I’m back, both literally and figuratively. I just attended ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas and with a great group of hard working YALSA members we taped interviews with the YALSA candidates. They have been posted for you to listen to. This is just one more way to give you the information you need to make an informed decision about our potential officers and award committee members.

I followed up Midwinter with a visit to my mom in Washington DC. Now, going to Washington always makes me think about our system of government and the fact that it requires individuals to take action. In fact I think about what Winston Churchill said about our form of government. He said “It is said that democracy is the worst form of government, except all the others that have been tried.” (more…)

Happy New Year! Have you made some resolutions? Well, I want to challenge each and every one of you to add one more resolution to your list. Here it is:

As a member of YALSA, one of the 5,300 members who have put their money where their mouth is in support of teens across the world, I challenge you to be a role model to your teens.

But you say you already are?

Each of us believes in the work we do, we believe that our teens are the future and we work very hard to provide them with great reading selections, fun and excellent opportunities to try new things, safe places to come and hang out, opportunities to give back through their libraries and communities, and we provide positive role models. (more…)

Many associations function because of the work of their volunteer members, and every year YALSA, with its more than 5000 members, looks for about 30 dedicated folks to run for various elected positions, for award committees and executive and board positions.

But who finds these candidates? YALSA has a nominating committee made up of five dedicated professionals: the immediate past president and four involved members. (I’m one of the five members.)

And what do they do? YALSA maintains spreadsheets of volunteer information with all the names of those who have submitted a volunteer form for a process or selection committee. The Nominating Committee looks over that information. But that is just one step in a process that takes about nine months – the creating of “the slate”.
(more…)