Throughout the conference YALSA members are recording audio and video. And, throughout the conference, as well as after, we’ll post that audio and video on the blog. This post is the start with two short videos in which librarians talk about books, booktalking, reading, authors, and teens.’ Check them out: Read More →
After one of the most miserable travel experiences to date (and I swear, I had a zen-like calm about me through the thunderstorm that soaked all of my clothing, the sardine-like gate area at Logan, and even the ground stop in Baltimore that left us sipping half-cups of warm VitaminWater on the tarmac; it was that two hour drive from LAX to my hotel that pushed me over the edge) I’ve finally made it to Anaheim and the grandeur that is ALA. And by “grandeur,†I mean “gigantic sea of orange tote bags.â€
(Earlier the Sig Fig asked, “Are there a lot of glasses? And buns?†She’s allowed to ask this question because she’s an archivist. Sadly, I reported, there are very few buns.) Read More →
Authors are everywhere at ALA. Some are signing books,’ promoting an upcoming one, or speaking at programs on a variety of topics.’ Orson Scott Card is one of the authors here who spoke at a luncheon for the Margaret A. Edwards Award. He won this award for his lifetime contribution to young adult literature, and part of’ the process is to invite the winner to a luncheon to speak.
Since that luncheon I’ve heard many people say how great a speaker he is. The one thing many have taken is a that he didn’t write Ender’s Game or any of his books for children, but that they found it on their own.
I’ve heard other authors say this as well, including Stephanie Meyers and Scott Westerfeld. What so you think it is that makes a book YA or Teen?
The first day of Annual Conference is over – at least for me – and it’s been pretty busy. Two highlights of the day are:
- YALSA 101 – in this session YALSA members, and those interested in learning more about the Division, get to hear what’s going on with YALSA, and have a chance to have their questions answered. The room was full with a combination of brand new ALA attendees, those new to YALSA, and those who wanted to hear what was happening with the hottest Division in ALA. Attendees, had the chance to hear about how YALSA Committee appointment processes work, found out about initiatives such as Teen Tech Week and Teen Read Week, learned about publishing opportunities, heard about social networking resources, and got the chance to win door prizes. One of the things that stood out to me, was the chance this session gave people to ask questions about various YALSA procedures and events.’ Presenters and attendees were obviously very interested in what each other had to say and it definitely felt like when the hour was over a lot of information was exchanged. Read More →
We are more than halfway through the day here at the YALSA Preconference on tweens and teens. In the morning we laughed along with authors Lisa Yee, Lisie Harrison, and Amy Goldman Koss. Lunch was lovely and then the afternoon opened with Jon Scieszka. Bruce Hale was up next and, last but not least, Ingrid Law. More than 75 folks who work with tweens and teens enjoyed the speakers and the camaraderie. If you are here in Anaheim, plan now to come to the first ever Odyssey Reception at the Hilton at 8 pm. Listen to Bruce Coville, Jim Dale (via a recording), Simon Vance, and the winner of the first ever award for excellence in audiobook production, Arnie and Debra Cardillo of Live Oak.
Posted by Teri Lesesne
I came out to CA two days early, to teach a full day gaming workshop for the Black Gold Library System at the Santa Barbara Public Library. I’ve just landed in Anaheim, but can’t check into my hotel yet, so I’m taking advantage of the free WiFi and A/C at the Euclid branch of the Anaheim Public Library.
Here’s some of the stuff I’m looking forward to this year. I’m really excited that there are a number of gaming events – almost enough for a whole track! There are a couple vendor-sponsored events that I’m throwing in for informational purposes only, and shouldn’t be taken as an endorsement of product.
Read More →
I arrived in Anaheim yesterday morning.’ The hotel was not quite ready for the onslaught of librarians who came early, so many of us checked our bags and went out to wander around the neighborhood.’ Nice neighborhood–Disney across the street and all.’ My first commitment is tomorrow with one of the YALSA preconferences (Got Tweens?). I hope to see some of you there.
I hope to blog from various meetings and receptions. For those of you unable to be with us, stay tuned. For those who have gathered, enjoy the city and the sights and the fantastic program YALSA folks have assembled.
Posted by Teri Lesesne
This AM when I opened my email I found a message from a student who wondered how I keep up with the world of books and the world of technology.’ This is a question I get asked a lot, but today as I prepare to spend a week in Anaheim for ALA Annual, I realized how much the connections I’ve made through YALSA help me with that keeping up.’ As I’ve served on committees and task forces, I’ve had the chance to get to know a variety of people who I know I can turn to if I have a question or want to brainstorm an idea.
To be honest, when I went to library school I thought I would never want to get involved in local or national organizations. It seemed to me that all I really wanted, and needed, was to serve the community in which I worked. Taking part in outside activities didn’t fit my plans. But, then I started to see that if I participated in local organizations I was even more a part of the community, and I found out things that other people didn’t know. I was in the know.’ I had information that helped me to do my job better. I had information that I could exchange with other people. Read More →
YALSA just launched two more ways for you to connect with the Division and its members:
- YALSA’s new fan site on Facebook (FB) gives you the chance to become a fan of YALSA and connect with YALSA and teen librarians.’ If you don’t yet have a Facebook account, this might be a good time to set one up.
- YALSA’s new FriendFeed (FF) space is a one stop shop for finding out whenever there’s an update on YALSA’s twitter account, blog, additions to YouTube and Flickr that are YALSA related, and so on.’ If you haven’t heard of FF yet, it’s an aggregator of social networks. Setup your account, add YALSA as a friend, and you’ll be able to see what’s new on a variety of YALSA social networking sites all in one place.
If you won’t be at ALA Annual FB and FF are good resources to keep up with so that you’ll be up to date on what’s up with YALSA during the Conference.’ And, if you are at Conference, you’ll hear more about these tools at YALSA 101 and other programs and meetings.
Even if you won’t be at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, starting next week, YALSA has you covered. This year you can follow the YALSA and teen related events via the YALSA blog, podcasts, and Twitter.’ Bloggers will be blogging, podcasters will be podcasting, and twiter users will be tweeting.’ Here’s how you can keep in the loop using YALSA’s various technology outlets:
- Throughout the Conference YALSA bloggers will post information about the events and meetings they attend.’ If you want to be notified about updates to the YALSA blog subscribe to the RSS feed.
- YALSA’s podcasters will be recording interviews and events throughout the Conference. Most of these audio files will be uploaded once Annual is over.’ Subscribe to YALSA’s podcast feed to receive notification whenever a podcast is published.
- Anyone at Conference can post a Twitter message about YALSA/teen related events by using #yalsa within the body of the Twitter message.’ Anyone who wants to keep up on YALSA/teen related Conference happenings can view all messages with the #yalsa info by going to YALSA’s page on Twemes.
A lot will go on during conference but if you can’t be there don’t despair, YALSA will make sure you know what’s happening.