I planned to post about YALSA’s Board meetings every day of Midwinter. But, as they say, “The best laid plans….”

Following the Saturday 1/16/10 meeting, the YALSA Board met twice more and the hard-working members continued to strategically plan for the Association. Items on the agenda on Sunday and Monday were discussion items. That means that what was discussed was not slated for specific action. Items listed as discussion usually are related to topics that haven’t yet been discussed by the Board and which may need more thought, and perhaps revision, before placed on a future agenda for a specific action. Discussion items can be acted on, but they do not have to be. An overview of topics discussed on Sunday, 1/17/10, and Monday, 1/18/10, follows. (more…)

Like many high and middle school librarians, I am a member of both YALSA and AASL. For this year’s Midwinter Conference, I was fortunate to attend the AASL Pre-Institute Bringing ‘Em On: 21st Century Skills Aligning with Standards. Led by Pam Berger, the hands-on workshop taught participants about both the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) and the new AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner.

Whether you’re in a school or public library, you may be interested in checking out the standards, which focus on giving our patrons the skills they will need to thrive in the world that awaits them.

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If you can’t be at the Westin Copley Plaza for the Morris and Nonfiction Awards, you can join the live blog by clicking in the viewer window below. We’ll have live streaming video, commentary from those of us in the room, and selected tweets about the awards.

You have the option to sign in using your Twitter, Facebook or MySpace ID, which will include your avatar. We’ll be automatically publishing tweets that use hashtags #MorrisAward, #yalsanf and #yalsa. A replay of the live event will be available as soon as we close the session.

Join us for the 2010 Youth Media Awards! Because ALA is already streaming the Awards we won’t be providing video, but we will follow all the announcements and pull discussion from Twitter. Tweets including the hashtags #Printz, #Alex, #MAE and #yma10 will be included in the live session.

As with the BBYA Teen Session live blog, you can join the live session from the blog. You have the option of signing in with your Twitter, Facebook or MySpace ID, which will also display your avatar. Comments and discussion are always welcome! After the Awards are over the live blog replay will continue to be available on the blog.

Join us for the BBYA Teen Feedback Session! Boston teens will weigh in on their favorites from this year’s nominations. Click on the viewer window to join. You’ll have the option to sign in using your Facebook, Twitter or MySpace ID. If you choose to log in that way, your avatar will also be displayed during the session.

All Twitter updates with the hashtag #BBYA will be published in the live session.

Those of you who aren’t with us in Boston or find yourself double (or triple!) booked can participate in several YALSA events via live coverage at the YALSA blog. Once again we’ll be using CoverItLive, with some exciting changes: live streaming video and social networking logins.

When you join the live blog session by clicking in the viewer window (see last year’s BBYA live blog to see the interface) you’ll have the option to log in using your Facebook, Twitter or MySpace login. Your comments will then appear with your avatar from that account. You’ll also be able to view our streaming video from the session thanks to integration with Qik.

The schedule of YALSA live blogs:

Best Books for Young Adults Teen Session: Sunday, January 17 1:30-3:30 PM

Youth Media Awards: Monday, January 18 7:30-9:00 AM

Morris and Nonfiction Awards: Monday, January 18 8:00-10:00 PM

The YALSA Board had a very full agenda yesterday for their first meeting of Midwinter and several important decisions were made, including:

• Approval of the Selected Lists Proposal. The approval of this proposal means that YALSA’s Best Books for Young Adults List is now Best Fiction for Young Adults. Also, the Alex Awards will be expanded. The Committee working on the Alex Award will continue to select 10 Award winners, and will also publish a longer list of titles that the group considers the best adult books of interest to teens published during the past year. All of the top ten titles selected by YALSA’s selection list committees, (more…)

YALSA’s board just unanimously approved Board Document 14 (PDF; Selected List Portfolio Proposal) in its entirety, which will affect several YALSA selected booklists and awards, notably Best Books for Young Adults and the Alex Awards. YALSA President Linda Braun will go into more detail on the blog after the YALSA Board adjourns this evening at 5:30 p.m.

Major changes are:

• The heading “Best of the Best for Young Adults” will be used to promote all of YALSA’s lists and book and media awards inclusively, including but not limited to an annually disseminated cumulative list of the top ten titles selected by each of YALSA’s various selection committees
• The current standing Best Books for Young Adults Committee will have an updated charge for its work in order to focus solely on annual publications of fiction (not including graphic novels) published for young adults. In order to reflect this change, the name of the list will become Best Fiction for Young Adults.
• The number of books honored by the Alex Award will be increased. The ten winning titles will appear in addition to a list of the committee’s official nominations.

Once again the YALSA Board has a proposal about BBYA before it, and once again controversy seems to have erupted. Discussion–sometimes heated–on various blogs and Twitter streams has left many librarians wondering if we’re in for a repeat performance of the overcrowded, emotional Board meeting in Chicago last July.

Before anyone goes hunting for extra folding chairs, however, YALSA would like to clarify some information about the proposal.

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The Division & Membership Promotion Committee will host YALSA 201 at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Boston on Friday, January 15th from 4:00-5:00 p.m. in Boston Convention Center Room 160A.

This program is designed for YALSA members who are interested in leadership positions such as committee chair or board member.  Guest speakers will discuss these roles in YALSA, and there will be a Q&A session.

The YALSA Happy Hour will begin right after this program at 5:00 p.m. in the Boston Convention Center Grand Ballroom Foyer.

Confirmed speakers for YALSA 201:

• Candice Mack – Chair, Division & Membership Promotion Committee
• Angie Manfredi – Road Trip Coordinator
• Francisca Goldsmith – Course Instructor
• (virtual) Lesley Farmer – YALSA Member/IFLA Representative
• Sarah Flowers – Editor, YALS
• Pam Spencer Holley – YALSA author
• mk Eagle – Blog Manager
• Dora Ho – Convenor, Anime Discussion Group
• Angela Carstensen – Award/Selection Chair
• Kelly Czarnecki – Chair, Teen Tech Week Committee
• Ritchie Momon/Pam Spencer Holley – Task Force on Committees Chair
• Nick Buron – Board Member
• John Sexton – Chair, Nominating Committee 2011
• Audra Caplan – ALA Councillor/YALSA member