Are you ready for National Voter Registration Day?

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September 27th is National Voter Registration Day! There are currently 8.9 million 18 and 19-year-olds who will all be first time voters this year. They can register to vote through the Nation Voter Registration Day website which is powered by Rock the Vote. Your teens can also look up their polling information on the Voting Information Project Get to the Polls map, a handy tool created by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Internet Association, and Google.

Make sure your teens know how they register and that their vote matters!

 

 

Ahem…. Have You Voted Yet?

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vote image by Creative Commons Flickr user Alan CleaverSo, you might be saying to yourself, “Those YALSA people, they haven’t stopped talking about the ALA/YALSA election for months.” While it’s true, we’ve used a lot of blog space, email space, and so on, getting the word out about the election, it’s also true that not a lot of YALSA members vote in the annual election. In a post earlier in the election season, 2012 Nominating Committee member Judy Nelson asked people why that is.

If you read the comments to Judy’s post you’ll notice that people said they didn’t have time to do the research required in order to make good decisions about the election. Or, they felt removed from YALSA at the governance level so that voting didn’t seem to be a worthwhile thing to do.

I totally understand that it takes time to read through the materials to make the decisions that make sense for you about who is the best YALSA candidate. But, then again, as a librarian working with teens isn’t it worth that time to make sure that the national association that supports your work is providing the best support possible? If everyone leaves it up to someone else to take the time and make the decisions, then it’s very possible that only a small group is determining the future of the association, and related to that the future of support for those serving teens in libraries.
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Sit Down and Vote!

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Yesterday afternoon I received my ALA/YALSA ballot information and first thing this morning I cast my votes in the YALSA and ALA elections. Before voting I made sure I was prepared. I read through all of the information on this blog about each of the YALSA candidates, I listened to the podcasts of the candidates for YALSA governance positions, and I read through the sample ballot. That might seem like a lot of work, but I think it’s well worth it because I was then easily able to sit down at my computer and make my election selections.

All YALSA members want to do the same. While the preparation can take time, it’s up to you (and me) to make sure that YALSA is the organization that we want and need. Without the prep of reading and listening then it’s not as easy to make good decisions for the association.

If you haven’t received your ballot information via email, (and were a member in good standing on January 31, 2012) you should receive it sometime this week. Polls are open through April. However, why not vote early and get this important professional task done? It’s worth it to you and to YALSA to sit down and vote!

YALSA Election 2012: An Election Guide

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It’s just about time for you to cast your vote in the 2012 YALSA election. The association’s 2012 Nominating Committee wants to make it as seamless as possible for you to make your selections and cast your ballot. Over the past few week’s we’ve worked to do that by providing information on candidates, the process, and the positions up for a vote. Now, we’ve put together a handy 2012 election guide for you to use as you continue to prepare. In the guide you will find all of the posts from the past few months on the election. You’ll also find a sample ballot which includes an example of the actual ballot along with the biographical and professional information for each of the candidates running for a YALSA position. You can read through before going online to cast your ballot. That way you’ll be all ready for voting day.

In just under two weeks you’ll receive an email from ALA with your voting information, it should arrive in your email as part of a 48 hour email blast between March 19 and March 21. The polls are open from March 19 through April 27.

Remember, by voting in the election you have the opportunity to help guarantee that YALSA is the association you want it to be. By the way, there is more information on candidates still to come. Over the next few days audio interviews with each of the candidates running for governance positions will be posted on the YALSABlog, stay tuned.

YALSA Election 2012: An Interview with Excellence in Non-Fiction Award Candidate Shauna Yusko

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In February we are posting interviews with each of the 2012 Candidates for YALSA Award Committees. This week we are focusing on the Excellence in Non-fiction Award Committee. ‘ Each day this week we’ll post an interview with one of the candidates for that committee. We are posting alphabetically by candidate’s last names. ‘ 

The YALSA Nominating Committee for 2012 has been working hard to select candidates for this year’s election. The Excellence in Nonfiction Award Committee honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a November 1 – October 31 publishing year. The Committee is made up of eight members, including the chair. You can read the Committee policies and procedures on the YALSA website.

This is your chance to get to know this year’s candidates nominated to serve on the Excellence in Nonfiction Committee. Polls are open from March 19 to April 27.

Today we have the final interveiw with the Candidates for the Excellence in Nonfiction Award. An interview with Shauna Yusko. Read More →

YALSA Election 2012: An Interview with Excellence in Non-Fiction Award Candidate Scott Robins

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In February we are posting interviews with each of the 2012 Candidates for YALSA Award Committees. This week we are focusing on the Excellence in Non-fiction Award Committee. ‘ Each day this week we’ll post an interview with one of the candidates for that committee. We are posting alphabetically by candidate’s last names. ‘ 

The YALSA Nominating Committee for 2012 has been working hard to select candidates for this year’s election. The Excellence in Nonfiction Award Committee honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a November 1 – October 31 publishing year. The Committee is made up of eight members, including the chair. You can read the Committee policies and procedures on the YALSA website.

This is your chance to get to know this year’s candidates nominated to serve on the Excellence in Nonfiction Committee. Don’t forget polls are open from March 19 to April 27.

Today we have an interview with Scott Robins. Read More →

YALSA Election 2012: An Interview with Excellence in Non-Fiction Award Candidate Renee McGrath

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In February we are posting interviews with each of the 2012 Candidates for YALSA Award Committees. This week we are focusing on the Excellence in Non-fiction Award Committee. ‘ Each day this week we’ll post an interview with one of the candidates for that committee. We are posting alphabetically by candidate’s last names. ‘ 

The YALSA Nominating Committee for 2012 has been working hard to select candidates for this year’s election. The Excellence in Nonfiction Award Committee honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a November 1 – October 31 publishing year. The Committee is made up of eight members, including the chair. You can read the Committee policies and procedures on the YALSA website.

This is your chance to get to know this year’s candidates nominated to serve on the Excellence in Nonfiction Committee. Polls are open from March 19 to April 27.

Today we have an interview with Renee McGrath. Read More →

YALSA Election 2012: An Interview with Excellence in Non-Fiction Award Candidate Karen Keys

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In February we are posting interviews with each of the 2012 Candidates for YALSA Award Committees. This week we are focusing on the Excellence in Non-fiction Award Committee. ‘ Each day this week we’ll post an interview with one of the candidates for that committee. We are posting alphabetically by candidate’s last names. ‘ 

The YALSA Nominating Committee for 2012 has been working hard to select candidates for this year’s election. The Excellence in Nonfiction Award Committee honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a November 1 – October 31 publishing year. The Committee is made up of eight members, including the chair. You can read the Committee policies and procedures on the YALSA website.

This is your chance to get to know this year’s candidates nominated to serve on the Excellence in Nonfiction Committee. Polls are open March 19 to April 27.

Today we have an interview with Karen Keys. Read More →

YALSA Election 2012: An Interview with Excellence in Non-Fiction Award Candidate Jamison Hedin

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In February we are posting interviews with each of the 2012 Candidates for YALSA Award Committees. This week we are focusing on the Excellence in Non-fiction Award Committee. ‘ Each day this week we’ll post an interview with one of the candidates for that committee. We are posting alphabetically by candidate’s last names. ‘ 

The YALSA Nominating Committee for 2012 has been working hard to select candidates for this year’s election. The Excellence in Nonfiction Award Committee honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a November 1 – October 31 publishing year. The Committee is made up of eight members, including the chair. You can read the Committee policies and procedures on the YALSA website.

This is your chance to get to know this year’s candidates nominated to serve on the Excellence in Nonfiction Committee. The polls are open March 19 to April 27.

Today we have an interview with Jamison Hedin. Read More →

YALSA Election 2012: An Interview with Excellence in Non-Fiction Award Candidate Dorcas Hand

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In February we are posting interviews with each of the 2012 Candidates for YALSA Award Committees. This week we are focusing on the Excellence in Non-fiction Award Committee. ‘ Each day this week we’ll post an interview with one of the candidates for that committee. We are posting alphabetically by candidate’s last names. ‘ 

The YALSA Nominating Committee for 2012 has been working hard to select candidates for this year’s election. The Excellence in Nonfiction Award Committee honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a November 1 – October 31 publishing year. The Committee is made up of eight members, including the chair. You can read the Committee policies and procedures on the YALSA website.

This is your chance to get to know this year’s candidates nominated to serve on the Excellence in Nonfiction Committee. Polls are open from March 19 to April 27.

Today we have an interview with Dorcas Hand. Read More →