Congrats to our WrestleMania Reading Challenge Winners! The WrestleMania Reading Challenge took place last weekend at Houston Public Library! Stephanie Diaz (grades 7-8) and Christian Cervantes (grades 9-12) won ringside tickets for WrestleMania 25. Learn more about the event, and the other finalists, at the WrestleMania Reading Challenge webpage.’
Reminder! Applications to edit Young Adult Library Services are due today to skuenn@ala.org. Please see the requirements for this member position.
E-course Registraton Open! YALSA’s affordable online courses are back! Register today for our summer session of classes, including a brand-new class, Beyond Booklists: Serving Today’s Diverse Teens (taught by Jennifer Velasquez) or the very popular Pain in the Brain: Adolescent Development and Library Behavior (taught by Beth Gallaway). Classes are four-weeks and pricing starts at $135 for YALSA members and students.
Operation TBD 2 YALSA ‘ will again team with readergirlz and Guys Lit Wire to distribute 8,000 books (donated by 18 publishers) to pediatric hospitals across the U.S. Learn how you can get involved on the YALSA Wiki or by visiting the readergirlz TBD page. Help us celebrate Support Teen Literature Day by participating in this special event.
After the jump, see where YALSA is this week on the 2009 YALSA Road Trip, find out how you can help YALSA with the Great Ideas contest, details on YALSA’s Annual preconferences and meet the winners from the 2009 YALSA membership drive.
YALSA Road Trip! This week, we’re at the Alabama Library Association conference and the Tennessee Library Association conference. Stop by and say hello. Thanks to volunteers Lynn Carpenter (Alabama) and Cindy Welch (Tennessee) for their hard work. Last weekend, YALSA was at the Texas Library Association and the Kansas Library Association/Mountain Plains Library association conferences. Thanks to Heidi Daniel & Shawn Lane in Texas and Angela Parks & Latasha Baker in Kansas!
Have a Great Idea? Tell YALSA!’ Brainstorm creative ways to achieve goals in’ YALSA’s Strategic Plan‘ (PDF), and you can win books and YALSA swag. Enter the Great Ideas contest! Download the’ guidelines and entry form‘ (PDF) to learn more. Entries due by May 1.
Coming to Chicago? Come to our preconferences!’ YALSA is offering two dynamite preconferences in Chicago on July 10. Our full-day preconference,’ Genre Galaxy: Explore the Universe of Teen Reading, offers young adult authors (including Cecil Castellucci, Holly Black, Dom Testa and David Lubar) and other experts giving their insights on connecting teens and books. Our half-day preconference,’ Moving Up the YA Career Ladder, will give both new and seasoned librarians professional tools that they need to further their careers. You don’t need to register for ALA Annual Conference to attend either of YALSA’s preconferences.’ Register today!
Congratulations to Donna Ko!’ Donna joined YALSA through the 2009 membership drive and was randomly selected to win a Flip Ultra camera. Her coworker, Deborah Christensen, recommended YALSA membership to her and also won a Flip Ultra. Beth McCracken, a new member, won a box of books from YALSA, as did her colleague Tara Glunz-Fries, who recommended membership. Thanks for joining YALSA!
That’s it for this week’s update! To stay up to date on the latest from the YALSA Office, sign up to follow’ YALSA on Twitter‘ or become a fan of’ YALSA on Facebook!
