This winter YALSA is offering a newly revised online course! ‘ Linda Braun, instructor for’  Connect, Create, Collaborate: Supporting Teen Needs with Technology, chatted with me about the course. This course is open for registration through the YALSA website.

Eve: You’re teaching a class for YALSA that starts in February. Tell us about Connect, Create, Collaborate: Supporting Teen Needs with Technology.

Linda: Connect, Create, Collaborate: Supporting Teen Needs with Technology is a revised version of a class I’ve taught for YALSA for the past several years, which focused on technology as a tool for supporting teen reading and writing literacy. I decided to revise the class because what I’m finding now is that it’s essential to focus not on the concepts of technology and print literacies as separate components but to focus on them as a part of the whole library experience for teens.

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This fall YALSA is launching two brand new online courses! ‘ Monique Delatte, instructor for Growing, Managing and Defending the YA Budget, chatted with me about the course

 

Eve: You’re teaching a new class for YALSA that starts in October. Tell us about Growing, Managing and Defending the Young Adult Budget.

Monique: Times are tough, but librarians still want to provide patrons with exceptional library services. This course is about getting the support that you need, whether it is via grant money, Friends of the Library funding, or financial support from library management or boards. The class will also address developing a sustainable young adult services budget. Together, these skills help to build strong relationships with the funders who assist in providing the financial backing for much-needed services today and into the future.

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This fall YALSA is launching two brand new online courses! ‘ Amy Alessio, instructor for Tapping Youth Participation to Strengthen Library Services, chatted with me about the course.

Eve: You’re teaching a new class for YALSA that starts in October. Tell us about Tapping Youth Participation to Strengthen Library Services (TYP)?

Amy: TYP is an interactive online class where participants can learn’ about different types of teen volunteering in libraries and communities, from teen advisory boards to teen-designed spaces.’  So many places are dealing with tight budgets and fewer staff, so this is the perfect time to look at how we can best utilize our volunteers. Teens have very few places where they can find paid work these days, and volunteering at their library or media center is a good way to gain real-life work experience and confidence.

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Symposium Early Bird Extended! YALSA has extended early bird registration for the YA Lit Symposium in Albuquerque, New Mexico through Sept. 17! If you register in the next two weeks, you’ll enjoy our lowest rates. Join us Nov. 5-7 to network with your fellow librarians and educators, meet 30+ YA authors, and earn 12 contact hours. Learn more about the symposium and register at www.ala.org/yalitsymposium.

Bundled Registration Now Open Planning to attend both ALA Annual Conference and Midwinter Meeting in 2011? Take advantage of bundled pricing and save. YALSA members pay just $300 for both conferences if they register at www.ala.org/midwinter by Sept. 30.

Teen Read Week Registration Teen Read Week registration ends in less than a month! Register by Sept. 20 to be entered into a drawing for free books from Carolrhoda Lab, Cinco Puntos, and Viz Media. Plus you’ll help show YALSA that initiatives like Teen Read Week or worth supporting. Learn more and register at www.ala.org/teenread.

YALSA’s Reluctant Reader Webinar Looking for guidance to reach out to reluctant readers in your library? Sign up for YALSA’s Sept. 9 webinar, Ready, Set, Go: 30 Ways to Reach Reluctant Readers in 60 Minutes, presented by Jen Hubert Swan. The webinar takes place at 2 p.m. Eastern and costs $39 for YALSA members, $49 for all other individuals. Group registration costs $195. Learn more and register at www.ala.org/yalsa/webinars.

After the jump, we have news on the Teens’ Top Ten, Selection Committee Volunteer Forms, online course registration, the I Love My Librarian Award, the YALSA Dessert Cookbook we’re auctioning off at Midwinter, and a link to American Libraries’ interview with Rob Reiner, director of Flipped!

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YALSA is pleased to offer the following professional development opportunities in September. If you have questions about YALSA’s professional development, please contact Eve Gaus, YALSA’s program officer for continuing education, at egaus@ala.org or 1-800-545-2433, ext. 5293.

Now through September 27, YALSA Fall Online Course Registration: YALSA fall online course registration is now open!’  The fall session takes place October 4 to November 1, and we have two classes available: Growing, Managing and Defending the Young Adult Budget, taught by Monique Delatte, and Tapping Youth Participation to Strengthen Library Services, taught by Amy Alessio. Both classes last four weeks and cost $135 for YALSA members, $175 for ALA members, and $195 for nonmembers. For details on both classes and to register (after August 2), visit www.ala.org/yalsa/onlinecourses.

September 1, First Wednesdays with YALSA: YALSA’s First Wednesdays continue with an online chat this month at 8 p.m. Eastern. This month’s topic: Thinking Big with YALSA President Kim Patton. We will again be in Meebo and our room is http://www.meebo.com/room/yalsasept1chat. Password is yalsasept1.

September 9, Ready, Set, Go! 30 Ways to Reach Reluctant Readers in 60 Minutes Webinar Jen Hubert Swan, author of Reading Rants! the popular book review blog for teens offers up 30 quick tips for connecting with reluctant readers in 60 minutes. Get display, booktalk and contest ideas and find out what “Roaming Bookmarks” and “Brown Bag Books” are all about. Participants will come away with some great ideas to kick start their programs and collections and help brainstorm some more! This webinar will take place on Thursday, September 9, at 2 p.m. Eastern.’  Register today! Registration costs $39 for individual YALSA members, $49 for all other individuals. A group rate of $195 is available. Learn more at www.ala.org/yalsa/webinars.

YALSA is pleased to offer the following professional development opportunities in August. If you have questions about YALSA’s professional development, please contact Eve Gaus, YALSA’s program officer for continuing education, at egaus@ala.org or 1-800-545-2433, ext. 5293.

August 2, Fall Course Registration Opens YALSA opens registration for its fall online courses on August 2! The fall session takes place October 4 to November 1, and we have two classes available: Growing, Managing and Defending the Young Adult Budget, taught by Monique Delatte, and Tapping Youth Participation to Strengthen Library Services, taught by Amy Alessio. Both classes last four weeks and cost $135 for YALSA members, $175 for ALA members, and $195 for nonmembers. For details on both classes and to register (after August 2), visit www.ala.org/yalsa/onlinecourses.

August 4, YALSA E-Chat In this month’s online chat, Eva Volin will lead a question-and-answer session about serving on a 2012 selection committee for YALSA. Interested in volunteering to be on one of YALSA’s booklist committees? Bring your questions to this session, which will be held in Meebo at 8 p.m. Eastern. You can access the August chat room with the password August4chat.

August 19, Back to the Facts: YA Nonfiction Webinar Join host Angela Carstensen, 2010 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Award chair on Thursday, August 19, at 2 p.m. Eastern. Learn how to collect and evaluate YA nonfiction, and see where the future of nonfiction is headed! Register today! Registration costs $39 for individual YALSA members, $49 for all other individuals. A group rate of $195 is available. Details on this webinar, and upcoming webinars, can be found at www.ala.org/yalsa/webinars.

UPDATE, 6/2/10: Beyond Booklists is cancelled for the summer session.

YALSA is pleased to offer the following professional development opportunities in July. If you have questions about YALSA’s professional development, please contact Eve Gaus, YALSA’s program officer for continuing education, at egaus@ala.org or 1-800-545-2433, ext. 5293.

July 6, YALSA Summer Online Course Registration Ends: Registration closes on July 6 (next week Tuesday!)’  for YALSA’s summer online courses! In Beyond Booklists: Serving Diverse Today’s Diverse Teens, instructor Jennifer Velasquez will guide participants in serving today’s diverse generation, including ways to design, implement and evaluate more in-depth services and programs for today’s diverse teen population and recent teen immigrants. Participants will also gain skills in addressing issues such as language barriers, cultural differences, and institutional support. In Power Up with Print, instructor Jamie Watson will show participants how to boost the library’s circulation’ through the development of teen-centered programs,’ material evaluation and selection, booktalks and more, as well as discuss the latest trends in YA lit. Course registration now open at www.ala.org/yalsa/onlinecourses. Courses cost $135 for YALSA members, $175 for ALA members, and $195 for nonmembers and will take place July 12 to August 9.

July 7, First Wednesdays with YALSA: YALSA’s First Wednesdays continue with an online chat this month at 8 p.m. Eastern. This month’s topic: finding a job, hosted by Courtney Young. We will again be in Meebo and our room is http://www.meebo.com/room/yalsa_july7chat/. Password is yalsajuly7.

July 15, Risky Business: Taking and Managing Risk Webinar Join Linda Braun, immediate past president of YALSA, as she discusses how to effectively take and manage risk in YA services during YALSA’s July webinar. Participants will learn how to determine when a risk is a risk worth taking and how capable their library is of risk. This webinar will take place Thursday, July 15, at 2 p.m. Eastern. Register today! Registration costs $39 for individual YALSA members, $49 for all other individuals. A group rate of $195 is available. Learn more at www.ala.org/yalsa/webinars.

Save the Date for Upcoming Webinars: YALSA has scheduled its next two webinars. Join us August 19 for Back to the Facts: YA Nonfiction, hosted by Angela Carstensen; and September 16 for Ready, Set, Go! 30 Ways to Reach Reluctant Readers in 60 Minutes, hosted by Jen Hubert Swan. Learn more about YALSA webinars at www.ala.org/yalsa/webinars

Join Us in DC! It’s not too late to join YALSA in Washington, D.C. next week for ALA’s Annual Conference. If you register online at www.ala.org/annual by Monday, June 21, you can still add tickets to YALSA’s special events, including our full-day preconference, It’s Perfectly Normal: Dealing with “Sensitive” Topics in Teen Services ($195 for YALSA members, students, and retirees; $235 for ALA members; $285 for nonmembers), featuring authors Ben Saenz, Laurie Halse Anderson, Nina LaCour, David Levithan and Ellen Hopkins, and YALSA’s half-day preconference on June 25, Promoting Teen Reading with Web 2.0 Tools ($99), featuring authors Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl, Malinda Lo, John Green, and David Levithan. From June 21 until 4 p.m. on June 23, you can reserve tickets to both preconferences or the Margaret A. Edwards Luncheon ($59), featuring Jim Murphy, by contacting Nichole Gilbert at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4387, or ngilbert@ala.org.

Tickets for the Printz Program and Reception ($35) and the YA Authors Coffee Klatch ($25) will be available onsite; see a YALSA staff member at the door.

To find out more about all of YALSA’s programs and events at ALA Annual, visit the YALSA Annual Wiki.

Boost teen reading with YALSA’s online courses Registration is now open for YALSA’s summer online courses! In Beyond Booklists: Serving Diverse Today’s Diverse Teens, instructor Jennifer Velasquez will guide participants in serving today’s diverse generation, including ways to design, implement and evaluate more in-depth services and programs for today’s diverse teen population and recent teen immigrants. Participants will also gain skills in addressing issues such as language barriers, cultural differences, and institutional support. In Power Up with Print, instructor Jamie Watson will show participants how to boost the library’s circulation’ through the development of teen-centered programs,’ material evaluation and selection, booktalks and more, as well as discuss the latest trends in YA lit. Course registration now open at www.ala.org/yalsa/onlinecourses. Courses cost $135 for YALSA members, $175 for ALA members, and $195 for nonmembers and will take place July 12 to August 9.

Want to win free books? Sign up for Teen Read Week & WrestleMania If you haven’t already, register for Teen Read Week and the WrestleMania Reading Challenge! In addition to showing YALSA that you support these programs — which encourage teens to read for fun — there are major benefits to doing so.

When you register for Teen Read Week, you’re automatically enrolled in a contest to win a collection of titles from Cinco Puntos, 25 manga titles from Viz Media, and a full set of the Fall 2010 launch list from Carolrhoda Lab. Register today!

When you register for the WrestleMania Reading Challenge, you’ll get a resource pack that includes posters featuring WWE Divas and Superstars, prizes for your participants (including Topps trading cards, a Coldstone Creamery gift card, and a WWE Shop coupon), and a toolkit for putting on the Challenge. You’ll also get entered to win one of five sets of books from Penguin. And remember: your teens and tweens could win a trip to WrestleMania and the chance for ringside seats, and your library could win $2,000 and even more books. So register today!

That’s it for this week’s update! To stay up to date on the latest from the YALSA Office, sign up to follow YALSA on Twitter or become a fan of YALSA on Facebook!

YALSA is pleased to offer the following professional development opportunities in June. If you have questions about YALSA’s professional development, please contact Eve Gaus, YALSA’s program officer for continuing education, at egaus@ala.org or 1-800-545-2433, ext. 5293.

June 2, First Wednesdays with YALSA: YALSA’s First Wednesdays continue with an online chat this month at 8 p.m. Eastern, this time on managing your teen advisory board, hosted by Evie Wilson-Lingbloom. We will be using a private room in Meebo for the chat; the password to log in is available to YALSA members at this ALA Connect post. See you next Wednesday!

June 17, YA Classics Webinar: Join Sarah Debraski, YALSA past president, for a discussion of YA classics. Sarah will highlight YA novels from 1951 -2003, discussing their themes and issues and how YA librarians can connect teens with these classics. Participants will receive a list of 25 go-to titles that they can use for readers advisory or to add to their collection.’  This webinar will take place Thursday, June 17, at 2 p.m. Eastern. Register today! Registration costs $39 for individual YALSA members, $49 for all other individuals. A group rate of $195 is available. Learn more about YALSA webinars at www.ala.org/yalsa/webinars.

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Happy 2009! As you start your new year’s resolutions this year, be sure to include YALSA in your plans — whether it’s professional development, showing off your professional style, participating in Teen Tech Week and other YALSA initiatives, or getting more involved in YALSA in the new year!

After the jump: enroll in YALSA’s winter online courses, show off your style at YALSA’s What to Wear Fashion Show at ALA Annual, learn how to win a Flip Ultra in YALSA’s new member drive, submit questions for the YALSA Candidates’ Forum, and apply for Teen Tech Week Mini Grants!

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