2021 YALSA Award & Grant Winners

by

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.

Frances Henne Research Grant

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.

 

Great Books Giveaway

  • 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.

Volunteers of the Year Award

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.

Writing Award

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!

Winner of the 2015 MAE Award for Best Literature Program for Teens: Peggy Hendershot

by

Peggy Hendershot, Youth Information Specialist at the Johnson County Library, Blue Valley Branch, has just been awarded the 2015 MAE Award for Best Literature Program for Teens with her program, the Young Adult Discussion Diversity Panel she formed with their Young Adult Advisory  Council (YAAC).  Peggy told me about her experiences.

What was the reaction to winning the award in your community?  How did your students react?

Everyone has been very kind and full of congratulations.  The Kansas City Star’s 913 (Johnson County section) requested an interview. It’s great positive publicity for the library.

We told the teens during our usual round of introduction questions at our February 7th YAAC meeting. We asked, “What was the most exciting thing that happened to you in the last year.” When it was my turn, I said, “Winning the YALSA Mae Award for the Diversity Discussion Panel!” Then we handed out a copy of the press release to the kids. They were very excited!  There was quite a bit of whooping and hollering going on, along with plenty of high fives! We celebrated with cake, ice cream and confetti poppers.  Then they wanted to talk about the next big event they could plan!

You mention in your application that your library’s YAAC takes advantage of the YALSA YA Galley program.  Could you talk about how that works with your group?

The Johnson County Library YAAC groups applied to participate in the YALSA YA Galley/Teen Top Ten book project and were accepted into the program. Publishers sent out galleys and review titles of new and upcoming books. At our monthly meetings, the YAAC teens selected the titles that interested them from the selections sent out. The teens then read the books and completed reviews for them, which were sent back to the publishers. They also rated the books, nominating their favorites for the Teen Top Ten best books. YAAC members also discussed the books they did not select and why they chose not to read them. This information was also sent to the publishers. Our term was up the beginning of this year, but we plan to reapply to the program at the first opportunity!

Read More →

MAE Award-Winning Literature Program Boosts Teen Reading

by

Teen librarianship isn’t always the most glamourous of positions in the library world. Fortunately, the back-up we have available to us through YALSA and the many awards they offer feel priceless to the winners. As Katie George, winner of the 2011 MAE Award for Best Literature Program for Teens, puts it, “Receiving recognition like this from teen-serving peers… at this level… is a shot in the arm. It reminds you, ‘Yes! You are making a difference! Keep going!’”

Read More →

Winning the MAE Award for Best Literature for Teens

by

Allison Cabaj was a first-year school librarian, splitting her time between the school library and the English classroom, when she created her MAE-Award-winning program that helped to build “an interactive community of readers” at Riverside Brookfield (Ill.) High School. Whether you are a brand new or an experienced librarian, if you ran an outstanding reading or literature program for young adults in the past year you should consider applying for the MAE Award.

Cabaj replied by email about her experience with the MAE Award.

Q: What would you tell librarians who are considering applying for the MAE Award this year?
Read More →

Win $1000 with the MAE Award for Best Literature Program for Teens

by

Do you run a spectacular teen book club? What about a great speakers series that gets teens engaged in reading? Did your summer reading program bring teens through the doors in droves? Have you come up with a great way to help teens connect with literature by using social media? You could win $500 for your pocket and another $500 for your library by applying for the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Best Literature Program for Teens!

YALSA members who have run an exceptional reading or literature program in the 12 months leading up to December 1st are eligible to apply for this award recognizing an outstanding reading or literature program for young adults. The MAE Award for Best Literature Program for Teens is sponsored by the Margaret A. Edwards Trust.

Applications and additional information about the award are available at http://www.ala.org/yalsa/awardsandgrants/mae. Applications must be emailed to Nichole Gilbert (ngilbert@ala.org) by December 1st. For questions about the award, please contact jury chair Mary Haas at mhaas@aacps.org.

Not a YALSA member? It’s not too late to join so you can be eligible for this award. You can do so by contacting YALSA’s Membership Marketing Specialist, Letitia Smith, at lsmith@ala.org or 800.545.2433 x4390. Reward yourself for bringing young adults and books together and encouraging the development of life-long reading habits. Apply today!