Sometimes together; sometimes separate

I was talking with a children's librarian the other day and mentioned a great idea I had seen on the YALSA blog. Her immediate response was "Oh, I'm an ALSC person, not a YALSA" That remark has bothered me for days now. Maybe as librarians we do too much to categorize ourselves into little groups with different characteristics and interests. Of course we want to exchange ideas with people who have the same kind of job and the same problems we have, but there are times when it's important to look beyond the narrow precincts of the children's room. After all, our patrons don't stick closely to what we define as "children's materials" or "children's services". They go through a stage of trying to be a teenager, slipping back into childhood, and then trying again. There is no hard and fast line between a tween and a teen and we ought to think about both groups. Some of the most exciting advances in library services these days are coming from the teen department. If you haven't talked to a "YALSA person" lately, you ought to think about signing onto the YALSA blog and checking out what they have been saying. Many of the ideas there are just as applicable to younger children as they are to teens--and you'll get to hear ideas from some pretty nice people. It makes you proud to be a librarian.