One of my favorite parts of any Midwinter Meeting is the announcement of the Youth Media Awards. There’s an Oscar-like buzz in the room. I love the pride and enthusiasm from juries and selection committees (many of whom dress up for the event). I get chills at the emotional outpouring for beloved authors and titles, and it’s a particular thrill when a dark horse title wins.

But if you can’t be in the room for the announcements, have no fear–YALSABlog and The Hub will be jointly covering the YMAs with a live blog, complete with streaming video! Join the session here or on The Hub to watch the video, answer reader polls and add your own commentary live. We’ll also be pulling selected hashtags (like #yma13, #printz, #alexaward and #morrisaward) to bring you thoughts and reactions from Twitter.

If you miss the live session, you can replay the whole thing (including the video) at any time after the live session ends. Don’t miss out on one of the best parts of Midwinter!

Not in Seattle but wishing you could hear what local teens have to say about this year’s Best Fiction for Young Adults nominations? In Seattle but stuck in another meeting or session on Sunday? Have no fear–you can join the BFYA Teen Feedback Session live blog here or on The Hub!

We’ll be streaming live video from the session, pulling tweets with the #bfya hashtag, polling readers about nominated titles and publishing your comments LIVE. The live blog will start shortly before the session opens at 1:30 PM Pacific, and you can join at any time. You can even log in with your Facebook or Twitter account to include your gravatar with your comments.

If you can’t make the live session, have no fear; the complete session, including video, will be available to replay at your leisure as soon as the live blog closes.

Bring together a group of energizing professionals from different backgrounds who have devoted their talents to serving teens and prepare to be inspired. The Summit on Teens & Libraries was a part of YALSA’s National Forum on Libraries & Teens funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and these two days of creative thinking about missions, opportunities, aspirations and connections was simply dazzling. After a series of speakers and small group discussions, I took away a powerful word: relationships. So often we go about our daily routine, and we take time to think of the best library programming or instructional ideas or focus on our technology and book offerings. Those things are key to our success of course, but none of that matters if teens don’t feel connected.

 A teen panel took questions from YALSA President Jack Martin, and in our discussions we kept referring to what they said brought them to the library and what they wanted from their experience. It was clear that connecting with interests, friends, and the library staff kept them coming back. As studies show and our speakers stated throughout, learning driven by teens and their interests is most meaningful. Two powerful statements from the panel that resonate with me are “The library gave me a community” and “I leave with new ideas.” What could possibly be better than that?

 Cultivating positive, non-judgmental relationships with teens and helping them form meaningful connections with others is something we may think we do already, but as closing speaker George Needham from OCLC reminded us, “Question everything. Including yourself. Especially yourself.” My group’s wild aspiration at the conclusion of the summit was to bring these  passionate conversations back to our local environments and have everyone immediately buy-in. Yes, we’ll encounter the regular eye-rollers, but the potential connections we can make in our communities, with each other and with our teens is too important to be derailed. But our first step is to look at ourselves. My immediate action when I return home to my school library world is to ensure that my favorite instructional practices and ideas for engagement outside of academics are truly student driven. That I creatively seek partners who share my mission of youth engagement. That I learn more about how to bring Connected Learning into school libraries, and that I spread the word of all I’ve learned in these two days to strengthen current relationships and forge new ones.

 Interested in exploring further? Check out the prolific #yalsaforum hashtag and make plans to be a part of the first virtual town hall on teens & libraries March 19th.

I feel so privileged to have been at the IMLS-supported YALSA Forum on Teens and Libraries the past two days in Seattle – right before Midwinter starts today.

It’s hard to know where to start, but one of the most powerful parts of the Forum was that it wasn’t just library folks talking about our work with each other — like we often do– partners and supporters were intentionally included and asked about how we can continue to engage them.

We have to reach out and partner with other organizations that value youth—we can’t do it all ourselves. We need to attend coalitions or collaboratives in our communities to make sure libraries are included in new projects or initiatives – that we are key players at important tables. While I’ve been here at Midwinter I just learned there is now a Twin Cities Career Readiness Collaborative that I was not aware of – I’m going to find out who’s in charge and see if it could be meaningful for my Library.

A number of current and future partners were at the table – the Search Institute (if you’re not familiar with their great Assets work, it’s a foundational element of youth development that you should know). They also have newer family assets that I’ve been thinking about how to incorporate into our library work, GLSEN, the Science Museum of Minnesota, DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation, the Afterschool Alliance, and others.

Partnership doesn’t have to look like program offerings – it can be making partners aware of library services or tools that can help their work – did you know we have a database that can help your clients prepare for the GED? Did you know our library has an app?

Partners can help libraries improve or add to services, as well. At the forum, all partners expressed their support for libraries and interest in staying engaged in this work. In particular GLSEN and the Search Institute reminded us of the resources available on their websites.

If you’re the only youth services librarian in your library, it can sometimes feel lonely, but other people who care about youth are everywhere in your community — we just need to find them and work together.

A weekly short list of tweets that librarians and the teens that they serve may find interesting.

Do you have a favorite Tweet from the past week? If so add it in the comments for this post. Or, if you read a Twitter post between January 25 and January 31 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.


[View the story "YALSAblog Tweets of the Week - January 25, 2013" on Storify]

One of the reasons I love working with teens and kids is that their books are so awesome. There are so many amazing authors in YA right now, from John Green to Holly Black to Stephanie Perkins. I could spend all day, every day reading amazing YA lit and still not even make a dent in my to-read pile. That’s not even mentioning the great kidslit out there, including Rebecca Stead and Catherynn Valente.  Just thinking about all the books and authors I want to read makes me giddy.

So, in terms of reading, I’m a pretty busy lady. As you all know, librarians don’t really get to sit around reading every day, so I have to squeeze in what I can during lunches, after work, and on my commute (don’t worry, that’s an audiobook happening there). With all of the pressure to keep up with popular authors and series, I sometimes forget about all the books over in ol’ Dewey. I mean, I know they’re cool (probably. maybe? definitely.), but nonfiction just seems less appealing when I’m plucking my next book to read off my stack of library tomes. I know that connecting to all types of books – nonfiction included – is just as important as connecting to readers and community members when serving teens successfully.

Because of my aversion to the facts, I was pretty excited to take advantage of the YALSA Nonfiction Reading Challenge. The idea of gamifying my reading appealed to me, and the Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction committee already did the legwork of picking out some of the best books of the year. Thanks, guys!

I plunged right in and started reading the nonfiction titles, which range from a biography about Steve Jobs to a book about the Birmingham children’s marches. All of the topics wouldn’t have appealed to me without the challenge, but once I started reading each book, I was enthralled. Hearing the full story of Jobs’ rise, and fall, and rise again! at Apple gave me a better understanding of the tech news I like to read. Learning about shorebirds made me realize even more the impact of disappearing environments. The Titanic, which I’ve never really given one whit about, enthralled me as I read about people who spent hours in icy water.

Reading five books for the challenge was pretty much the easiest way I’ve diversified my reading this year. Just having an idea of some of the awesome nonfiction titles out there has made me more eager to go over to that side of the library, and I’ve already been able to recommend several of the titles to patrons!

If you haven’t joined the challenge yet, don’t worry! The Best of the Best Challenge from the Hub will be coming up soon, and it will include the Morris Award, the Nonfiction Award, and more. I would recommend that anyone who is looking to spice up reading their and connect to titles (and teens) they might not otherwise take a chance on – check it out!

Title: Spaceteam
Platform: iOS
Cost: Free

At a New Year’s party I was introduced to a game that had a room full of 30-year-old nerds yelling things like: “Set shift-sanitizer to three! Contemplate existence! Wormhole, everybody flip!” Spaceteam is a hilarious cooperative game for 2-4 players where you must communicate instructions to your teammates while racing against your ship’s impending destruction. It is fast-paced, funny, and loud, which is why teens will love it. Play this game with a group in a room where you can close the door.

Spaceteam uses your wireless internet connection to link your team’s devices. It’s the only cooperative app game I know of that requires players to be in the same room. Each player’s screen has a control panel where you can manipulate various controls: buttons, levers, dials, etc. Many of these are labeled with lengthy, difficult to pronounce technobabble names. Some are instead labeled with things that sound normal, but come off as non sequiturs in the context of a spaceship, like a panel labeled “laundry” with a button labeled “sort.” Instructions appear at the top of your screen. Some of these may pertain to the controls you can see, but more likely, they will be things you need to tell the other players to do. You need to tell them quickly because each instruction has a timer, and you’re going to find yourself telling them loudly because everyone will be giving instructions at the same time.  Successfully complete an adequate amount of these prompts and advance to the next level, where things will only get worse. There may be wormholes, which can only be bypassed when everyone flips their device upside down, asteroids that require you to shake your device, green slime that spreads across your control panel, and instruments coming loose and swinging wildly back and forth as you try to manipulate them. Wipe up that slime, hold the plasma gauge in place and remember to “work together… as a spaceteam.”

Why should you play this loud, zany game in your library? It’s a great icebreaker for new groups. You could try it at a Teen Advisory Board meeting to get people communicating with each other and working together. Trying to read the technobabble is an exercise in amusement and pronunciation and trying to beat higher levels is a real challenge. Play with a small group and see how many levels you can solve, or play with several groups and see who can get the farthest. Better yet,  see who can be the quietest while still successfully completing the game’s instructions. Recommend this game to fans of science fiction and wordplay.

Learn more about the runaway success of Spaceteam over at developer Henry Smith’s blog, Breaking the Code. His most recent post includes some creative reviews and a picture of a sixth grade science class playing Spaceteam.

For more app recommendations, visit the YALSA App of the Week Archive.

The guests for this episode are Carol Tilley, this year’s Trends in YA presenter, and Denise Agosto, organizer for the event. The Trends in YA Presentation is an event that occurs each year at the Midwinter Conference. This year’s presentation will be on Saturday, January 26th at 4:30 in room 213 in the Seattle Convention Center. Tilley will read from her research paper, which explores the history of comic books and their relationship with libraries.

Trends in YA Presentation

For more information on Carol Tilley and her various projects, please visit her website at www.caroltilley.net/.

You’ll find the schedule of other YALSA-related events on the YALSA webpage.

I’m en route to Seattle even as I type this! What will the board and I be up to at the 2013 Midwinter conference? Keep reading to find out.

It’s going to be an awesome conference. We’ve got programs, meetings and activities everywhere. We’ll be talking about advocacy, collaborations, books and reading, the future of teen services in libraries and more.

First, I’ll be helping YALSA host the first National Forum on Teens & Libraries on January 23 and 24. This is the first summit of its kind, and we’ll be bringing leaders on youth development, libraries, technology, publishing, everything. The goal is figure out where teen services is going and where it needs to be in the 21st Century. ALA President Maureen Sullivan will be the lead moderator, and we’ve got some amazing special guest stars, including Lee Rainey, head of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, Mizuko Ito, Professor in Residence and MacArthur Foundation Chair in Digital Media and Learning at the University of California, Irvine, Renee Hobbs, Director of the Harrington School of Communications & Media at the University of Rhode Island and George Needham, Vice President for Global and Regional Councils at the Online Computer Library Center. We’ll be talking lots of teens, literacy, library, technology and more. I’ll even be leading the Youth Panel portion of the forum with special awesome teens from YALSA President-Elect Shannon Peterson. We’ll be tweeting, blogging and posting the entire time, so check out our social media channels to find out what’s going on.

The YALSA Executive Committee will also be meeting with the executive committees of our sister divisions, AASL and ALSC. The three divisions traditionally meet every Thursday before Midwinter and Annual conferences. This time we’ll be talking about our Joint School/Public Library committee, a new Common Core taskforce and a whole lot more.

The YALSA Board will also be pretty busy this conference. Not only will you see us at Leadership Development (coffee and carbs!!!) and the YALSA Happy Hour (free drinks and apps!!!) on Saturday, feel free to drop by our meetings from 1:30-5:30 on Saturday, 4:30-5:30 on Sunday and 1:30-3:30 on Monday, all in room 309 of the convention center. You’ll also see us at the Youth Media Awards and the Morris and Non-Fiction awards ceremony on Monday.

What will the Board be talking about? Lots of stuff. In thinking about how YALSA can help its members advocate for teen services in libraries, the Board will be having a major discussion on how to reach library administrators to help them understand the importance of teen services.

We also know that members want to learn more about teen programming in libraries. So we’ll be voting to establish a new taskforce of programming best practices and replicable program examples for members. Interested in serving on the taskforce? Hit me up after Midwinter!

We also know how much everyone loves our biennial YA Lit Symposium. In fact, we know ya’ll love it so much that we’re going to be considering whether or not we should do it every year as opposed to every other year. Got an opinion? Let us know what you think.

Also back by popular demand is the YALSA Road Trip. We know from the member survey and from my virtual town halls that members really want to find better ways to connect to one another on a regional or state-by-state basis. The board will be brainstorming new ways that YALSA can reboot this exciting project.

We’ll also be exploring lots of other new ways for members to connect with one another, both virtually and in-person. We’ll be talking about a new student chapter proposal as well as a cool new idea on how members who love teen books can better connect with one another.

Finally, we’ll be at the Coffee with the Candidates, which is a great opportunity for members to meet this year’s candidates for President-Elect as well as the Board. This is your chance to get up close and personal with the candidates and let them know your concerns and ideas. I know I’ll be there with plenty of questions of my own.

All in all, it’s gonna be a super busy conference, and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone there. I’ll be the guy with the crazy socks. Over and out. See you there.

How far would you go to promote a book you really loved?  Actor Matthew Lillard went to amazing lengths to share one of his favorite teen stories (which also happens to be a Printz Honor Book!):

“OK. So, I first stumbled across FAT KID RULES THE WORLD when I was hired to record the audio version of KL Going‘s award winning novel.  The book blew me away. It was funny and true, and it told the story of a lost kid – Troy Billings, alienated and alone – who finds his purpose in life through the magic of punk rock music.  The book rocked my world.  It was crazy!  It spoke to me, in a deep way because I had been my own version of Troy Billings in high school. I was lost and an outcast and didn’t really fit in anywhere… that is until I found acting, which pretty much changed my life forever.  After I read the book I knew I had to tell THIS story.  I made this movie for everyone who has ever felt like they just didn’t belong… the misfits, the outcasts. the kids that are lost… this movie is for you! “

He raised over $150,000 on Kickstarter to get this movie distributed.  Start to finish is is a true labor of love.  And thanks to the producers, we have a special screening of the just-released-this-week DVD just for YALSA members attending ALA in Seattle (where the movie was filmed!)

Join us at the wonderful Elliott Bay Book Company Sunday January 27th at 7pm to watch the movie I’ve been dying to see all year!   We also have door prizes: Listening Library is providing two CD sets of the audiobook; the movie producers are supplying bumperstickers; and Random House is sending some extra goodies for everyone who attends!  Please feel free to bring a snack or beverage to share.  But just like the public library, we need to clean up after ourselves, and be out before they close the store at 9pm!

Do you consider yourself a foodie?  Then you probably will want to skip the Cheesecake Factory and try out some of these unique Seattle spots for enjoyable conference eats:

• Blue C Sushi – 1510 7th Ave – quick, yummy, close to convention center
• Taylor Shellfish Farms- 1521 Melrose Ave – awesome oyster bar, get fresh local seafood and wine
• Le Pichet – 1933 1st Ave – delightful French food – if you aren’t hungry, just get the chocolat chaud, it is to die for.
• Ristorante Machiavelli - 1215 Pine St – great Italian place, a relatively short uphill walk from the convention center
• Alibi Room – 85 Pike St (in Post Alley) – a lovely hide-away, perfect break from tourist crowds at the Pike Place Market.

For many more suggestions of places to eat in Seattle, the Local Arrangements Committee invites you to check out YALSA’s Midwinter wiki.

~ Sarah Evans & Dawn Rutherford, YALSA Local Arrangements Committee, Midwinter Seattle 2013

Looking for a Seattle souvenir?  Check out these places to find fun and interesting gifts with Seattle flair for family, friends, and yourself.  All shops are located within walking distance or a short bus ride from the Convention Center.

FriendShop at the Central Library (Downtown)

Ye Olde Curiosity Shop(Waterfront)

Simply Seattle (locations near Pike Place Market and the Waterfront)

Made in Washington (locations Downtown and in the Pike Place Market)

We’ve posted quite a bit about YALSA’s badges project on this blog and on Twitter. But, maybe you’ve been saying to yourself, “This all sounds great but I want to learn more face-to-face.” Here’s your opportunity, we’ll be talking badges at ALA Midwinter in Seattle on Sunday, January 27, at the Washington Convention Center Room 604, 8:30 to 10AM.

Now I know that might seem early to get up and out to learn about something new. I promise you it will be worth it. YALSA Board member Chris Shoemaker and I will take you through what we are working on for the YALSA project and give you a chance to give us feedback on our plans. It will be an interactive session with lots of time to ask questions and talk about badges in general and about the YALSA badging project specifically.

The badges support YALSA’s Competencies for Librarians Serving Youth. We are working on seven badges – one for each competency. Badge earners – who we see as any library staff member that works with teens – will gain skills and knowledge in areas such as marketing, professional learning networks, web-based curation and displays, mobile services, and more. Members of the YALSA community will be able to provide feedback to badge earners as a way to bring in peer mentoring and support.

Badges are a great way to take part in professional development and provide a visual representation of skills and knowledge to employers, potential employers, peers, colleagues, and more. Badge earners will be able to display their badges on websites, blogs, Facebook, resumes, and so on.

In case you want to learn more about YALSA’s project, before Midwinter, check out previous posts on this blog under the badges for lifelong learning tag.

P.S. this is also a great way to spend 90 minutes before the YALSA Coffee with the Candidates, an informal program that gives you a chance to meet those running for YALSA Governance positions. (The Coffee with the Candidates is Sunday, January 27, 10:30 – 11:30 AM, Room 620, Washington Convention Center.)

A weekly short list of tweets that librarians and the teens that they serve may find interesting.

Do you have a favorite Tweet from the past week? If so add it in the comments for this post. Or, if you read a Twitter post between January 18 and January 24 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.


[View the story "YALSAblog Tweets of the Week - January 18, 2013" on Storify]

Happy Hour

Saturday, Jan. 26th
5:30 – 7:30pm
The Tap House Grill 
1506 6th Ave 
Mingle with YA librarians and YA lit enthusiasts at this YALSA sponsored happy hour. Network, enjoy good company, and partake in complimentary appetizers and drinks.

Drinks
The Tap House features over 160 beers on tap including local and national craft beers as well as a good selection of Belgians. They also serve cocktails, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages.

Door Prizes
There will be giveaways featuring Seattle coffee and Seattle chocolate!

Location
The Tap House Grill is located less than a block from the Convention Center. Note: Enter from the street and proceed down a long flight of stairs.

Karaoke Night

Saturday, Jan. 26th
9:30pm – 2am
The Spectator
529 Queen Anne Avenue North
After happy hour, take a quick nap or grab a bite to eat and then head over to The Spectator in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood for some karaoke shenanigans. Beginning at 9:30pm, Baby Ketten will bring their unique brand of karaoke, and according to their Facebook page, “bkk offers the best karaoke in the universe. period.”

Songs
Baby Ketten has a gigantic catalog of songs. Their diverse inventory includes all of the traditional favorites as well as obscure tracks you’d never dream of having the chance to sing in a karaoke bar. Also, if you don’t find the song you’re looking for, the DJ might be able to download it on the spot. Visit the web site to search the eclectic music catalog by artist or song title! 

Mobile App
You can also download the app to search the catalog on iOS devices here.

Transportation
It’s about a $12 cab ride from the Convention Center to The Spectator or a 10 minute bus ride starting at the 3rd Ave & Pike St stop.

• Route Rapidride D Line: Ends at Mercer St & Queen Anne Ave N
• Route 1: Ends at Mercer St & Queen Anne Ave N
• Route 3: Ends 1st Ave N & Republican St

Buses run intermittently after 1am, so be sure to plan your trip ahead of time. Metro Transit’s Trip Planner can be helpful.

Please join us for a night of karaoke fun and let your voice be heard. Talent is optional.

If you’re unable to make it out for our special karaoke night, maybe these other Seattle karaoke venues will be of interest.

Rock Box
1603 Nagle Pl
Seattle, WA 98122
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
(206) 302-7625
http://www.rockboxseattle.com
Japanese style karaoke every day.  Full bar, kitchen, and 11 private rooms.  Hourly charge for rooms including happy hour prices. Karaoke in the bar is free.

Crescent Lounge
1413 E Olive Way
Seattle, WA 98122
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
(206) 720-8188
Dive bar with colorful regulars and karaoke.
Hours: Noon-2am

Hula Hula
106 1st Ave N
Seattle, WA 98109
Neighborhood: Queen Anne
(206) 284-5003
http://hulahula.org
Polynesian kitsch, food, drinks, and karaoke 7 nights a week.

Bush Garden Restaurant
614 Maynard Ave S
Seattle, WA 98104
Neighborhood: International District
(206) 682-6830
http://www.bushgarden.net
Fun locals, full bar, food, and karaoke.

For more suggestions of things to do in Seattle, the Local Arrangements Committee invites you to check out YALSA’s Midwinter wiki here.

Kristy Gale (kristygale@gmail.com) & Jennifer Fairchild,
YALSA Local Arrangements Committee, Midwinter Seattle 2013

Many libraries provide opportunities for teens to build skills through volunteering, attending or leading a program. In the past few weeks at my library, meetings have come up where I thought it would make sense to invite teens to have a presence at the table and I’m glad we got them involved. Here are a couple of examples of how we had teens participate in meetings:

• A teen intern at my library proposed a handout for a film festival and indicated what the festival categories should be. At about the same time, my co-workers and I were having discussions about such a festival and setting up a meeting with a director of the premiere festival in our town. (Someone with expertise who has run and coordinated such an event for several years.) We invited our intern to the meeting. While he didn’t have a whole lot to say (though I made sure to include him in the conversation at several points), what he did add became part of the foundation of the event. It was also important that he was also able to network with the director and participate in a conversation where his ideas were valued.
• A second opportunity came a few weeks later when a colleague and I met with the lead for our state science festival. The meeting happened at a time when our interns were working. Because the activities we were anticipating doing for the festival were related to the technology the interns were just beginning to learn, it made sense to invite them to participate. They brought great questions and interest to the table and interest in sharing the festival with their homeschool network. They said their parents are always looking for these kinds of opportunities and the teens themselves hadn’t heard of the festival before.

While every meeting isn’t going to lend itself to having a teen attend, and every teen might not yet be ready to sit at the table, there probably are many opportunities, that you hadn’t thought about before, for them to be present. Their attendance may help getting ‘unstuck’ at those moments of spinning on a particular issue. What you have been going around and around about might seem like a no-brainer to teens and you’ll be able to move forward. The teens can also see how community organizations partner and get a chance to see the library differently than they had before as a result.

You never know where it might lead when you invite teens to have their voices heard. It can be risky at times (preparation on basic meeting etiquette and setting expectations before the meeting can help manage some of the risks) but in the long run it will no doubt be very worth it.

Even if you haven’t heard of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis yet, it’s likely that your library teens are big fans. Hailing from Seattle, the duo’s independently released album, The Heist entered at #1 on the US iTunes charts in October, 2012. In this video for the song “Thrift Shop,” you can listen to Macklemore extolling the virtues of thrifting while watching him patronize some of the recommended shops on this list.

Note: The song contains offensive language and is NSFW!

Seattle boasts a wide variety of thrift shops, vintage boutiques, and resale stores scattered throughout its neighborhoods. Sure, the city has great shopping downtown, but if you’re looking for something off the beaten path, not saturated with tourists, and a little less corporate, here are just a few favorites.

Pretty Parlor
119 Summit Ave. E
Seattle, WA  98102
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
(206) 405-CUTE
http://www.prettyparlor.com
Voted best vintage and resale in Western Washington this cute, pink-heavy, boutique carries locally designed upcycled clothes and vintage consignments (clothing, shoes, accessories, and wedding dresses). They also have a small selection of men’s clothes and shoes. Be sure to greet the kitties when you stop by!

Red Light Vintage
312 Broadway East
Seattle, WA  98102
(206) 329-2200
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
http://www.redlightvintage.com
An overwhelming eclectic selection of one-of-a-kind vintage fashion and costumes. Red Light is featured in the Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ “Thrift Shop” video.

Indian Summer
534 Summit Ave E
Seattle, WA 98102
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
(206) 588-0717
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Indian-Summer/148083728541522?ref=ts
Small vintage boutique known for the creative window displays. Bonus – located a block from the famously tasty Top Pot Doughnuts.

Cairo Seattle
507 E. MERCER
Seattle, WA  98102
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
http://cairocollectionseattle.com
Another small vintage boutique on the same block as Indian Summer. They specialize in vintage 80s – 90s era garb, handcrafted geometric necklaces with crystals, art, and silk screened shirts. The store is also used as an event space, gallery, silkscreening studio, and record label.

Fremont Vintage Mall
3419 Fremont Place North
Seattle, Washington 98103
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
(206) 548-9140
http://fremontvintagemall.com/
This spacious vintage mall is filled with vendors selling clothing, furniture, records, knick knacks, and more. Stop by if you’re on a mission for authentic Seattle World’s Fair collectibles.

Atlas Clothing (Located inside the Fremont Vintage Mall)
3419 Fremont Place N
Seattle, WA 98102
(206) 329-4460
atlasclothing.net
A shop/vendor located inside of the Fremont Vintage Mall that specializes in clothing and accessories from the 1940s through the early 1990s.

Fremont Sunday Market
400 N 34th St
(between Canal St & N Phinney Ave)
Seattle, WA 98103
Neighborhood: Fremont
(206) 781-6776
http://www.fremontmarket.com
A combination flea and farmer’s market featuring handcrafted jewelry, antiques, vintage clothing, food trucks, street artists &  musicians, collectibles, and more.

Vintage Angel
3519 B Fremont Pl N
Seattle, WA 98103
Neighborhood: Fremont
(206) 501-8957
https://www.facebook.com/VintageAngelCompany?fref=ts
This vintage cowboy-themed shop carries a huge selection of cowgirl and cowboy boots, button-down plaid shirts, prairie dresses, and leather accessories.

Lifelong Thrift Store
1017 E Union St
Seattle, WA 98102
Neighborhood: First Hill
(206) 957-1655
http://www.lifelongaidsalliance.org
A great little thrift store with a great cause. They sell used clothing, furniture and household items. All proceeds go to the Lifelong Aids Foundation.

Goodwill: Seattle Outlet Store
1765 6th Ave S
Seattle, WA 98134
Neighborhood: SODO
(206) 957-5516
http://www.seattlegoodwill.org/shop/locations/seattle-outlet
Because this is an outlet store, most of their items are sold by the pound, which equates to some pretty amazing deals! This is the Goodwill featured in the Macklemore and Ryan Lewis video.

Pacific Galleries
241 S Lander St
Seattle, WA 98134
Neighborhood: SODO
(206) 292-3999
http://www.pacgal.com
A gigantic warehouse filled with antiques and collectibles. Be prepared to wander for hours.

For more suggestions of things to do in Seattle, the Local Arrangements Committee invites you to check out YALSA’s Midwinter wiki.

~ Kristy Gale, YALSA Local Arrangements Committee, Midwinter Seattle 2013 (teen services librarian with the Tacoma Public Library)

Each spring, the YALSA President-elect appoints members to serve on process committees and juries. These groups are the backbone of the organization, making sure that core initiatives like Teen Read Week and Teen Tech Week happen in a suitably dynamic YALSA fashion and select recipients of awards and grants. They also find ways to engage new members, support our amazing blogs, plan conference programs, maintain our wikis, and implement genius plans to support the organization, its members, and initiatives financially.  And… much much much more.

In my own experience, these groups provide a perfect opportunity to get your feet wet, learn something new about the division, develop your professional chops, and of course, work with genuinely awesome people. Plus, they’re entirely virtual, so conference travel (though welcomed) is not mandatory.  Volunteer forms will be collected through the beginning of February and appointments will be made in March. A list of committees and juries as well as the volunteer form, can be found here: http://www.ala.org/yalsa/workingwithyalsa/yalsacommittee.

Please feel free to get in touch with current Chairs with questions http://www.ala.org/yalsa/workingwithyalsa/committees/committeechair or contact me at shannon.peterson@gmail.com.

Thanks, and I look forward to serving with you!

A weekly short list of tweets that librarians and the teens that they serve may find interesting.

Do you have a favorite Tweet from the past week? If so add it in the comments for this post. Or, if you read a Twitter post between November 30 and December 6 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.

[View the story "YALSAblog Tweets of the Week - November 30, 2012" on Storify]

In this video interview with YALSA President Jack Martin you’ll learn about MozFest an annual conference sponsored by the Mozilla Foundation.

You can learn more about MozFest on the conference website.You can view projects created at the conference (scroll down to the What We Made at MozFext section). To learn more about YALS, the winter 2013 issue is mentioned in the video, vist the journal website.

Title: MangaCamera
Platform: iOS
Cost: Free

Purists may scoff at a point-and-click way to ape the Japanese art form, but this free app makes rendering black-and-white scenes with drama and romance nearly foolproof. The app includes thirty-two backgrounds, most of them with manga-style captions or actions suggested, taking your photo to entirely new places.

You can choose (or change) the background after capturing the image from within the app, but unfortunately you can’t access your camera roll or the front-facing camera. There are options for darker, normal and brighter image processing, and the finished product can be saved via integrated output to twitter and facebook as well as saving on the device itself. It’s a bit of easy artistry for your nipponophiles.

Manga Camera runs only on the later versions of iOS devices and only on the most recent generation of iPod touches. For Android users, there are a number of comparable free apps in the Play Store.

For more great apps to use with young people, check out the archive.

Title: Snapchat

Cost: Free

Platform: iPhone and iPod Touch requires iOS 5.0 or later.

I have to admit, I, like most teens, am a sucker for photography apps especially ones with social networking components. I enjoy sharing my pictures with friends and commenting on the ones they share with me. But what if you could send a picture that would self-destruct just moments after it is viewed? Enter Snapchat.  Snapchat is a social network based on sharing photos with contacts whom you may choose, but only for a moment…or maybe two. Snapchat’s main function is just that! Take a photo of anything you like and select a friend from your phones’ contacts or Facebook friend with whom you would like to share it. Once you have selected the photo and it’s recipient you may then choose a time frame for how long you would like to allow the person to view it. You may choose between 1-10 second increments. When your friend receives the photo and downloads the picture the time will begin to tick and once the allotted time period has expired, the photo will vanish.

Every teen currently loves this app. It is a surefire way to exchange embarrassing photos of each other/others without a trace. The app is new and only just came on the scene in mid-December which is evident, as there are a few crashing issues when initially launched. Many adults have given this app negative feedback due to the easily abused anonymity that it offers users. Of course, any photo sharing app is subjected to abuse especially where there is a social aspect associated. The main concern among adults is the ever present fear that racy photos will be exchanged among teens. Of course, if teens want to engage in that sort of risky behavior they will surely find a way to do it – with or without Snapchat. Hopefully teens won’t use this app inappropriately because whoever is on the viewing end of your photo can simply take a screen shot of your photo and therefore negating the anonymous piece.

This app can be used for all sorts of things, but mostly it is just fun and easy to learn in just a few minutes. The design of the user interface is clean, simple, and concise. Clearly, it’s a good idea because Facebook created a very similar app called Poke which is basically the same concept.  There is a good teen program just waiting to be formed around this app and I can’t wait to try it out.

In those precious hours between committee meetings, hitting the exhibit halls, and conference sessions, it’s always nice to catch up with friends you may only see once or twice a year.  Here’s a list of places in Seattle you can spend a little time hanging out.

Take a walk down to Pike Place Market.  If flying fish and touristy t-shirts aren’t your thing, descend the stairs from the Main Arcade and explore the labyrinth of shops below on the Down Under level.  Browse antique shops, visit an international bazaar, or buy some art from local artists.

If you have an hour or two to spare, take a walk to the Frye Art Museum. In addition to the founding collection of 19th and 20th century European paintings, the museum also showcases Northwest artists. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and admission is free.

Even if your suitcases are bulging with books, a visit to Seattle’s beloved independent bookstore, Elliot Bay Book Company, is still a must. They host free author visits almost every night of the week. Grab a bite to eat at the cafe downstairs or head around the corner to Oddfellows Cafe for a drink or Molly Moon’s for some ice cream.

If you aren’t too worn out to go out after dark, take some time to explore Seattle’s nightlife in Capitol Hill. Visit the circus-themed bar Unicorn, play pinball at Narwhal, or head across the street to the equally kitschy Cha Cha Lounge. If you like craft beers, check out the amazing selection at Elysian Brewing Company.

Many Seattleites love taking visitors to Archie McPhee, which has been selling oddities and collectible junk for 30 years. Buy some souvenirs for the folks back home – perhaps a punching nun or some bacon bandaids – and take home your very own Librarian Action Figure, modeled after Seattle Librarian Nancy Pearl. Located in the Wallingford neighborhood, the store is about a 15-minute cab ride or 30-minute bus ride away.

For more suggestions of things to do in Seattle, the Local Arrangements Committee invites you to check out YALSA’s Midwinter wiki here.

You! Yes, YOU! What kinds of programs are you doing in your library?! Have you created an innovative program that addresses a new teen interest or need, or a program that might meet an old teen interest or need in a new, unique way? Tell YALSA all about it, and you could win a cash award AND be included in the sixth edition of Excellence in Library Service to Young Adults!

Because we want to hear from YOU, YALSA has extended the deadline in the search for Excellence in Library Services to Young Adults. We want to hear about your creative programming ideas! Maybe you know someone who came up with an idea that is innovative?! Let us know who they are and we’ll get in touch with them! Email me at ckausch@gmail.com and our committee will ask you all about it! Don’t worry about the application, we want to hear from you directly!

Seattle has a thriving YA author population who set their books right here in Emerald City – or nearby. Whether you are attending Midwinter or not, here are a few titles to get you in a Pacific Northwest frame of mind.

 The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti

Suffering from panic attacks, Jade finds it calming to watch the Woodland Park Zoo’s elephant webcam. Her fascination with the animals (and a boy she sees working with them) encourage her to get out of her comfort zone.

Don’t Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala

Set right up the hill from the convention center, Cupala’s sophomore effort deals with the homeless teen population on Capitol Hill. She truly captures the darker side of this destination neighborhood.

Payback Time by Carl Deuker

While the Seahawks just ended their best season in years, Payback Time looks at high school football in Seattle. Specifically, possible corruption. It’s got action and mystery for a riveting suspense read.

My Not-So-Still Life by Liz Gallagher

A companion to Gallagher’s first novel, My Not-So-Still Life follows artsy Vanessa as she separates who she thinks she should be with who she wants to be.

Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John

This Schneider Award winner captures the Seattle music scene – and educates the reader about it at the same time. It might inspire you to take a musical tour of the city.

Flyaway by Helen Landalf

After being abandoned by her meth-addicted mother and taken in by her aunt, Stevie tries to figure out her future, and who can be saved, while volunteering with wildlife rescue.

Necromancing the Stone by Lish McBride

Darkly humorous, this sequel to Morris Finalist Hold Me Closer, Necromancer is equally fun – and manages to make the undead in Seattle fresh.

Crazy by Amy Reed

Summer camp friends separated by a ferry ride, correspond online as one of them gets trapped in a bi-polar cycle.

The Jewel and the Key by Louise Spiegler

Historical Seattle is explored when an earthquake sends Addie back in time to 1917.

Stringz by Michael Wenberg

Abandoned by his flaky mother with his aunt in Seattle, Jace tries to earn extra money by busking downtown with the one thing that’s never let him down: his cello.

Adios, Nirvana by Conrad Wesselhoeft

When Jonathan’s twin dies after getting hit by a Seattle bus, Jonathan struggles to find his place. His grades suffer, and in order to pass junior year, his principal strikes a bargain: go to class, work with a dying WWII vet on his biography, and perform the principal’s favorite song on a guitar donated by a local rock legend.

-Jackie Parker, YALSA Local Arrangements Committee, Midwinter Seattle 2013