YALSA Blog Nominated for an Edublog Award

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The YALSA blog has been nominated for Best Group Edublog Award 2009!

Celebrating the best education blogs on the web, the Edublog Awards have been given since 2005 to recognize outstanding online work from a wide variety of educators and students. Past Eddie award winners include everything from individual librarian blogs to Discovery’s Second Life presence.

You can see all the categories and nominations, as well as past nominations and winners, at the Edublog Awards homepage. And don’t forget to vote! Voting closes December 16.

Dollars and Sense #1 – You Are Here

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The library world is far from immune from the current economic climate. (And how tired are you of hearing phrases like “the current economic climate”?) Across the country, libraries and librarians are facing budget shortfalls and slashes, personnel cuts, and even the threat of closure–all while seeing record usage as our patrons find themselves depending more than ever on our “free” services.

Throughout the month, the YALSA blog will include daily posts in a series we’re calling 31 Days of Dollars and Sense. Topics in the series will include:

  • Managing stress
  • Defending your YA budget
  • Coming up with prizes and incentives for your teens, even with limited funds
  • …and much much more!

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Adam Lambert and You

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Much of the pop culture world is all a-twitter about Adam Lambert’s sexually charged performance at last night’s American Music Awards. Every morning radio show seemed to be covering it during my commute, every blog seems to have a post on it, and “Adam Lambert” is a top trending topic on Twitter.

And among the teens at my high school… not a peep.

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Low Tech or No Tech?

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When I walked in my library this morning, I had no internet. No intranet, even–I couldn’t load the high school home page at all.

On another morning this might have sent me into a panic, but I already knew I had a light schedule for the day and wouldn’t be giving out many library passes because today’s an advisory day for frosh and sophomores, so I headed over to the front office, remembering that one of our secretaries was out for the day and her counterpart might need a hand.

Half an hour later, I returned to find that one of our paras had graciously stepped up and made a pencil and paper list of passes for juniors and seniors as well as one for a handful of book checkouts.

Low tech? Absolutely. Just as effective in a pinch? You bet!

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The Best of Boston

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Midwinter is rapidly approaching. Those of us who already live in Boston don’t have much to do besides feel smug about how much we’re saving on airfare, but for folks coming in from out of town–particularly if it’s your first time in our fair city–no doubt the questions have already started. Is there anything to do on the waterfront? What’s the best way to get around the city? Where have all the R’s gone, and what is this “chowdah” you speak of?

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Dewey Shelvem & Howe

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I once worked in a library where, despite a gigantic REFERENCE sign prominently located by the front entrance, patrons were constantly coming to circulation to ask where the reference desk was. Actually, patrons asked us about everything–often without looking at the prominently located floor plan or just about any sign in the building. (“We’re librarians,” my boss once said, with more than a little snark–“We like to put everything on little signs and then complain when no one reads them.”)

I’ve been thinking about signage and organization a lot lately, because my students seem to have a really hard time finding anything in my library. And I don’t just mean the Stephen King novels, which until recently were inexplicably shelved in the periodicals room.
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Maybe We Can: Image Copyright and You

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With major revelations in the Shepard Fairey copyright case hitting the news, image citation and copyright has been on my mind lately.’  Maybe I’m a little over-sensitive because I hold a degree in art history, but failure to properly cite images has always been a pet peeve of mine. I cringe when I see students pulling photos and diagrams straight from a Google image search without bothering to find out the source of the image or credit its creator in any way.

But here’s my sad little secret: half the time I’m just as confused as my students when it comes to properly citing.

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Not on Facebook–Not Invited?

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Last night some friends and I were sitting around at dinner, and conversation turned to the recent National Equality March. Don’t recognize the name? You’re not alone–though news organizations report tens of thousands of participants, almost none of us at the table had heard about the march before it happened.

This came as some surprise, as we were a table full of very politically involved women–many of us participated in rallies in the wake of Proposition 8, or phone-banked for marriage equality in Maine and New Hampshire, or stumped for candidates in local elections. And we’d certainly gotten wind of other marches and events in the past, often making sure to mention them well ahead of time at our weekly dinners.

And then it dawned on me: we weren’t on Facebook.

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Apply for the MAE Award!

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Here’s your chance to win $500 for your pocket and another $500 for your library!’  YALSA members are eligible to apply for this award recognizing an outstanding reading or literature program for young adults.

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