Every year through generous donations to Friends of YALSA and the Leadership Endowment, YALSA is able to recognize and award individuals (and their libraries) who work for and with teens through our various awards and grants. The work these individuals, along with everyone else in the library community, accomplishes on a daily basis is nothing short of amazing and admirable. This is why we’d like to take this time to spotlight this year’s award and grant recipients, as well as congratulate and thank them for their work and dedication to teens and teen services.
The winners of YALSA’s 2021 Awards and Grants are as follows:
Baker & Taylor Collection Development Grant
- Karen Bilton, Young Adult/Reference Librarian at the Franklin Township Public Library in Somerset, NJ
Emily Mazzoni
- Emily Mazzoni, Teen Services Librarian at the Monroe Township (New Jersey) Public Library.
Both recipients will receive $1,000, funded generously by Baker & Taylor, to purchase new materials to expand their library’s young adult collection.
Emily Booth
Emily Booth, PhD candidate and research assistant at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Booth will receive $1,000 for her research project.
- Belfast (Maine) Area High School
- Franklin Township Public Library in Somerset, NJ
- Townsend Harris High School in Flushing, NY
Each library will receive a share of over $20,000 in materials.
Joann Sweetland Lum Memorial Grant
Laura Haverkamp
Laura Haverkamp, Librarian at Dreher High School in Columbia. Haverkamp will receive $1,000 to purchase puppets, supplies for green screens and software for her literacy project.
Margaret A. Edwards (MAE) Award for Best Literature Program for Teens
Amanda Cawthon, Youth Services Librarian at Pflugerville (Texas) Public Library. Cawthon will receive a $500 award for herself and an additional $500 for her library.
Gregory Lum
Gregory Lum, individual YALSA member
Molly Dettmann, Coordinator of YALSA’s 2021 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers Blogging Team
Molly Dettmann
The 2019 Outstanding Books for the College Bound Committee: Yolanda Hood, chair, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada; Donna Steel Cook, Central ISD, Pollok, Texas; Kelsey Hughes, South Bowie Branch, Prince George’s County Memorial Library System, Bowie, MD; Jane Nichols, Oregon State University Libraries and Press, Corvallis, OR; Jennifer Powell, Tarrant High School, Tarrant, AL; and Jamie Watson, Baltimore County Public Library, Towson, MD.
Each recipient will receive complimentary membership to YALSA for one year.
Jennifer Banas
Jennifer Banas, A Public Health Approach to Uncovering the Health-Related Needs of Teen Library Patrons. The Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults.
Terry Lewis and Cate Sweeney, Bee-Tweens at the Bee Cave Public Library. Young Adult Library Services.
Deborah Takahashi, July is BIPOC Mental Health Month. YALSAblog.
The winners of the journal articles will each receive a $500 monetary award due to the more extensive nature of their work, while the winners of the blog posts will each receive a $200 monetary award.
Congratulations again to all the recipients! The application period for the next round of our awards and grants is open. Most have a deadline of December 1. Apply now. Eligibility requirements apply.
If you’d like to donate to help fund these grants to support the work of your fellow colleagues, visit the Friends of YALSA web page. Thank you!