As a new member of the YALS Editorial Advisory Board I’m excited about the direction of the journal and how it supports the future of teens and libraries. I’ve just finished reading the fall issue and I can tell you that there are great, inspiring pieces you won’t want to miss. You’ll see the hashtag #act4teens throughout, and that is the focus of this issue. How can libraries and library staff work with community organizations in new ways to support and promote youth? What I appreciated about each #act4teens feature is that while each is about a fairly large-scale program, they can all be adapted to libraries and communities of different sizes.
As a public radio fan I was really interested in the piece about RadioActive, an amazing program out of Seattle’s NPR radio station which teaches teens how to create radio stories. The article clearly outlines how you can implement similar workshops and programs in your own library. It’s a modern take on connecting people to stories and each other.
The article about Sociedad Latina is a great example of reaching out to cultural communities. It is co-written by a teen involved in the organization, yet another example of how the group promotes teen voices. The third community organization highlighted is LA Commons, a public art project, which also reaches out to cultural communities. Youth are engaged in seeking out stories from the community and conducting interviews. And speaking of cultural connections, be sure to read the update from the Cultural Competence Task Force. This new YALSA taskforce has been hard at work for the past year and the results are outlined here, including links to resources.
Have you ever wanted to be a published author? Or had a great library experience you wanted to share with others? 50 Tips for Writing and Publishing with YALSA has everything you need to know to make that happen.
And, finally, don’t skip YALSA President Candice Mack’s message about shaking up the status quo in libraries. Her message is both motivational and practical. There are new ways to reach out to our communities and connect with youth. You can make that happen and the fall issue of YALS is there to get you started.
