The YALSA Update: Submit Your Symposium Proposal!

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Call for Proposals: Do you know what the Next Big Thing in YA lit is? Tell YALSA! Visit www.ala.org/yalitsymposium to submit your paper or program proposal for the 2012 Young Adult Literature Symposium, The Future of Young Adult Literature: Hit Me with the Next Big Thing, to be held Nov. 2-4 in St. Louis. Proposals are due by Nov. 15. Want updates on the symposium? Join the symposium mailing list. Questions? Contact Nichole Gilbert at ngilbert@ala.org.

Social Media Policy Webinar: Whether you’re new to social media or consider using Facebook and Twitter to reach teens as old hat, a social media policy is key to your success! Join Linda Braun, past YALSA president and consultant for Libraries and Educators Online, and’  you’ll learn what a social media policy is, why it’s important to have one, what the policy should include, how the policy can help you support teens, and how you can use the policy as an advocacy tool. Registration costs $29 for students, $39 for YALSA members, $49 for all other individuals and $195 for the group rate (applies to a’ group of people that will watch the webinar together in one location). Learn more and register at www.ala.org/yalsa/webinars.

Summer Reading Funding: Apply now for a Summer Reading Grant from YALSA and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation! Twenty libraries will receive $1,000 for summer reading 2012. Applications due Jan. 1.

YA Forum: Calling all YALSA members! Next week, we’re talking Banned Books Week in ALA Connect with Krista King and Carrie Gardner, co-convenors of YALSA’s Intellectual Freedom Interest Group. Join the discussion on Tuesday, starting at 10 a.m. EDT and ending Friday at 3 p.m. EDT.’  Log on at http://connect.ala.org/yalsa.

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The YALSA Update: Keep On Votin’

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Teens’ Top Ten Voting Continues Teens’ Top Ten voting is going strong! What books do your teens love? Have them vote for their favorites through Sept. 16 at www.ala.org/teenstopten. Want to encourage teens to vote? Embed the code between the brackets on your website, which includes the new Teens’ Top Ten logo:

[<a title=”Vote for Your Favorite Books in the Teens’ Top Ten!” href=”http://www.ala.org/teenstopten”><img alt=”Teens’ Top Ten” src=”http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/TeensTopTen_logo_web.gif”></a>]

Voting ends Sept. 16!

YALSA Member Kudos: Congratulations are in order for YALSA members Hannah Gomez, who will be YALSA’s 2011-2012 Spectrum Scholar, and Gretchen Kolderup, who takes over as member manager of The Hub from Sarah Debraski on Monday.

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YALSA Update: New JRLYA Issue, Teens’ Top Ten Voting & More

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New Issue of JRLYA: The summer issue of YALSA’s Journal of Research on Literacy and Young Adults posted this week! Check it out and read posters from the YALSA Research Committee’s session at ALA Annual Conference 2011 and Elizabeth Koehler’s article, “The Silent Message: Professional Journals’ Failure to Address LGBTQ Issues.” Read more at the JRLYA website, http://yalsa.ala.org/jrlya. Want to contribute to JRLYA? Contact Editor Sandra Hughes-Hassell at yalsaresearch@gmail.com

TeensTop TenEncourage Your Teens to Vote in the Teens’ Top Ten! Teens’ Top Ten voting is open online at www.ala.org/teenstopten! Want to encourage teens to vote? Embed the code between the brackets on your website, which includes the new Teens’ Top Ten logo:

[<a title=”Vote for Your Favorite Books in the Teens’ Top Ten!” href=”http://www.ala.org/teenstopten”><img alt=”Teens’ Top Ten” src=”http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/TeensTopTen_logo_web.gif”></a>]

Voting ends Sept. 15!

Read on to find out how to register for Teen Read Weekâ„¢ and enter your teens in the Teen Read Week photo contest, sign up for fall webinars on social media and QR codes and order new books and other products from YALSA!

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The YALSA Update: TRW 2011, Teens’ Top Ten & More!

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Start Planning for Teen Read Week! The 2011 Teen Read Week website is now live! Visit and register today (the first 300 registrants will receive a free copy of The Odyssey by Gareth Hinds, who created the artwork for Teen Read Week this year, courtesy of Candlewick Press). Check out our program ideas, planning resources, and publicity tools and find out how you can win a $1,000 grant for TRW programming! Learn more and get ready to Picture It @ your library at www.ala.org/teenread.

Summer Reading Made Easy: The Teens’ Top Ten Planning for summer reading? Make sure to include the Teens’ Top Ten! This year’s list of 25 nominees was chosen by teens in sixteen book groups from across the country. Encourage teens to read the 25 titles by mid-August, when voting opens. We’ll announce the winners during Teen Read Week! See the full list and download annotations at www.ala.org/teenstopten.

Free Webinar for YALSA Members Next Thursday! Are you a YALSA member? Join us for Job Hunting Simplified next Thursday with Courtney Young! This webinar will take place April 21 at 2 p.m. EDT and is free for YALSA members. If you’re a YALSA member interested in attending this session, please contact Eve Gaus at egaus@ala.org or 1-800-545-2433, ext. 5293, to register by Tuesday, April 19.

Don’t Forget to Vote! The ALA/YALSA Election ends next Friday, April 22. All YALSA members who were paid up through Jan. 31 received ballots via email in March. Be sure to vote before the deadline — your input will help shape YALSA’s future!

After the jump, details on YALSA’s upcoming webinars, summer online courses, ALA Annual Conference, and more!

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YALSA Update: Deadlines galore next week

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Applications due for JRLYA, YALS: YALSA is seeking a Member Editor for both the Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults and Young Adult Library Services. Applications are due March 1. Learn more about the JRLYA position and the YALS position. Questions about either can be sent to Stephanie Kuenn, YALSA’s web services manager, at skuenn@ala.org.

Summer Reading Grant applications due: With funding from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, YALSA will distribute 20 $1,000 grants for summer reading programs to members who live in states that have Dollar General stores. Learn more about the summer reading grants and find out how to apply at the Summer Reading Grants webpage. Applications are due March 1.

Early Bird registration ends for ALA Annual: Early bird registration for ALA’s Annual Conference ends March 4! Register by March 4 to receive the lowest pricing available. Arrive by Friday afternoon for one of YALSA’s two preconferences, Give Them What They Want: Reaching Reluctant YA Readers and The Nuts & Bolts of Serving Teens: Practical Tips for the Library Generalist or New YA Librarian, and consider joining YALSA for any of our special events, including the Edwards Luncheon with Sir Terry Pratchett, the YA Authors Coffee Klatch, or the Printz Award Program and Reception. To learn more about these events, and other selected YALSA programs, visit YALSA’s Annual Wiki.

Register for YALSA’s March Webinar: Being a YA librarian is a multifaceted job! Today librarians are challenged in all areas of the library ranging from budgeting to collection development to working with social issues of teens. Join Mary Hastler, director of the Harford County Public Library in Maryland, to learn how to balance the many hats of a YA librarian in this March 17 webinar, 2 p.m. Eastern. Registration costs $39 for YALSA members, $49 for all other individuals or $195 for group registration (unlimited participants). Visit www.ala.org/yalsa/webinars to register and contact Eve Gaus, YALSA’s program officer for continuing education, with’  questions at egaus@ala.org.

YALSA Update: TTW Registration, New YALSA White Paper & More

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Last Chance! Teen Tech Week registration ends Monday! Register now at www.ala.org/teentechweek. When you register, you’ll be able to download a free webinar from YALSA (it’s on the same page as the logo.) After you register, check out the resources on the site, including programming ideas and publicity tools. Get ready to Mix & Mash @ your library, March 6-12!

New YALSA White Paper YALSA’s Board of Directors recently approved a new white paper: The Importance of a Whole Library Approach to Public Library Young Adult Services: A YALSA Issue Paper. Check it out!

Registration now open for YALSA’s Annual Precons! Registration is now open for YALSA’s two half-day Annual Preconferences: Give Them What They Want: Reaching Reluctant YA Readers (featuring YA authors Walter Dean Myers, Chris Grabenstein and Julie Halpern) and The Nuts & Bolts of Serving Teens: Practical Tips for the Library Generalist or New YA Librarian. Both preconferences take place 12:30 – 4:30 p.m. on June 24 and cost $129. Learn more at the YALSA Wiki and register online at www.alaannual.org. You do not have to register for ALA Annual Conference to attend either session.

Promote The Best of the Best @ your library Promote YALSA’s Top Ten books for 2011 and all our award winners with amazing tools at www.ala.org/yalsa/best ! Download customizable bookmarks, logos and more, celebrating the best in teen reading this year.

Upcoming Webinars Learn about the latest trends in teen services! YALSA’s upcoming webinars include Homework Help Programs (Feb. 17, 2 p.m. Eastern) and the YA Librarian of Many Hats (March 17, 2 p.m. Eastern). Learn more.

After the jump, find out how you can edit one of YALSA’s journals, apply to host a research poster session at ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans, or apply for a $1,000 Dollar General summer reading grant!

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The YALSA Update: Back for the New Year

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The YALSA Update is back after a brief hiatus! Please check in every Friday to find the latest news from YALSA.

At Midwinter? Are you joining YALSA and ALA in San Diego this weekend? Be sure to drop by the Old Spaghetti Factory, 275 Fifth Avenue, tonight at 5 for the YALSA Happy Hour. Then, head over to the convention center at 8 p.m. for the Not-So-Silent Auction, with plenty of great prizes (Skype author visits! Handmade jewelry! Treats! And, of course, books!) available and all proceeds benefiting the Friends of YALSA. And, that’s just what’s happening today. Check out our complete listing of events at the YALSA Midwinter Wiki.

Follow the Youth Media Awards ALA will announce its book and media awards on Monday at the Youth Media Awards, 7:45 a.m. PST, including YALSA’s awards! If you’re there, watch them live in Ballroom A-D in the Convention Center. You can also follow along with a liveblog right here at the YALSA Blog, at the Youth Media Awards Twitter, or by tuning into the live webcast (limited seats available; first come, first serve starting at 7:30 a.m. PST). If you’re tweeting about the awards, use hashtag #alayma.

Up Your Tech Knowledge with YALSA’s Online Learning Resolve to learn more this new year!’  Brush up your technical know-how with YALSA’s January 20th webinar, Tech 4U: Technology Programs for Every User.’  Looking for an in-depth look at teens and technology? Join us for our newly revised online class, Connect, Create, Collaborate: Supporting Teen Needs with Technology, which begins February 7. Register today!

After the jump, find out how you can edit one of YALSA’s journals, apply to host a research poster session or table talk at ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans, or apply for a $1,000 Dollar General summer reading grant!

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YALSA President’s Report for October, 2010

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October is a great month to spend as a YALSA member. Members celebrated Teen Read Weekâ„¢ by engaging teens in numerous programming events meant to encourage them to spend more recreational time reading for the fun of it. A new round of the WrestleMania Reading Challenge kicked off with teens signing up at participating libraries and pledging to read books and compete in bookmark competitions for a chance to attend WrestleMania in Atlanta next spring. Read More →

YALSA President’s Report for September 2010

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September was a month full tying up loose ends and kicking off new projects. The YALSA Executive Committee is preparing to meet for our annual fall meeting in Chicago on October 22-23. October will be just as busy as we all gear up for Teen Read Weekâ„¢ and the kick off of the Wrestlemania Reading Challenge …Thank you’s this month go to Pam Spencer Holley for participating in an interview with Lini S. Kadaba of the Philadelphia Inquirer for an article on Ellen Hopkins and why teens love her books. mk Eagle gets a huge thanks for leading her bloggers through another successful round of 30 days of back to school blogging. Maria Gentle, who has volunteered to translate YALSA’s updated Competencies for Librarians Serving Youth into Spanish for YALSA also deserves a big YALSA thank you.’  Read More →

YALSA President’s Report for August 2010

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August proved to be a busy month that included attending my first ever BCALA conference in Birmingham, AL, conference calls with chairs of various YALSA committees, and calls from the press for various interviews.

‘ Thank You’s

  • Thanks to the hard work of the 2010 Nominating Committee led by John Sexton, we are one step closer to having a full slate for the 2011 YALSA elections. Watch for more information on the candidates on the blog, and make plans now to attend the Coffee with the Candidates Forum at the Midwinter in San Diego, CA.
  • Thank you also to the YALSA office staff led by Executive Director Beth Yoke who worked with ALA’s Development Office to write and submit a grant to Dollar General.’  YALSA was awarded $70,000 to fund summer reading and Teen Read Weekâ„¢ efforts in 2011, including mini grants to libraries, creating Spanish language TRW materials and distributing sets of the 2011 Teens’ Top Ten winners.
  • Thanks to all the members and groups who have donated items to YALSA’s Not so Silent Auction so far.’  Amy Alessio is compiling a dessert cookbook to auction off at the event.’  She still needs recipes from members, and it’s not too late for you to participate.’  The deadline to turn in your recipe is Sept. 30th.’  There’s an easy to use template at http://yalsa.ala.org/midwinter11/cookbooktemplate.doc’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘  Read More →