I can’t believe it’s already August! July was such a busy month chock full of YALSA activities! Here’s a snapshot of what all of us have been up to. Please feel free to email me with any questions or comments!
Key Activities:
Worked with the YALSA Board to identify Board Liaisons to all of YALSA’s Process Committees, Juries, Taskforces and Advisory Boards.
Appointed members to two new taskforces to help further YALSA’s mission and Strategic Plan: the Pilot Virtual Selection Committee Manual and Member Recognition taskforces.
Facilitated meetings with committee chairs, including the Division Membership and Promotion and Legislation committees, to help further the Connect Create Collaborate theme.
Worked with YALSAblog Editor, mk eagle, to develop a plan for the blog to support the Connect Create Collaborate theme.
Mobilized the Presidential Advisory Taskforce to help facilitate the Presidential Virtual Road Trip.
Worked with the Executive Director, Board and other committees and taskforces to develop and implement a transparent communication and conversation plan between the YALSA President and the membership, including quarterly e-chats and monthly Tweet-ups.
Teamed up with the chairs of the 2012-13 Chairs of the Margaret A. Edwards committee and Popular Paperbacks Committee chairs to discuss the virtual awards/selection committee pilot.
Works in Progress:
Finalizing the communication plan for the 2012-13 YALSA Presidential Road Trip.
Working with the YALSA Board to finalize the charge for the YALSA Board’s first Youth Engagement Taskforce, which will create a cadre of members who will help teens more closely inform the work of the Board.
Continuing to appoint members to YALSA’s Capacity Building Taskforce. Stay tuned for notifications seeking volunteers for other new taskforces, including the State Library Association and the 365 Days of YA Taskforce.
Working with Sarah Couri, the 2012-13 Chair of the Division Membership and Promotion committee to develop monthly tweetups.
Reached out to ALISE about a possible partner opportunity and am working with AASL and ALSC on setting up a joint taskforce that will be focused on the Common Core Standards
Media and Outreach:
Interviewed by the Los Angeles Times for an article highlighting the importance of adult books for teens and the Alex Awards.
Interviewed by the Greenville News for an article about new genres in teen fiction.
Important YALSA News and Deadlines
Check out YALSA’s first monthly tweetup on Tuesday, August 7 at 1PM Eastern Time. ‘ Use the hashtag #yalsaprez to talk about ways to incorporate Twitter into your teen services & programs.
Don’t forget to submit your volunteer forms to be part of YALSA’s selection committees that begin work 2/1/13! The deadline to submit your online form is 9/30.
The next YALSA Board of Directors meeting will be held via conference on Tuesday, August 28 at 4PM Eastern Time. Members can email yalsa@ala.org if they would like to get the access code to sit in on the call.
Stats & Data:
YALSA’s membership stood at 5,188 in June, which is a 3% decrease compared to last year
In June YALSA received a total of $1,390 in donations for Friends of YALSA, $30 for Books for Teens and $15 for the Leadership Endowment
Thank You!
Thank you BIG TIME to Kate Pickett and the 2012 YA Lit Symposium Taskforce for reading all of the applications for the conference stipends and selecting the winners.
Thank you to all of the contributors to YALSA’s new summer reading publication: Megan Honig, Erin Downey Howerton, Maria Kramer, Mark Flowers, Chris Shoemaker and Connie Urquhart.