On May 13th and 14th I was fortunate enough to attend ALA’s Legislative Days in Washington DC. It was a truly great event - many thanks to ALA, especially the Washington Office, who worked so hard to make this important advocacy event possible again this year. Having never been to National Leg Day it was quite an experience for me as I watched librarians rush from one legislative office building to the next, working to speak up on behalf of libraries and librarians. I spent a lot of my time with the Executive Directors and Presidents of AASL and ALSC as we spoke to legislative staffers about vital topics like the SKILLS act and social networking. Two highlights for me were the offices of Congressperson Judy Biggert and Senator Edward Kennedy. We stopped by these offices and had the opportunity to speak at length with staff for what I felt were very productive and meaningful conversations. Meanwhile, every state delegation of librarians, with the help of a state coordinator, spent much of their time talking to their individual state representatives about various local and national issues of importance to libraries.
I have to admit that after this experience I am feeling a little addicted to advocacy! And so next year, I will find a way to participate in National Library Leg Days again. This participation will likely be virtual and I look forward to that entirely new experience too. I urge everyone to strongly consider being involved in this important annual event. After all, if librarians don’t make the case for libraries with our legislators in a loud and clear voice, who will?
Paula Brehm-Heeger, YALSA President
Hello YALSA members:
The recent Dec. 29th post about the upcoming Midwinter meeting is a great example of how many people are gearing up for the upcoming meeting in Philadelphia. I hope to see many of you at the meeting and know that those not able to attend will find plenty of excellent information about the meeting right here on YALSA’s blog!
The latest edition of American Libraries also features Midwinter-related information, including a Midwinter Preview section. Page 62 of this preview discusses the Youth Media Awards Press Conference (Monday, Jan 14th from 8-9 a.m.) While it is always great to see the Youth Awards receive the attention they deserve, this preview mentions several awards by name (including the new ALSC/YALSA Odyssey Award) but does not specifically mention YALSA’s prestigious Michael L Printz, Margaret A. Edwards or Alex Awards.
I encourage all YALSA members to continue to advocate for the importance of the Printz Award, Young Adult literature — the fastest growing segment in publishing – and YALSA’s awards in general. There are more than 30 million teens in the country–the second largest generation after the Boomers. Drawing attention to YALSA’s excellent award-winning books for this large teen audience is an important task for those of us working to serve teens in libraries every day.
I also encourage all YALSA members to read through the list of candidates for ALA’s Executive Board (also on page 62 of the American Libraries Midwinter Preview) and begin thinking about which candidates fit your priorities for our Association. ALA Council will consider this slate of Executive Board Candidates at the Midwinter meeting. The candidates are Frances R Roscello, Diane R. Chen, Thomas L. Wilding, Dora T Ho, Pamela C. Sieving, Em Claire Knowles. There will be a Candidates Forum featuring these candidates at the Midwinter meeting on Jan. 14th from 11:30 to 12:30 in Ballroom B of the convention center.
General information about ALA’s Executive Board
Roster of current Executive Board members
Paula Brehm-Heeger
YALSA President, 2007-2008
With Teen Read Week just around the corner, why not begin your celebration of Teen Reading with YALSA, the Readergirlz and “31 Flavorites!” The Readergirlz divas and YALSA will be hosting 31 of your favorite authors for 31 days in October — all in honor of Teen Read Week.
Chat nightly at 5 PM PST/8 PM EST with an amazing lineup of today’s most popular teen authors. And don’t miss the grand finale on October 31st with a special chat that will be held at 9 PM PST/MIDNIGHT EST) featuring Stephenie Meyer. More details are available at http://www.readergirlz.com/issue.html.
Authors participating in the Readergirlz celebration include Ann Brashares, Andre Norton, Holly Black, Deb Caletti, Dia Calhoun, Janet Lee Carey, Cecil Castellucci, Rachel Cohn, Chris Crutcher and many more!
Special thanks to author and Readergirl Justina Chen Headley for lending her talent, energy and enthusiasm to the idea of this Readergirlz/YALSA collaboration. This great project offers teens another option to keep reading for the fun of it this October by providing a fun, relevant way for connecting with reading, authors and books!
Now is the time to apply if you would like to be among the new group of ALA Emerging Leaders! More information on the Emerging Leaders program - including an application to be considered for a spot as a 2008 Emerging Leader — is available at http://wikis.ala.org/emergingleaders .
YALSA will sponsor one member to participate in the Emerging Leaders program this year. The application to be considered for YALSA sponsorship is now available at http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/leaders.htm.
The application period to apply to the Emerging Leaders program and to apply for YALSA sponsorship to the program is the same: July 1 - August 15, 2007.
YALSA will select one member to participate in the Emerging Leaders program and will provide $500 per conference (midwinter, 2008 in Philadelphia and annual, 2008 in Anaheim) to defray travel costs (your employer may also wish to contribute toward transportation and lodging).
It is possible to be selected to participate in the Emerging Leaders program even if you are not selected by YALSA for sponsorship. If you are interested in being an Emerging Leader you may wish to consider submitting both the general application and the application for YALSA sponsorship.
–Paula Brehm-Heeger
YALSA President, 2007-2008