Tell Your Librarian You Love Them

This Valentine’s Day, have your teens, parents, children and library supporters flood federal elected officials’ district offices with Valentines that express love for your library and its staff and ask for support for important legislation.

The ALA Youth Divisions – AASL, ALSC and YALSA – are sending out a call to action to library workers to have teens, children, parents and library supporters in their community send “I Love My Teen Services Librarian” or “I Love My School Librarian” Valentine cards to their U.S. Senators and Representatives, and to ask their elected officials to co-sponsor the SKILLS Act &/or support LSTA funding for libraries.

Learn more on how to participate at the I Love My Librarian Campaign Wiki.

Great Stories Club Applications Due Next Week!
Apply by February 15 for a Great Stories Club program grant!

The Great Stories CLUB (Connecting Libraries, Underserved teens, and Books) is organized by the American Library Association Public Programs Office (PPO), in cooperation with YALSA. Major funding for the Great Stories CLUB has been provided by Oprah’s Angel Network.

Connect with hard-to-reach, underserved teens by conducting a Great Stories Club reading and discussion program in your library. All libraries located within or working in partnership with facilities serving troubled teens are eligible to apply.

For a list of the titles included, guidelines and the online application, visit www.ala.org/greatstories. You may also wish to review the Great Stories Club Resource Guide posted on this site as you plan your library’s application.

With questions, please contact the ALA Public Programs Office, publicprograms@ala.org.

Be A 2008-2009 Spectrum Scholar!
Starting in fiscal year 2008, YALSA will support one Spectrum Scholar! Applications for 2008-2009 scholars are due at ALA by March 1. To learn more about requirements and how to apply, visit the Spectrum Web site!

Established in 1997, the Spectrum Scholarship Program is ALA’s national diversity and recruitment effort designed to address the specific issue of under-representation of critically needed ethnic librarians within the profession while serving as a model for ways to bring attention to larger diversity issues in the future.

Want to Get Involved? Join a YALSA Process Committee!
President Elect Sarah Cornish Debraski will begin appointing process committees (such as Teen Read Week, Intellectual Freedom, YA Galley and 25 others) and award juries (such as the BWI/YALSA Collection Development Grant and six others) this spring. So if you want to get involved, make sure to fill out a Committee Volunteer Form and submit it to the YALSA Office by March 1.

To learn more about YALSA committees, juries, and task forces, check out the committee descriptions or reread a few helpful blog posts about this very topic.

Early Registration & Housing for Annual
Annual Conference is just four months away! Make your plans to join us in Anaheim. Registration and housing for ALA Annual Conference 2008 is now open; for the best pricing, register by March 7.

What does YALSA have planned for Annual? Plenty! We’ll offer two preconferences—Got Tweens? Serving Younger Teens and Tweens and Turn Teens on to Reading through Booktalks—as well as the Edwards Award Luncheon, the Printz Awards Reception, and the Young Adult Authors Coffee Clatch. Find out about our special events at the Special Events page at ALA’s Annual Conference Web site.

Save the Date for the First Young Adult Literature Symposium
YALSA’s first biennial Young Adult Literature Symposium, How We Read Now, will be Nov. 7-9 in Nashville! Details on registration and more will be posted later, but you can find out the program slate now (and see the papers to be presented) by visiting the Young Adult Literature Symposium Web site.

Midwinter Is Here (almost)
Plenty of YALSA members are en route to Philly as I type (if they’re not there already, as Ms. Lesesne just posted). Check back here for blog updates and podcasts throughout the week and beyond (and keep up to date using Twitter!). We’ve got great stuff planned: the Happy Hour at McGillin’s and Gaming Night on Friday, All Committee and the Holly Black booth signing on Saturday, the @ your library kickoff event and the BBYA Teens session on Sunday, and (of course!) the Youth Media Awards bright and early Monday morning.

For the locations, times, and the latest updates, visit the YALSA Midwinter Wiki!

Youth Media Awards Text Messages!

Can’t make it to Philly? Get the award winners texted to your phone right after the announcement. You can have five or thirteen winners sent directly to your cell phone—just check out the instructions, details, and disclaimers at the YALSA Midwinter Wiki.

WrestleMania Reading Challenge Nearing Conclusion
All reading for the WrestleMania Reading Challenge should be completed by Monday, January 14. Everyone who registered for the WrestleMania Reading Challenge received a packet of posters last fall—the small posters make perfect prizes for teens who turn in reading logs (Out of small posters? Download a PDF version and print more!). Librarians should send the winning essays from each grade category (7-8 and 9-12) to yalsa@ala.org by January 31, 2008. From all the local winners YALSA will choose ten finalists, two each from 5 regions of the country (one from each grade category).

For complete details, visit the WrestleMania Reading Challenge page or the WrestleMania Reading Challenge Ideas & Resources wiki.

Teen Tech Week Registration Continues!
Teen Tech Week is less than a month away! Register today and visit the Teen Tech Week wiki for ideas and resources or to share your own.


Early Registration & Housing for Annual

It’s never too early to think about Anaheim! Registration and housing for ALA Annual Conference 2008 is now open.

Teen Tech Week Updates
Stephanie gave details about the Promotional Song contest earlier this week, but did you know there’s still time to win a Teen Tech Week Mini Grant for your library? Applications for the $450 mini grants (plus $50 in Teen Tech Week products) will be accepted at yalsa@ala.org until January 7—visit the Teen Tech Week contests page to download the guidelines and your application form. (And, of course, don’t forget to register while you’re there!)

We’ve also launched two new Tech Guides: one on using online surveys and another on teens and virtual worlds. Download all three tech guides today!

Midwinter: Three Weeks ’til Philly!
Midwinter will be here before you know it. We’ve still got spots open in our Midwinter Institute, Taking Teen Services to the Next Level, and tickets available for the third annual Gaming Extravaganza. Plus, we’ve got giveaways planned at the YALSA Happy Hour and our booth in the exhibits hall, #435. And, of course, we’ll be giving out our annual Youth Media Awards bright and early Monday morning! To learn more about all of YALSA’s amazing Midwinter plans (and download a schedule), visit YALSA’s Midwinter Meeting Wiki!

Can’t make it to Midwinter? We’ll be blogging, Twittering and podcasting Midwinter straight to you from Philly and you can log in to the Webcast of our awards. To find out how to attend Midwinter virtually, check out Linda’s post from earlier this week.

Online Course Registration Continues
Online course registration for our Winter session, beginning Feb. 4, is going strong. Check out our classes —Boys and Books: Encouraging Early Teen and Tween Boys to Read; Pain in the Brain: Adolescent Development and Library Behavior; Power Programming for Teens; and Tech Tools for Teen Leadership&mdash and sign up today!

Finally, Thank You
As 2007 draws to a close, I’d like to thank our members for all of their hard work this year. You made our 50th anniversary the best it could be, and all of us at the YALSA Office appreciate everything you do to make this such a dynamic organization. Have a happy and safe holiday season, and I’m looking forward to all of the great things we’ll accomplish in 2008.

Check back to the YALSA Blog every Thursday for a rundown of news and updates from the YALSA Office. Send your questions and comments to Stevie Kuenn, YALSA Communications Specialist, at skuenn@ala.org.

YALSA Is Giving It All Away. Well, maybe not everything. But YALSA is giving out cash, materials and more to its members this winter—all you have to do enter a couple contests.

  • Cash! Got a great idea for Teen Tech Week? We’ll give you $450 in cold, hard cash (thanks to 2008 Teen Tech Week Corporate Sponsor Dungeons & Dragons)plus $50 worth of Teen Tech Week products (courtesy Teen Tech Week Promotional Partner ALA Graphics) to put on your program or offer special resources and services @ your library. Just download the info on the Teen Tech Week Mini Grants from our Teen Tech Week Contests page.
  • Books and a Prize Pack from Simon & Schuster! Not a YALSA member? (You know who you are.) Here’s a good incentive to join up: if you join through our Teen Read Week website, you could win free books or a prize pack from Friend of Teen Read Week Simon & Schuster. Check out the Teen Read Week website to learn more.

Midwinter Update!

While advanced registration has ended, YALSA still has slots open for its Pre-Midwinter Institute (Taking Teen Services to the Next Level) and its third annual Gaming Extravaganza! Find details at the YALSA Midwinter Page. (Already registered? Add these ticketed events at this secure ordering page.)

YALSA is hosting a booth on the Exhibits floor at ALA Midwinter Meeting! Stop by Booth #435 anytime exhibits are open to learn more about Teen Tech Week, and you can enter to win a goodie basket of Teen Tech Week products from ALA Graphics. In addition, Dungeons & Dragons will be meeting and greeting interested librarians from 1-2 p.m. on Saturday, January 12. Make sure to check out a demo of their new Gleemax community for gamers and enjoy some snacks.

Check back to the YALSA Blog every Thursday for a rundown of news and updates from the YALSA Office. Send your questions and comments to Stevie Kuenn, YALSA Communications Specialist, at skuenn@ala.org.

Five Weeks ’til Philly!
Midwinter is a mere five weeks away! YALSA has big plans for Midwinter, and you should make sure not to miss out on them.

YALSA in the Exhibits! YALSA will host a booth in the exhibits area. Stop by to pick up cool Teen Tech Week swag, learn more about Teen Tech Week resources, and win a gift basket of TTW products from ALA Graphics and YALSA. We’ll be in Booth #435!

And as you make your schedule, remember to save time for the following YALSA events:

  • Pre-Midwinter Institute: Taking Teen Services to the Next Level. To kick off YALSA’s 3-year advocacy campaign, YALSA is offering this full day institute on January 11 at a special price! This institute will give you the tools you need to advocate for the teens in your community. Registration is open and just $100 for YALSA members, students and retirees—and it includes lunch! Come on! Learn more at YALSA’s Midwinter Meeting page.
  • YALSA Happy Hour. Join YALSA from 5-7 pm on Friday at McGillin’s Olde Ale House to catch up and network with your fellow members. Find out more about Happy Hour at the YALSA Wiki’s Midwinter Meeting page. (The YALSA Student Interest Group will hold its meeting at McGillin’s concurrently.)
  • The Gaming Extravaganza! You don’t want to miss the third annual Gaming Night! This event kicks off our Teen Tech Week celebration and gives you a chance to sample the latest and greatest in tabletop, role-playing and video games. Make sure to sign up; space is limited (and it costs just $40). We’ll also be picking our avatar contest winner—you could win $100 worth of books and materials for your library. Learn more at YALSA’s Midwinter web page.

Teen Tech Week Mini Grants!
YALSA is giving out twenty mini grants for unique, fun Teen Tech Week services, resources, and programming, courtesy TTW 2008 Corporate Sponsor Dungeons & Dragons. Tell us why you deserve a mini grant for your Teen Tech Week celebration, and you could win $450 in cash plus $50 worth of TTW products from ALA Graphics. See the official rules and download the application at the Teen Tech Week Web site! (And don’t forget to register while you’re there.)

Check back to the YALSA Blog every Thursday for a rundown of news and updates from the YALSA Office. Send your questions and comments to Stevie Kuenn, YALSA Communications Specialist, at skuenn@ala.org.

Money makes the world go ’round … and it pays to be a YALSA member!

This is it! Today is your last day to save $25 on Midwinter Meeting 2008 registration or to enter your fantastic Teen Read Week celebration into our Win a Visit from Tiffany Trent Contest (approximate value: $1,500).

…and Tomorrow is your deadline to apply for one of YALSA’s many grants and awards. We’re giving more than $33,000 to our members, and you could be one of them.

Plus Cash for Teen Tech Week! Registration just opened, plus we’re giving out twenty Mini Grants to YALSA members for Teen Tech Week! Have an awesome idea to celebrate Teen Tech Week at your library, but don’t quite have the funds to pull it off? Tell us about it, and you could win $450 cash for Teen Tech Week activities, services, or resources , plus $50 worth of Teen Tech Week products from ALA Graphics. Official rules and the application are at the Teen Tech Week Web site. Mini Grant applications are due January 7, 2007. Questions? Contact Nichole Gilbert at ngilbert@ala.org.

Check back to the YALSA Blog for a rundown of news and updates from the YALSA Office. Send your questions and comments to Stevie Kuenn, YALSA Communications Specialist, at skuenn@ala.org

Two Weeks
So what happens in two weeks? A lot!

Advanced registration for Midwinter Ends! If you register for Midwinter by November 30, you’ll save up to $25 on your fees. (providing you’re an ALA member; nonmembers will save even more). You don’t want to miss all the stuff we have planned: the @ your library kickoff event, the Best Books for Young Adults Teen Input Session, and the Youth Media Awards!

Plus, YALSA’s offering some great special events at Midwinter, like the Gaming Extravaganza ($40) and the full-day institute Taking Teen Services to the Next Level ($100 for YALSA members, retirees, and students). You do not need to register for Midwinter to attend the institute or the gaming extravaganza.

You Can Still Win a Visit from Tiffany Trent! Your Teen Read Week program was probably amazing. Tell us all about it and if yours is the best program from 2007, you could win a visit from YA author Tiffany Trent, courtesy Teen Read Week Corporate Sponsor Mirrorstone Books! Entries are due on November 30, so get your entries in today! Application form and official rules are available on the Teen Read Week site.

Applications Due for YALSA’s Grants and Awards! You’ve still got a little time, but applications are due to the YALSA office by December 1. YALSA gives out more than $33,000 in grants to its members every year in several categories. Check out our awards, as it’s not too late to apply.

The next YALSA Update will be November 29 due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Every Thursday, check back to the YALSA Blog for a rundown of news and updates from the YALSA Office. Send your questions and comments to Stevie Kuenn, YALSA Communications Specialist, at skuenn@ala.org

Welcome to the return of the YALSA Update! We’re happy to bring back this weekly feature, sharing news and other information from the YALSA Office, every Thursday.

Changes to YALSA’s Wikis


YALSA’s Wiki
(and the YALSA 50th Anniversary Wiki) will now require registration for editing. Both wikis have suffered near-daily spam attacks, and registration will protect our content from abuse. Registration won’t take more than a minute—simply click the “create an account” link in the top left corner and follow the directions. Once you have an account, please continue to participate in our wikis! If you have any questions, please contact me at skuenn@ala.org.

Awards and Grants—Three Weeks Left to Apply!

Each year, YALSA provides more than $33,000 in grants and awards to its members, and it’s not too late to apply for them! Applications must be received in the YALSA Office by December 1, 2007.

YALSA’s grants and awards include:

  • Baker and Taylor/YALSA Conference Grants
  • BWI/YALSA Collection Development Grant.
  • YALSA/Greenwood Publishing Group Service to Young Adults Achievement Award. (This award is given out every other year; it will be given out in 2008, with a December 1, 2007 deadline)
  • Sagebrush Award for a Young Adult Reading or Literature Program
  • Frances Henne/YALSA/VOYA Research Grant
  • Great Book Giveaway Competition

To learn more, visit YALSA’s Grants and Awards page.

Every Thursday, check back to the YALSA Blog for a rundown of news and updates from the YALSA Office. Send your questions and comments to Stevie Kuenn, YALSA Communications Specialist, at skuenn@ala.org

YALSA at AASL Conference This Week:
For those of you attending the AASL Conference this week in Reno, please mark your calendar for Sat. Oct. 27th at 8:30 AM. Francisca Goldsmith will be presenting a program called “Making Teen Tech Week Work for You” in room A6 of the convention center. The second annual Teen Tech Week will be celebrated March 2-8, 2008 with the theme “Tune in @ your library.” Learn more at the TTW page on YALSA’s wiki.

Also, be sure to make some time to stop by Booth #1047. YALSA’s Program Officer, Nichole Gilbert, will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about YALSA, young adult literature and/or teens in libraries. She’ll have some great give-aways as well as “Librarians Change Lives” t-shirts for $20 (all proceeds go to the Friends of YALSA & artwork was donated by Unshelved). You can also pick up a YALSA Member ribbon to wear on your conference badge.

To learn more about the AASL Conference go to www.ala.org/aasl.

Teen Read Week 2008
Nearly 1,000 teens voted online to choose the theme for the 2008 Teen Read Week. The winning theme is “Books With Bite @ your library.” Be sure to mark your calendars for April 17th when the 08 TRW web site and online registration launches as well as Oct. 12-18 for the actual TRW celebration.

2007 Teens’ Top Ten List
Log on to YALSA’s homepage on Oct. 24th to view the 2007 Teens’ Top Ten list. Nearly 6,000 teens voted during TRW to select the winners.
-Beth Yoke

YALSA SEEKS EDITOR FOR QUARTERLY JOURNAL

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is seeking a Member Editor for its quarterly journal, Young Adult Library Services. The deadline for applications is September 3, 2007.

The Member Editor will be responsible for the textual and pictorial content of the quarterly publication, and will work closely with YALSA’s Editorial Advisory Board, committees, members and designated YALSA staff to solicit articles and information. The Member Editor will also edit and proof all copy for each issue.

Applicants must have editorial and writing experience, excellent communications skills, the technical capacity to work in an electronic environment, and be YALSA members. Experience in library service to young adults is preferred.

For a complete description of the position and list of qualifications, please see below.

The Member Editor will be selected by November 2, 2007. The term of the appointment is three years beginning with the Summer 2008 issue and ending with the Spring 2011 issue. The Member Editor will receive an honorarium of $500 per issue and $500 to attend each of ALA’s Midwinter and Annual Conferences.

Candidates should send a cover letter, resume which includes editing experiences, and two samples of published work to: Stephanie Kuenn, YALSA Communications Specialist, at skuenn@ala.org. All resumes, etc. must be submitted via email. For further information contact Stephanie Kuenn by email or phone: 1-800-545-2433, extension 2128.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

NATURE OF THE POSITION:

The editorship is a professional appointment made by the president of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), with guidance from YALSA’s Executive Committee and Editorial Advisory Board. Extending for a period of three years, the appointment carries the possibility for renewal. An honorarium of $500 per issue (4 per year) plus $500 in travel support for each of two ALA conferences per year will be paid. The Member Editor reports to the Communications Specialist of YALSA and works closely with YALSA’s Editorial Advisory Board, and is responsible overall to YALSA’s Board of Directors.

PURPOSE OF THE JOURNAL:

  1. To serve as a vehicle for continuing education for librarians and library workers serving young adults, ages 12 through 18
  2. To publish articles of current interest to the profession
  3. To showcase research and best practices in the field
  4. To provide news from related fields
  5. To spotlight significant events of the organization, including but not limited to awards and booklists
  6. To offer in-depth reviews of professional literature and resources
  7. To serve as the official record of the association


QUALIFICATIONS
:

1. Excellent oral and written communications skills.
2. Must have the technical capacity to work in an electronic environment.
3. Editing experience in publishing and/or journalism, sufficient to enable the individual to solicit and select refereed and non-refereed articles that will result in a high-quality publication that addresses the diverse interest of the readership.
4. Dynamic, self-motivated individual.
5. Ability to delegate.

6. Strong organizational skills.
7. Ability to set and meet deadlines.
8. Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work in a team environment.
9. Experience in library services to young adults.
10. Membership in YALSA.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Member Editor:

  • Deliver to YALSA a final set of copy for each issue according to previously set deadlines, satisfactory to YALSA in content and form and ready for typesetting.
  • Set the scope and tone of the journal both textually and visually.
  • Work with YALSA’s Editorial Advisory Board to develop a yearly editorial calendar, solicit manuscripts and assist them with the referee process.
  • Provide regular input to YALSA’s Communications Specialist about content of upcoming issues so she can solicit ads.
  • Work with YALSA’s Communications Specialist and production services to determine schedules for publication.
  • Provide input to production services so they can develop a cover for each issue.
  • Manage editorial office and write editorials.
  • Manage the work of columnists and reviewers.
  • Aggressively encourage the submission of high-quality articles according to current activities and interests of the field and maintain and develop positive relationships with authors and potential authors.
  • Using the input of referees where appropriate, complete a thorough review of all submitted manuscripts in light of the philosophy, purpose and general style of the publication.
  • Corresponds in a timely manner with authors regarding acceptance, rewriting, or rejection of articles.
  • Edit all copy (including rewriting, reorganizing, validating information in content, etc.).
  • Work with the Communications Specialist to determine association news to be included in each issue of the journal.
  • Prepare each issue for publication by planning the table of contents, writing introductory notes, identifying text to be highlighted in pull quotes, determine the placement of images, etc.
  • Secure copyright as necessary for articles, images, etc.
  • Thoroughly review and edit galleys and page proofs for both first and second passes.
  • Communicate with production services and the YALSA staff regularly.
  • Communicate with the editor of YAttitudes and the Blog Manager and collaborate when appropriate.
  • Attend ALA’s Annual Conference and Midwinter Meeting, including meetings of YALSA’s Editorial Advisory Board, to assist YALSA with promoting the publication and also to solicit authors and advertisers.
  • Prepare an annual report for YALSA’s Board of Directors, to be turned in one month before ALA’s Annual Conference.
  • Answer questions and inquiries about the journal.
  • Perform other relevant duties as needed.

YALSA Staff

1. Works with production services to maintain the template for the journal.
2. Works with production services and the Member Editor to develop a publication schedule and comply with it.
3. Handles all financial transactions for the journal.
4. Communications Specialist communicates regularly with editor to provide support and facilitate work.
5. Works closely with the ad rep to ensure that ad revenues meet targeted goals.
6. Promotes the publication through appropriate venues.