Hi!

I’m Beth Gallaway, the youth services trainer/consultant for the Metrowest Massachusetts Regional Library System, based in Waltham MA, about 13 miles northwest of Boston. I’ve been maintaining our News Blog for almost a month now, and started an online journal in 2000 to rant about my public library experiences – but I’ll spare you all that link.

I live just over the border in New Hampshire now, but as a Massachusetts native I feel the urge to say, “welcome!” even though I don’t really think of Boston as MY city. I can, if pressed for local info, offer you my pocket subway map of the T (although the online subway map is good), translate the word “tonic” (we don’t have that “soda vs. pop” debate here – it’s tonic) or recommend a handful of tried-and-true places to eat (best bet: if you have a little extra time, Fanueil Hall Marketplace not only has an affordable food court, but after you dine, you can shop for souvenirs, admire the architecture and the historically significant Hall, or head for the BosTix kiosk for discount show tickets).

Or, find your own fun through these local websites:

• Daily Candy’s Boston edition is only a few weeks old, but it covers food (mostly vendors, not restaurants yet) excurisions and shopping
• Stuff at Night has suggestions for clubs, bars, lounges and more
• The Phantom Gourmet is overflowing with restaurant reviews and “Great Ates” – the top 8 sandwiches, coffee, mac ‘n’ cheese – just limit to Boston (hint: look under “Soup” to find their recommendation for “best chowdah”)
• Boston.com is the online edition of the Boston Globe newspaper – the restaurant section can be sorted by cuisine, price, ambiance, location… the Hynes Convention Center is in the Back Bay
  

So I am here early for the Young Adult Library Service Association (YALSA) Preconference: Serving the Underserved (SUS). I made Michael Cart wince today when I announced I had landed my new position (trainer/consultant) with no formal training in, well, TRAINING. I’ve been doing continuing education workshops and staff trainings and volunteer orientations and the like for seven years, but I am really looking forward to getting tried and true tips, tricks and tools that will help me be more effective in making a case for a library-wide, holistic approach to service to young adults.

Our first session this afternoon began with icebreaker introductions that forced us to lean into discomfort zones and think on our feet. We learned the rich history of YALSA, did a Moment of Truth exercise (thanks Patrick Jones!), and discussed “Who are Young Adults?” We also did some brainstorming exercises to get us thinking about how to use the various types of information (such as demographics) we might gather to define the YA animal in planning and implementing and justifying services. The other participants comprise a venerable Who’s Who of young adult library services – rock stars of the field. I felt honored to be in the presence of such greatness.

As I wrap up my ramblings this evening, I will leave you with my last image of the Hynes Convention Center today: the quiet before the storm. The ‘swoosh’ of tires in the rain on Boylston Street was audible over the murmuring of voices making dinner plans and the squeak of wet shoes on tile. The general disarray of signs and carts and people traipsing back and forth was a quiet kind of chaos that hinted at the unpacking of cases of catalogs, the hanging of signage, the unfurling of tablecloths. The high ceiling made it seem as if the building were merely holding it’s breath, waiting for the estimated 10,000 leaders in the field to arrive. As they shall. And again, I say, “welcome.”