Win up to $1K to attend Library Advocacy Day YALSA will offer travel stipends of up to $1,000 each to five YALSA members to participate in ALA’s Library Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. on June 29, 2010, held in conjunction with ALA Annual Conference. Applications are available as a PDF or Word document. They can also be downloaded at YALSA’s Awards and Grants page and must be sent to yalsa@ala.org. Applications are due one week from today, so be sure to get yours in!

William McKinley High School of Lima, Ohio, celebrates Teen Tech Week The kids on Glee went to the library last week. At about the sixteen-minute mark, you’ll see a familiar poster in the background.

Share your Great Idea You can win a prize from YALSA! Do you have a great idea to support YALSA’s goals in its strategic plan (PDF)? Share them with YALSA and you could win a prizes worth up to $250. Download an entry form (Word doc) today. Entries are due by May 1.

Register for our next webinar on advocacy Karen Keys will lead an hourlong webinar called VIPs: Why You Need Them for Advocacy on May 20 at 2 p.m. Eastern. Karen will explore how librarians and library workers can help grow their library program by improving communication and developing professional relationships with local town councilors, school board members, Chamber of Commerce members, and so on. Registration costs $39 for individual YALSA members, $49 for all other individuals and $195 for groups. Contact Eve Gaus at egaus@ala.org or 1-800-545-2433, ext. 5293 for more information.’  Mark your calendar for June 17, when Sarah Debraski will lead a webinar on YA classics.

After the jump, find out how you can save on early bird registration for YALSA’s YA Lit Symposium and ALA’s Annual Conference, sign up for YALSA’s Annual preconferences, register for Teen Read Week and the WrestleMania Reading Challenge, and more!

Register for the 2010 Young Adult Literature Symposium Registration is now open for YALSA’s Young Adult Literature Symposium, Nov. 5–7, at the Albuquerque Marriott in Albuquerque, N.M. Early bird pricing begins at $195 for YALSA members and is available until Sept. 10. Registration is available at www.ala.org/yalitsymposium.

Apply for a Teen Read Week Mini Grant (and register, too!) 2010 Teen Read Week registration is now open. Visit www.ala.org/teenread to register for our 2010 celebration. In addition to free registration, visitors to the Teen Read Week website can find activity ideas relating to this year’s theme, planning resources, publicity tools and applications for Teen Read Week Mini Grants (worth $450!). Teen Read Week will be celebrated Oct. 17-23, with a theme of Books with Beat @ your library, which encourages teens to read poetry, audiobooks, books about music and more, for the fun of it. Registration benefits include access to the 2010 theme logo, the chance to win a collection of four books from Cinco Puntos, and a collection of 25 titles from Viz Media. The first 300 YALSA members to register will receive a copy of Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra’ Harvey.

2010 WrestleMania Reading Challenge Register now at www.ala.org/wrestlemania. The WrestleMania Reading Challenge has been revamped as it enters its fifth year. The Challenge now will take place over a period of one week, during Teen Read Week. Librarians and educators: register to participate through July 31 at www.ala.org/wrestlemania. As part of the Challenge activities, students will pledge to read 5 books or graphic novels between Teen Read Week and WrestleMania 27 on April 3, 2011. They may also complete a competitive project during Teen Read Week if they want to be eligible to win a trip to WrestleMania. The students chosen as Grand Prize Winners represent their libraries at the WrestleMania Reading Challenge World Finals in Atlanta on April 2, 2011 and win their libraries $2,000 grants and other prizes.

Mentoring Program applications open: YALSA’s new mentoring program will pair an experienced librarian (more than 6 years’ experience) with a new librarian (fewer than 6 years’ experience) or graduate student in a library science program. YALSA believes that we all have important skills and knowledge that we can share with one another and so this program encourages protégés to share their skills and know-how with their mentor. YALSA will accept applications through June 30. Learn more at www.ala.org/yalsa/mentoring.

Be a YA Galley Group YALSA is accepting applications for the 2010-2012 YA Galley groups, fifteen teen book groups who determine the nominees each year. Learn more and apply at www.ala.org/teenstopten.

YALSA offers two preconferences before Annual YALSA is coming to Washington, DC! In addition to our special events at ALA’s Annual Conference, we have two pre-Annual workshops on Friday, June 25 that you can attend without registering for Annual.

It’s Perfectly Normal: Dealing with “Sensitive” Topics in Teen Services (Ticketed Event– YALSA Member: $195; ALA Member: $235; Non-Member: $285; Student/Retired Member: $195.) Friday, 9-5. Have you ever found yourself worrying about how best to address critical but sensitive adolescent topics through your teen services and collection? Topics like sexuality, abuse, privacy and others can be difficult for librarians to address with teens &/or their parents and caregivers. Hear from experts in the field of adolescent development, along with authors and librarians, about how they have managed to successfully maneuver this difficult landscape. Explore strategies for collection development, services and programming relating to these sensitive issues. Authors participating: Ben Saenz, Laurie Halse Anderson, Nina LaCour, David Levithan, and Ellen Hopkins.

Promoting Teen Reading with Web 2.0 Tools (Ticketed Event-$99) Friday, 12:30-4:30. The participatory web has transformed adolescent literacy, as young people create and consume a new range of online content. Are you ready for it? Learn how libraries can use free web 2.0 tools to connect teens with reading and writing opportunities within and beyond your library collection. Librarians, reporters, and academics will explore teens’ daily use of technology and the interaction of digital and print reading channels, including fan fiction and gaming. YA authors will discuss leveraging readership through social networking channels. Authors participating: Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl, Malinda Lo, John Green, David Levithan.

If you are planning to attend ALA Annual Conference, you can add either event to your registration at www.ala.org/annual.

If you have already registered and would like to add this special event to your registration, you have two options: (1) By phone: Call ALA Registration at 1-800-974-3084 and ask to add a workshop to your existing registration; (2) Online: Add an event to your existing registration by clicking on this link. Use your log in and password to access your existing Annual registration and add events in the “Your Events” section (screen 6). Then simply check out and pay for the events you have added.

To register only for either of the pre-Annual workshops, please fill out the form at http://yalsa.ala.org/annual/event.pdf (skip Section I) and either mail or fax it to 800-521-6017 or mail it to: ALA Registration and Housing Headquarters, 568 Atrium Dr.
Vernon Hills, IL 60061.

About Stephanie Kuenn

Stephanie Kuenn is the communications specialist for YALSA, where she is responsible for YALSA's web content, publications, and media relations. She is currently pursuing an M.A. in library and information studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds an M.S. from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and a B.A. in history and journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She enjoys baking, watching sports, and reading. Her favorite book is "All the King's Men" by Robert Penn Warren.

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