In these two videos you’ll hear librarians talk about books and authors and get to listen in on what authors talked about during the 2008 YALSA Coffee Klatch.

This is the second year for the annual coffee klatch and for anyone who hasn’t been before this is how it works.  Librarians sit at round tables of 10.  One seat at every table is left open. At approximately 9:00 AM the authors sit down at the tables. At each table the author talks about his or her books and answers questions the librarians might have.  After 5 minutes a whistle blows, the authors stand up (not in unison), and move on to the next table on their rotation. (more…)

I more or less live-blogged this, but of course now that I’m posting a day late the term “live” doesn’t really apply. I impressed myself with my stenography skillz, but then I realized I had created an extremely long blog post. Not for the faint of heart! I promise in the future I’ll be more brief, but I’m hoping some folks might find this “full transcript” (I did edit a little) useful.

Oh, and if anyone was in the audience and asked a question, feel free to leave a note with your name in comments–I’d love to attribute your wonderful questions to you!

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Someone left a blue leather diary at the Beyond Game Tournaments session at 8AM in the Marriott this morning – get in touch with me if it’s yours! informationgoddess29 AT gmail DOT com

Throughout the conference YALSA members are recording audio and video. And, throughout the conference, as well as after, we’ll post that audio and video on the blog. This post is the start with two short videos in which librarians talk about books, booktalking, reading, authors, and teens.  Check them out: (more…)

On a typical day of walking around the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Teen space, only one computer activity reigns alongside social networking: watching videos. Therefore, it was no surprise when I read the new Nielson study shows that teens are the #1 consumers of streaming online video. According to the report, teens mostly use online video for music videos, tv shows and anime, and to connect socially by sharing amateur videos with their friends.

They’re also turning to online video as a resource for information, from how to beat levels in video games to explanations of vector mathematics. With these trends, it’s likely that online video is going to play an increasingly important role in delivering information, as they can literally see the information play out before their eyes without missing a beat in any of their other online activities. Of course, this means online video will play an increasingly important role in your library.

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After one of the most miserable travel experiences to date (and I swear, I had a zen-like calm about me through the thunderstorm that soaked all of my clothing, the sardine-like gate area at Logan, and even the ground stop in Baltimore that left us sipping half-cups of warm VitaminWater on the tarmac; it was that two hour drive from LAX to my hotel that pushed me over the edge) I’ve finally made it to Anaheim and the grandeur that is ALA. And by “grandeur,” I mean “gigantic sea of orange tote bags.”

(Earlier the Sig Fig asked, “Are there a lot of glasses? And buns?” She’s allowed to ask this question because she’s an archivist. Sadly, I reported, there are very few buns.) (more…)

Authors are everywhere at ALA. Some are signing books, promoting an upcoming one, or speaking at programs on a variety of topics. Orson Scott Card is one of the authors here who spoke at a luncheon for the Margaret A. Edwards Award. He won this award for his lifetime contribution to young adult literature, and part of  the process is to invite the winner to a luncheon to speak.

Since that luncheon I’ve heard many people say how great a speaker he is. The one thing many have taken is a that he didn’t write Ender’s Game or any of his books for children, but that they found it on their own.

I’ve heard other authors say this as well, including Stephanie Meyers and Scott Westerfeld. What so you think it is that makes a book YA or Teen?

The first day of Annual Conference is over – at least for me – and it’s been pretty busy. Two highlights of the day are:

• YALSA 101 – in this session YALSA members, and those interested in learning more about the Division, get to hear what’s going on with YALSA, and have a chance to have their questions answered. The room was full with a combination of brand new ALA attendees, those new to YALSA, and those who wanted to hear what was happening with the hottest Division in ALA. Attendees, had the chance to hear about how YALSA Committee appointment processes work, found out about initiatives such as Teen Tech Week and Teen Read Week, learned about publishing opportunities, heard about social networking resources, and got the chance to win door prizes. One of the things that stood out to me, was the chance this session gave people to ask questions about various YALSA procedures and events.  Presenters and attendees were obviously very interested in what each other had to say and it definitely felt like when the hour was over a lot of information was exchanged. (more…)

We are more than halfway through the day here at the YALSA Preconference on tweens and teens. In the morning we laughed along with authors Lisa Yee, Lisie Harrison, and Amy Goldman Koss. Lunch was lovely and then the afternoon opened with Jon Scieszka. Bruce Hale was up next and, last but not least, Ingrid Law. More than 75 folks who work with tweens and teens enjoyed the speakers and the camaraderie. If you are here in Anaheim, plan now to come to the first ever Odyssey Reception at the Hilton at 8 pm. Listen to Bruce Coville, Jim Dale (via a recording), Simon Vance, and the winner of the first ever award for excellence in audiobook production, Arnie and Debra Cardillo of Live Oak.

Posted by Teri Lesesne

I came out to CA two days early, to teach a full day gaming workshop for the Black Gold Library System at the Santa Barbara Public Library. I’ve just landed in Anaheim, but can’t check into my hotel yet, so I’m taking advantage of the free WiFi and A/C at the Euclid branch of the Anaheim Public Library.

Here’s some of the stuff I’m looking forward to this year. I’m really excited that there are a number of gaming events – almost enough for a whole track! There are a couple vendor-sponsored events that I’m throwing in for informational purposes only, and shouldn’t be taken as an endorsement of product.
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