Henne Research Grant Available to Support YALSA Research Agenda

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Help advance our profession by advancing your research! The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is pleased to support the Frances Henne / YALSA / VOYA Research Grant, an annual competition that awards recipients $1000 in seed money to support small-scale research projects. The deadline for applying is’ December 1.

The proposed research must respond to YALSA’s vision, mission, goals, and’ research agenda; applicants must also be YALSA members. ‘ Proposals are limited to two pages plus an additional page for biographical information. Full information about the grant and requirements for the proposal can be found here. Read More →

TRW 2013: Dollar General Literacy Foundation Spotlight on Deena Viviani

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Deena Viviani, TRW grant recipient

Deena Viviani, TRW grant recipient

Continuing with our Teen Read Week grant recipient interview series, I chatted with Deena Viviani. Deena is the Young Adult, Programming, and Circulation Services Manager at Brighton Memorial Library in Rochester, New York.

Deena’s winning proposal centers around the Fourth Annual Greater Rochester Teen Read (GRTR)being’  held during Teen Read Week 2013. This year’s Greater Rochester Teen Read features three MCLS library visits and one MCCDC visit by Printz Honor winner A. S. King. Starting in June 2013, MCLS librarians encourage teens across the county to read and discuss EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS by A. S. King in preparation for her visits. There is also a bonus read: DEAR BULLY which includes Ms. King’s essay, “The Boy Who Won’t Leave Me Alone.”

What motivated you to become a librarian? My library career started when I was 15 at the Parma Public Library in Hilton, NY. Going back even before that, I attended the story times and kids’ summer reading programs at that same library where Sue the Librarian (as I knew her then) “hired” me and my sister as tween/teen volunteers to help with those same summer programs that we had attended for years. Then when I turned 15, I was hired as a Page, and I remained there through the rest of high school and undergrad, moving up to Page/Processor and helping at the Reference/Circulation Desk, finally leaving at the age of 21 when I graduated from college and got a full-time job at a legal publishing company. I swore I was sick of libraries and would move forward with my new career and degree, whatever that may be! Um, yeah, after about 3 months in my cubicle office job, I missed the library. I went back to grad school that summer and got my MLS in 2 years. I also realized after taking the YA Services class that I wanted to be a YA Librarian. It took me 3 YA Services job interviews in 3.5 years to get hired in my current library, but it was worth the wait to find the right fit for me.

How did you hear about the TRW grant? On the YALSA e-newsletter! Read More →

Mini Grants for 2013 Summer Reading Programs

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Applications are still being accepted for two kinds of mini grants for 2013 summer reading programs made possible by YALSA and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.’  Apply today!

  • Summer Reading Funding: Twenty libraries that provide programming to underserved teens will receive $1,000 to support their outstanding literacy focused summer reading program.
  • Summer Reading Teen Assistant Funding: Twenty $1,000 grants are available to be used to recruit, train and compensate teen assistants to help with summer reading programs.

Books_DG_LitfinalIndividual library branches within a larger system may apply.’  Deadline extended to January 14, 2013.‘  Apply at www.ala.org/yalsa/awardsandgrants/yalsaawardsgrants.

Why I Donate to Friends of YALSA

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I am stingy with my hard-earned money. So when I decide to donate to worthy organizations and causes you can be sure I feel confident my money will be used in a responsible manner, supporting causes that match my values and passions.

That is why I donate to Friends of YALSA every year. Like you, I am passionate about teens and teen library services. I actively seek out the ideas, inspiration, and motivation YALSA provides through blogs, listservs, publications, conferences, etc., etc. I also want to support my colleagues in their efforts to provide excellence for our young people. The grants, scholarships, and awards offered to members by YALSA enhance our entire profession.

I invite you to donate to Friends of YALSA along with me. Your support will be a positive influence for teens and those who serve them. Your money will indeed be used in a responsible manner as YALSA continues to give us the capacity to engage, serve and empower teens.

Please donate today. If we can raise $2000 by the end of August we will receive an additional $1000 from a generous donor. So each of your dollars will actually be worth $1.50!! What a great deal!!

Any amount is welcome, and it will only take a moment of your time to donate. The URL is: www.ala.org/yalsa/givetoyalsa/give

Thank you so much for your support.

2012 YALSA/VOYA Frances Henne Research Grant to Study Poetry Apps & Middle Schoolers

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The 2012 YALSA/VOYA Frances Henne Research Grant Committee congratulates this year’s grant recipient, Sylvia Vardell.’  Her research proposal is entitled, Poetry Books and Apps: Complement or Competition?’  Dr. Vardell’s research seeks to investigate student attitudes toward poetry apps and the impact of use of apps on poetry book reading and circulation.

In the research proposal, Dr. Vardell poses these questions and ideas:

“Where do we begin in selecting poetry that children will like? No one has yet considered the impact of the new format of the poetry application or ‘app.’ It seems logical to hypothesize that access to this new innovation might have a positive impact on young people’s attitudes toward the poetry content, but it has not been investigated. In addition, this raises the question about whether poetry in print format will suffer as a result. Does new technology trump old books? The proposed project will attempt to address these questions.”

Dr. Vardell notes that although this small study focuses exclusively on poetry, this look at the impact of apps on student attitudes and the relationship to book reading offers wider applications that interest professionals and researchers in libraries and literacy.

Sylvia Vardell is Professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at Texas Woman’s University, where she teaches graduate courses in children’s and young adult literature.

The YALSA/VOYA Frances Henne Research Grant offers seed money to research that supports the YALSA Research Agenda.’  Applications for the 2013 grant are due on December 1, 2012.’  For more information, please see http://www.ala.org/yalsa/awardsandgrants/franceshenne .

YALSA/VOYA Frances Henne Research Grant Recipient Announcement at Midwinter

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The applications are in! ‘ The YALSA/VOYA Frances Henne Research Grant applications have been submitted, and the review committee is currently reading the innovative research ideas of this year’s pool of grant proposals.

We are looking forward to announcing the 2012 recipient at the ALA Midwinter Meeting.’  You are invited to join us for the official announcement during the “YALSA Research Forum: What’s Next for YA?” event on Friday, January 20, to be held from 1:30 PM-3:30 PM, Dallas Convention Center, Room D225. ‘ As part of the Research Forum, we will announce the winning grant proposal and tell you how to apply for the 2013 Henne Research Grant.

We will also share the news of the 2012 recipient during the “YALSA Trends in YA Presentation” on Saturday, January 21, to be held from 4:00-5:30PM, in the Dallas Convention Center, Room C141. This event will feature a paper presentation from Jeanie Austin called “Critical Issues in Juvenile Detention Center Libraries.” The paper will explore the tensions present in juvenile detention center library services (such as institutional limitations and access to technologies) and how youth and librarians can and do navigate these tensions within the library setting.

For more information on these programs, please go to http://wikis.ala.org/yalsa/index.php/YALSA_at_ALA%27s_2012_Midwinter_Meeting. ‘ We hope that you can join us for one of these YALSA events at Midwinter, and we look forward to celebrating this year’s Frances Henne Research Grant recipient with you in Dallas!

28 Days of Teens & Tech #21: Help Me YALSA! No Technology

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Dear YALSA:

All of the information you’ve been sharing has been wonderful. I can see so much potential. The problem? I’m in a rural community without broadband. We have one public access computer with dial-up.’  Sometimes I feel like I’m failing my teen patrons when I can’t do all of these exciting things I see on the YALSA and other blogs. What’s a country librarian to do?

– No Tech in the Country

Dear NTIC:

Thank you for a great question. Location and economics are still barriers to tech access in the United States, and it impacts teens in rural as well as urban areas. According to a recent FCC report, ten percent of US homes have no access to broadband whether they can afford it or not. As the Washington Post reported, only 68% of American homes have access and “low-income and minority groups are less likely to have a broadband Internet connection in their homes.”

Read More →

Power, Prestige, Money…

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Okay, the power and prestige may take more time, but the money is here and now. Being awarded a research grant is a great career-booster, earning respect for you and your institution.

I’m talking about the Frances Henne/YALSA/VOYA Research Grant, which annually awards $1,000 for the best research proposal submitted by a YALSA member.

Here are the basics: This grant of $1000 provides seed money for small-scale projects that will encourage research that responds to the YALSA Research Agenda.

For details and how to apply for the 2011 Frances Henne YALSA/VOYA Research Grant, visit the YALSA Web site at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/awardsandgrants/franceshenne.cfm

Don’t miss out!’  Applications for the grant are due in the YALSA Office by Dec. 1.

Dollars and Sense #26: Grants 2, Putting it Together

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Once you’ve identified the areas of need for your community/school teens, it is time to put the parts together for the grant. There are usually parts of a grant that work together as a whole, but these parts explain to the grant committee how the grant will work: the narrative and the budget. The narrative is the overview and will describe the “big picture” in a way that explains the grant goals, objectives, and how the grant will benefit your target group, teens. It will have sections that you will need to address such as describing how the grant will be implemented, who is willing to donate time and funds for “cost sharing,” and how the success of the grant will be evaluated and the results disseminated. The budget is a tricky piece that is a detailed accounting of how all monies will be spent, and if this is a federal grant, there will be rules that have to be strictly followed.

For successful writing, remember that your “data,” how it will be collected, analyzed, and evaluated, will be critical because data is the only thing that will show if the grant has been successful, and the grant committee members will be closely examining how you will show that their investment will be used to benefit the greatest number of teens in the most efficient way. The narrative will be more credible when you use the data from your needs assessment to justify the need for the program you and the grant committee/network envision for the community/school. Read More →

Dollars and Sense #22: Grant Writing, the “Beginning”

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Grant “writing” does not begin with writing; it begins with gathering people and information. Successful grants are not created and implemented in a vacuum. Grants are a collaborative process and include those who are willing to assume one or more roles:

• Visionary[ies]: those who can take information (data) and identify trends and needs
• Communication expert[s]: those who can successfully communicate needs, form partnerships, communicate data results, and draw conclusions
• Data trackers: those who can design methods of collecting data and track the data to show whether the needs are being met
• Community liaisons: those people who “know people”
• Stakeholders: those who will peripherally benefit from grant sponsored programs
• Target population: those who will receive direct benefits from grant monies Read More →