for 10 years, and has served on several committees for YALSA and ALSC including Best Fiction for Young Adults, Amazing Audiobooks, the Legacy Award Committee, and currently the Notable Children’s Recordings Committee. She earned both her MLS and a Master’s degree in Children’s Literature from Simmons.