Between the Lines: June Member Spotlight

Yasmeen Harris-Youngblood

Librarian – Hexter Elementary, Dallas ISD

1. What inspired you to become a librarian?

I taught English Language Arts in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade for 17 years before the librarian position opened on my campus in 2024. Now, I get to tell stories and inspire children to fall in love with books, authors, genres, and creativity. Teaching students from pre-K3 to 6th grade has taught me so much about how they develop as readers, how their interests change, and how they find their “tribe” through fandom.

2. What is an innovative practice at your library/organization (current or former) that you would like to share with others?

I have always loved lesson planning, so I designed a “Librarian Story Trails” curriculum to support my colleagues facing state testing pressures by centering library time on high-interest, vertically aligned lessons. This curriculum takes one captivating concept, like the story of Dina Sanichar, the real-life inspiration for The Jungle Book, and scales it across all grade levels. In Pre-K and Kindergarten, we build foundational engagement through Disney’s film adaptation. By 1st and 2nd grade, we focus on Response Skills (TEKS 1.6F/2.6F) by making inferences about survival. In 3rd and 4th, we dive into Inquiry and Research (TEKS 3.13/4.13), analyzing articles on brain development while learning to spot media bias. Finally, 5th- and 6th-graders analyze Author’s Purpose and Craft (TEKS 5.9/6.9) by comparing Kipling’s original text with modern adaptations. Because the entire campus explores the same anchor concept simultaneously, “Story Trails” sparks multi-grade conversations that travel all the way to the dinner table between siblings. It successfully bridges the gap between rigorous TEKS alignment and a genuine, community-wide wonder for literature. That’s exactly what I want to do: incite wonder, start conversations around literature, and spark enough curiosity for them to keep reading.

3. If you could have dinner with three authors (living or dead), who would they be and why?

Since childhood, I knew it was Maya Angelou. I am very drawn to writers who transform difficult experiences into wisdom. Memoirs are my favorite genre, and after reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and every poem she had written, I declared that I would be a poet one day. My book of her poems is so dog-eared and tattered that it’s embarrassing; I have many copies, but I still go back to the same one I had as a child. The second writer is Toni Morrison, who taught me that Black characters could be the center of their own stories, rather than side characters in someone else’s. The third is Ann M. Martin, an author who took children’s lives seriously, which deeply drew me in as a child. She understood friendships, belonging, and the tribulations of growing up as a young girl. Today, I read The Baby-sitters Club novels with my own daughter, and it helps us tackle difficult topics in a child-friendly way.

4. What are you reading right now?

Currently, I am really into travel memoirs. I am reading a memoir by Jedidiah Jenkins called To Shake the Sleeping Self: A Journey from Oregon to Patagonia, and a Quest for a Life with No Regret. I admire this writer because of his candor, humor, sarcasm, and relatability. I aspire to write a travel memoir one day and having him as a mentor would be a dream come true.

5. What is your most memorable Texas Library Association Experience?

My most memorable TLA experience was definitely the conference in Dallas last spring. I was able to attend informative sessions and interesting roundtables, and I also found the Black Caucus Round Table (BCRT). They welcomed me with open arms in a way I had never experienced before. I met author Kwame Alexander and even made a highlight video of his time at the conference through BCRT. Until this point, I’d had a hard time letting go of my identity as a teacher, but this conference solidified my identity as a librarian.

6. Advice to new librarians?

I am all about enjoying the journey, not just rushing to get to the destination, so that’s the advice I would give to new librarians. There is a definite learning curve as we navigate the Dewey Decimal system, the practice of keeping a robust and current collection, and the disappointment of seeing our favorite stories join the “banned book list.” But we can learn from all of it. If we can turn a difficult situation into a story, then we have done our job.

7. Share your hobbies, hidden talents, or anything people might not know about you.

My hobby is mountain climbing. A few years ago, I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Five years prior, my husband had been diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, and I was looking for a way to raise money for the organization. Climbing was the most freeing and liberating thing I had ever done. On that mountain, I learned how strong and resilient I was. I learned how much more important mental strength is than physical ability, and I learned the benefits of bringing those stories back to my students. Summer after summer, I continued climbing and have now conquered the Andes in Peru, the Alps in France, Italy, and Switzerland, the Laugavegur trail in Iceland, the Lost City of Colombia, and the Camino de Santiago in Spain. This summer, I am taking a group with me on my first “Teacher Trek.”

8. Please finish this sentence. “I am a TLA member because…”

I am a TLA Member because libraries are more than places to find books. They are places where students find themselves and discover new possibilities. Every story has the power to take us somewhere new, and TLA gives me the resources and connections to guide students on journeys of discovery inside and beyond my school library walls.