The readergirlz are partnering with First Book on a massive giveaway for low-income teen readers—125,000 free books that will be delivered before the holidays. There’s a catch, of course: Organizations serving these teens need to sign up by Thursday Dec. 2nd.

Register at http://booksforkids.firstbook.org/register/. The First Book National Book Bank distributes free books to any program that serve at least 80% children from low-income families.

First Book is also eager to answer questions, either by email to help@firstbook.org, or by phone at 866-READ-NOW or 866-732-3669. You can learn more about the organization at www.firstbook.org. If you participate, drop the readergirlz a note at readergirlz@gmail.com to be included in our blog roll of thanks to run December 31.

Please feel free to share this information with youth serving organizations in your community. If you tweet about it, please use hashtag #novelgift.

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is seeking a Member Editor for its open-access, peer-reviewed, electronic research journal, the Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults (JRLYA). JRLYA publishes high-quality research on library services to young adults quarterly. The position term would begin with the Spring 2011 issue. The deadline for applications is Jan. 31, 2011.

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Authors Daniel Ehrenhaft and Jacqueline Woodson, along with SLJ blogger Diane Chen, all say that Selene Castrovilla is an author to “watch out for.” You and your teens will have that opportunity to “watch out for” Selene at YALSA’s Not-So-Silent Auction on Friday night of Midwinter when her Skype visit will be auctioned.

For those of you who attended the YA Lit Symposium in Albuquerque this past November, you may have met Selene or received one of her rubber chicken keychains. Her young adult novels include Saved by the Music and The Girl Next Door, (more…)

What do ya’ll think about……..the Morris and Nonfiction announcements? YALSA is announcing the shortlists for both awards this month (Nonfiction this week and Morris early next week).  Join YALSA for our free monthly e-chat on Wednesday December 8 from 8-9pm EST to discuss the recently announced Morris and Nonfiction finalists. Did one of your favorite books get nominated? Were you surprised by any of the choices?  Join us in ALA Connect for this lively conversation, moderated by Rob Bittner.

What do ya’ll think about……..the Morris and Nonfiction announcements? YALSA is announcing the shortlists for both awards this month (Nonfiction this week and Morris early next week).  Join YALSA for our free monthly e-chat on Wednesday December 8 from 8-9pm EST to discuss the recently announced Morris and Nonfiction finalists. Did one of your favorite books get nominated? Were you surprised by any of the choices?  Join us in ALA Connect for this lively conversation, moderated by Rob Bittner.

Chat participation is limited to YALSA members. YALSA members should go to http://connect.ala.org/yalsa and use their login for the ALA website, www.ala.org. If you’ve lost your password, you can recover it through the ALA website. Once logged in, head to the YALSA area (it’s http://connect.ala.org/yalsa or you can navigate there within Connect by choosing “YALSA” from under “My ALA Groups”) and then click “Chats.”

See you at the chat on Dec. 8!

A short list of tweets posted over the last week that librarians and the teens that they serve may find interesting:

• My 30 Days of Street Lit blog series starts Monday. Stay tuned! http://bit.ly/e5d6Uy #30daysofstreetlit – @vonmeggz
• Top Trends of 2010: Growth of eBooks & eReaders http://rww.to/arnPVl – @rww
• But do attention spans even exist? http://tinyurl.com/2dtbutb – @page88
• College Credit for Improving Wikipedia – Just Don’t Cite it in a Paper! http://bit.ly/g2ItLI – @alltop_tech
• Editor’s Pick: 8 Ways Technology is Improving Education – http://on.mash.to/dlYW5B – @mashable
• The internet kids are all right http://tinyurl.com/33a9mkx – @doctorow (more…)

The holidays are fast approaching with Thanksgiving tomorrow, Hanukkah starting next week, and Black Friday/Cyber Monday just days away. As you plan your holiday shopping, think about including gifts  from YALSA for your colleagues. In addition to books, YALSA offers gift memberships, subscriptions to Young Adult Library Services, and t-shirts, mugs, and other products at CafePress.com. Read on to find out how you can include YALSA on your gift list this year.

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Multicultural Programs for Tweens and Teens by Linda Alexander and Nahyun Kwon was recently published by the American Library Association under YALSA. I had the opportunity to conduct an email interview with Linda regarding the book and the issues it addresses. (more…)

As a teen library specialist you have insight on the needs of the teen patrons who walk into your library. But what happens outside the teen space? Do the circulation desk staff, the pages, the security personnel, and your administrator know how to provide a quality library experience for the teens in your community?

What can you do to enhance the whole library experience for your teen patrons?

Attend the all-day YALSA Midwinter Institute on Friday, January 7, 2011, in San Diego and receive tips and tools and talking points for working with the rest of the library staff in providing outstanding teen services. Speakers include Paige Battle, Linda Braun, Christie Gibrich, Penny Johnson, Jennifer Lawson, Teri Lesesne, Sara Ryan, and Ray Stark.

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A short list of tweets posted over the last week that librarians and the teens that they serve may find interesting:

• Cellphones in the Classroom: Distraction or Tool? http://rww.to/amvi31 – @rww
• Feds Support School Cell Phone Use http://bit.ly/9NUzjj – @sljournal
• Can Twitter make you smarter http://tinyurl.com/2g8eq2p – @fastcompany
• News: @Pew_Internet, @FamOnlineSafety, @CableClassroom to examine teens’ online behavior in new research study http://pewrsr.ch/c7jIKz -@pew-internet
• Google Launches Interactive Book to Teach Everyone About the Web – http://on.mash.to/93dqEp – @mashable (more…)