***BEFORE YOU REGISTER FOR THIS ON-DEMAND WEBINAR PLEASE REVIEW IMPORTANT REGISTRATION INFORMATION BELOW***
The Youth Poet Laureate (YPL) program is not just a poetry program. It is also a teen leadership and youth development program, as well as a community building program, that libraries are uniquely and ideally situated to coordinate. Public libraries serve their whole communities with this program by amplifying young voices and giving opportunity not just for these talented poets to share their truths, but for the entire community to learn from them and what they have to say. It is also absolutely rewarding and so much fun! One of the country's longest running Youth Poet Laureate programs, the Oakland Youth Poet Laureate program, has been coordinated and run by Oakland Public Library (OPL) teen services staff for fifteen years, and OPL staff have advised several other library systems as they started their own programs. In this on-demand webinar, you'll learn how to get started with a Youth Poet Laureate program and why you should consider implementing one.
Recorded live on September 2, 2026.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of this on-demand webinar, participants will be able to:
- Understand the steps that need to be taken to start a library-supported Youth Poet Laureate (YPL) program;
- Learn why public libraries are ideal coordinators of these programs;
- Learn how partnerships with community organizations can enhance YPL programs;
- Discover tools to simplify the process of starting a program;
- Understand how YPL programs support youth leadership and development; and
- Learn from the evolution of the Oakland Youth Poet Laureate program and start off strong with your own program.
Who Should Attend
This on-demand webinar is intended for public library staff who work with teens/young adults, and library administrators.
Panelists
Sharon McKellar (she/her) is the supervising librarian for teen services for the Oakland Public Library (OPL) in California. She has worked in public libraries for twenty-five years. In her current role, she oversees all services and programming for teens across OPL's seventeen-location urban library system.
Liz Soskin (she/her) is the youth development librarian at the Oakland Public Library in California. She supports systemwide teen leadership programs, including the Oakland Youth Poet Laureate program, and has coordinated teen internships and the Youth Leadership Council. She also supports teen-serving staff throughout the system with their youth development programs, including teen volunteers and Teen Advisory Boards.
Lateefa Ali (she/her) is a library assistant for the Oakland Public Library in the teen services department. In this role, she supports systemwide teen programing with a focus on teen leadership programs, including the Oakland Youth Poet Laureate (OYPL) program. With extensive experience working in EDI committees with the Oakland Unified School District, she brings knowledge and perspective that helps the OYPL program reach all youth in our community.
Important Registration Information
Log into or create your ALA eLearning account
An ALA eLearning account is required to register. Don’t have an account? Create one for free by going to the “Log in” menu located at the top right corner of your screen. No membership is required to create the account. If you encounter any issues registering for this webinar, then please email ce@ala.org for assistance.
Redeem your signup code to complete your registration
Once you’ve registered for this on-demand webinar, a signup code will be added to your ALA eLearning account and emailed to you. Find the signup code on your signup code page, then redeem it on your account’s dashboard to complete your enrollment in this on-demand webinar.
- Need to purchase registration on behalf of a colleague?
- Need to register a group of 3 or more?
- Need to register with a purchase order?
Review the ALA eLearning FAQ if you need more information.
Accommodations
This on-demand webinar is closed captioned in English (United States).
If you have a physical or communication need that may affect your access to this on-demand webinar, please contact us at plawebinars@ala.org or 800-545-2433 ext. 5PLA (5752) prior to registering so we can attempt to provide appropriate accommodations.
Attendees are prohibited from using any artificial intelligence, machine learning, large language model, automated decision-making tool, or any other software or tools to record this event and from using this event to train, develop, or improve any artificial intelligence system, machine learning model, or similar automated technology. This does not preclude attendees' personal use of AI notetaking tools for accessibility purposes.
Tech Requirements
To play this on-demand webinar you should use a browser with native HTML5 support. Please use the most up-to-date version available of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, or Edge. A fast Internet connection and computer is recommended.
Contact
This webinar is presented by the Public Library Association (PLA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).
If you have questions or problems accessing a recording, send a message to plawebinars@ala.org or call 800-545-2433 ext. 5PLA (5752).
