YALSA President’s Report for September 2010

September was a month full tying up loose ends and kicking off new projects. The YALSA Executive Committee is preparing to meet for our annual fall meeting in Chicago on October 22-23. October will be just as busy as we all gear up for Teen Read Weekâ„¢ and the kick off of the Wrestlemania Reading Challenge …Thank you’s this month go to Pam Spencer Holley for participating in an interview with Lini S. Kadaba of the Philadelphia Inquirer for an article on Ellen Hopkins and why teens love her books. mk Eagle gets a huge thanks for leading her bloggers through another successful round of 30 days of back to school blogging. Maria Gentle, who has volunteered to translate YALSA’s updated Competencies for Librarians Serving Youth into Spanish for YALSA also deserves a big YALSA thank you.’ 

COMPLETED:

• Finished Appointing the two new taskforces, Research Resources Clearinghouse Taskforce and the Thinking Big about Advocacy Task Force. Both groups have begun their work.
• Interviewed with Jessica Stites from MS Magazine for an article on feminism and young adult literature.
• Composed a welcome message for the YA Lit Symposium program book which will be held in Albuquerque, NM on November 5-7, 2010.
• Interviewed with Lini S. Kadaba of the Philadelphia Inquirer for an article on Ellen Hopkins and why teens love her books.
• Interviewed with Erin Richards at’ neontommy.com for an article on the growth of YA literature and the newfound enthusiasm that teens have gained for reading in the past ten years.
• Provided press release quotes for Banned Books Week and the YA Lit Symposium

IN PROGRESS

• Making final preparations for the Fall Executive Committee meeting in Chicago, IL
• Looking ahead to November’s YA Lit Symposium.
• Celebrating Teen Read Week along with YALSA members and staff
• Appointing members to a new taskforce, which will focus on marketing YALSA’s 2011 selected lists and book & media awards
• Working with the Nominating Committee to finalize the 2011 election slate

ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT YALSA NEWS

• Advance registration closes for YALSA’s Young Adult Literature Symposium Oct. 8 Join YALSA Nov. 5-7 in Albuquerque, New Mexico for Diversity, Literature, and Teens: Beyond Good Intentions. Registration starts at $195 for YALSA members and New Mexico Library Association members!
• Tell us about your advocacy efforts and you could win $500! Learn more about YALSA’s Thinking Big about Advocacy Contest. Applications due February 1, 2011.
• ALA’s Midwinter Meeting will be Jan. 7-11 in San Diego. Advanced registration is open. When you’ Register, don’t forget to sign up for’  YALSA’s pre-Midwinter workshop,’ Teen Services and the Whole Library Experience, , Jan. 7-11, San Diego.
• YALSA is developing an evaluation tool to use in concert with its competencies. Please read the draft evaluation tool (PDF) and’ submit your comments to YALSA by Nov. 15.
• Register for YALSA’s webinars! Registration is open for’ Do More with Less: Passive Programs (Oct. 21, 2 p.m. Eastern) and’ Going Mobile: Teens, Libraries, and Cell Phones (Nov. 18, 2 p.m. Eastern).’ Learn more.
• Do you have a fantastic Teen Advisory Board? A successful teen volunteer program? Have teens helped you plan your library’s space for them, online or in the building? Submit your success stories to’ YALSA’s Big Book of Youth Participation! Download the’ application (Word doc) and send to’ yalsayp@gmail.com.
• YALSA is accepting applications for its’ Teen Services Mashup table talk session at the 2011 Annual Conference.’ Learn more and apply by Oct. 29.

–respectfully submitted, Kim Patton