YALSA Election: An Interview with Edwards Award Committee Candidate Elizabeth Burns

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Get ready to vote! The YALSA election runs from March 19 through April 25, and to help you be an informed voter, we’re sharing interviews with each of the 2014 candidates for YALSA Award Committees.YALSA_173x79

This week we are focusing on the Margaret A. Edwards Award Committee, which honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.

Candidates, who will be presented in alphabetical order, were asked to craft “Twitter-length” responses (i.e. around 140 characters). Full biographical information on all of the candidates can be found on the sample ballot.

Today we have an interview with Elizabeth Burns. Read More →

Celebrate with Nick Lake and Friends of YALSA

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in darkness nick lake printz seal

All Friends of YALSA are cordially invited to a reception honoring Michael L. Printz winner, Nick Lake. Join us at this wonderful cocktail hour, hosted by Bloomsbury Children’s Books, before the Michael L. Printz Program and Reception during ALA’s Annual Conference on July 1st from 5:30-7:30pm in the Columbus AB room of the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

Unable to attend yourself? Gift your invitation to someone else so they can meet this amazing author and learn more about YALSA. Help introduce someone to an award-winning author, and a fabulous organization at the same time.

YALSA’s 56th birthday is quickly approaching. Help support YALSA and YALSA members by becoming a Friend of YALSA. Beyond this amazing reception, Friends of YALSA will also  enjoy reserved seating at the Printz and Edwards Receptions at ALA’s Annual Conference. Friends members in the Gold and Platinum circles will also be invited to small, intimate reception with Margaret A. Edwards winner Tamora Pierce.
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Celebrate with YALSA

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The Cornish HenYALSA’s fifty-sixth birthday is just a few weeks away and we want you to be at the party! We will be celebrating here all month long and we want you to get involved. Here are just a few ways you can participate:

1. Donate your time: The YALSA Fundraising Guide (PDF) has several great ideas about how to throw a party, family game night, Dinner by Genre or book trivia night! Take a few hours to host an event that celebrates YALSA’s accomplishments and benefits the Friends of YALSA.

2. Donate your money: Your financial support goes to grants, stipends and scholarships that help foster our profession. Friends of YALSA members also enjoy many benefits. Friends of YALSA attending the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago this year, will enjoy reserved seating at the Printz and Edwards Award Receptions (tickets required) as well as a special reception for Printz-winning author Nick Lake before the Printz reception on Monday evening. Friends in the Gold and Platinum circles are invited to meet with Margaret A. Edwards Award winner Tamora Pierce‘ on Saturday afternoon before the luncheon. Donate today to support your fellow librarians and enjoy the benefits of being a Friend of YALSA!

3. Donate your status: Check out your favorite cookbook and get baking! Help us spread the word about YALSA’s birthday by baking a birthday cake! Theme your cake after your favorite YALSA award, blog or week (Teen Tech Week and Teen Read Week) and post the picture to YALSA’s facebook page by June 17th. Fans will vote on their favorite cake and the baker will win a prize pack including beautiful handmade apron from The Cornish Hen’s Etsy shop.

Find your way of telling YALSA how much you appreciate the past fifty-six years!

On YALSA Award Winners and Ebooks

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In the spring issue of YALS, you’ll find an easy-to-reference listing of all the YALSA award winners and book and media lists announced at the ALA Midwinter Meeting. Since ebooks are on the rise, I thought I’d take a look at which of the winners are currently available as ebooks and which are available for libraries on OverDrive.

Counting the winners and honors of the awards (except for Odyssey) and the top ten books on the Best Fiction, Quick Picks, and Popular Paperback lists, we end up with 50 unique titles. Of those, 37 are available as ebooks that can be purchased through the usual channels including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and Google Books. The only titles that aren’t available electronically are non-fiction titles, graphic novels, and older fiction titles. Of the 37 ebooks, 20 are available for libraries to lend in OverDrive, according to their search engine.

As the ebook market continues to grow, I expect we will see more backlist titles become available, while full-color ereaders and tablet computers will allow graphic-intensive books to be offered electronically. Whether or not more ebooks will be available for library lending, however, remains to be seen. I hope that next year, more of the award-winning and noteworthy books honored by YALSA will be available to as many readers as possible in their desired reading format. Read More →

The YALSA Update: Help Wanted, TTW Mini Grants & More!

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Blog Manager Needed! YALSA is looking for a member to become manager of the YALSA Blog. The Member Manager will be responsible for the content and look of the blog, and will work closely to recruit and oversee designated bloggers. Check out the job requirements, and be sure to apply to Beth Yoke, YALSA Executive Director, by Dec. 31.

$$ for Teen Tech Week Through funding from Verizon Communications, YALSA is granting up to 20 mini grants worth $500 each for innovative Teen Tech Week celebrations.’  Read the rules and apply using this form by Jan. 19, 2009. Winners will be notified the week of Feb. 9.

Winter Online Courses Start the new year with continuing education from YALSA! We’re offering three online courses starting in February: Booktalks Quick and Simple, taught by Nancy Keane; Boys and Books, taught by Jenine Lillian; and Power Programming for Teens, taught by Amy Alessio. See course descriptions and register on the YALSA online courses web page.

See more YALSA News — including Midwinter news and early details on our member drive — after the jump!

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Nominating Committee Seeks Candidates for 2009 Election

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Posted on behalf of Michael Cart, YALSA Nominating Committee Chair: YALSA needs you! The Nominating Committee is seeking qualified candidates for a variety of 2009 offices & committees and urges interested YALSA members to submit the online nomination form available online at http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/aboutyalsa/nominating.cfm. As the YALSA membership has grown dramatically, the Nominating Committee increasingly needs your input, time and talent and reminds members that self-nominations are welcome. Don’t be shy! The following positions will be filled: President-Elect (minimum of 2 candidates; 1 elected) Board Directors-at-Large (minimum of 4 candidates; 2 elected) 2011 Michael L Printz Committee (minimum of 8 candidates; 4 elected) 2011 Margaret A. Edwards Committee (minimum of 6 candidates; 3 elected) Division Councilor (minimum of 2 candidates, 1 elected) Terms for the President-Elect and Board Directors-at-Large will run from July 2009 thru June 2012. Terms for the award committees run approximately from July 2009 thru June 2011. The Nominating Committee is seeking nominees now through August 2008. Additional information and the nomination form can be found here: http://wikis.ala.org/yalsa/index.php/YALSA_Election_Information#2009_Election Questions can be directed to Michael Cart at mrmcart@sbcglobal.net. Thanks for all that you do to ensure that teens have access to excellent library services and resources!

-Beth Yoke

Friday at ALA

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Yesterday, the multi-talented members of the Margaret A. Edwards Committee (BSP, since I am one along with Eliza Dresang, Mary Hastler {chair}, Terry Young and Ruth)met to deliberate on the 2007 winner. Consensus was reached early and easily and the winner was notified via phone. I cannot tell you who the recipient will be, but tune in to the live web cast Monday morning and be prepared to be delighted.

Last night I attended the USBBY session with Terry Trueman who had the audience laughing so hard at such a late hour. He regaled us with stories and read from his forthcoming novel, SEVEN DAYS AT THE HOT CORNER. It debuts in Spring from HarperCollins who was nice enough to bring him to ALA in Seattle to share his passion with us.

Today is a day of meetings. Off to meet colleagues and make plans for annual.

Posted by Teri Lesesne