It's dangerous to go alone!

There's no need for you to go into teen librarianship alone, even if you're the only librarian at your school or the only one dedicated to the YA section.  There are plenty of associations that can help you out, from the big to the little things.

In S401, I was asked to create a quick presentation that, in its smaller scope, was similar to this project.  While creating that Powerpoint, I found that many regional YA associations exist.  Such as BAYA in San Francisco or the CATS roundtable hosted by the Oklahoma Library Association.

Of course, the big one is YALSA or the Young Adult Library Services Association, which has been mentioned already in previous posts.  It is a division of the ALA, and as such sponsors several nationwide programs such as Teen Tech Week, and Teen Read Week, as well provides materials for the teen portion of the Summer Reading program (if a library chooses to use that year's theme).  YALSA hosts conferences and symposiums, with the purpose of bringing teen librarians together to support each other and the services, whether it be through panels or through award ceremonies.  Here's the itinerary for YALSA's Midwinter Meeting in Chicago this coming January.  Grants are also available through YALSA, as are training videos and kits to help you become the best teen librarian you can!  Advocacy is another of YALSA's focuses, which is to be expected since it is a part of the ALA.  Members of YALSA (which number over 5,000) use their collective voice to argue for positive legislation for libraries so that they can continue to provide the best resources and environment possible for teens to become engaged citizens.

Becoming a member of YALSA seems to me to be a great step towards becoming an effective teen librarian, but it would also be worthwhile to check for any regional YA associations as well.