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It's that ding-dingaling shopping time of the year again.  For those looking for suggestions, you might consider perusing the wares at the 826 National Store.

What’s the 826 National Store?

No, really, what is it? We’re still pondering that ourselves, so if you figure it out please drop us an email. We think it has something to do with an online location where you can purchase products created by 826 National to support all of our wonderful chapters. From t-shirts and buttons to notebooks and stationery, we have 826-inspired goodies aplenty for your perusal. All proceeds support our eight writing and tutoring centers across the country.

For sale: 826 t-shirts, books, posters, buttons, tote bags, notebooks, and more.

Leaving annual early on Monday? Double-booked yet again and missing out on the President’s Program? Not in Chicago but trying to keep up with all of YALSA’s fabulous programs and sessions? Join us for a live blog of the 2009 President’s Program and Membership Meeting!

This year’s theme is Creativity Counts: Nurturing Teens’ Talents at Libraries Large & Small. The program will take place on Monday from 1:30 to 3:00 in McCormick Place West, room W-196a. Joining us in the afternoon’s panel will be Elise Cole, Teen Services Librarian at the Oakville Public Library, who has run the very successful Write2Xpress contest for teens. Also on the panel is Patrick Shaffner, Chicago’s outreach coordinator for the nonprofit writing workshop, 826, founded by Dave Eggers and friends.

To participate in the live blog, simply join in the viewer below any time after 1:30 (Central Time). You can also participate via twitter. If you’d like all of your tweets to be included in the session, leave your @ username below in comments, or get in touch with @mkeagle. If you’d rather tweet more selectively, use our hashtag, #YALSAprez, and only your tagged tweets will appear in the session window.

YALSA President’s Program

Just heard about this one in an update of Cynopsis Kids. Note:

Bestselling author Nick Hornby is writing his first young adult novel, for his longtime publisher Penguin. Slam , about a boy who survives a teenage crush by hashing out the pangs of love with his idol Tony Hawk (or at least a one-dimensional version of the star, via a poster), will be released by the Penguin Young Readers Group in October, through its G.P.Putnam's Sons imprint. Riverhead (which regularly publishes Hornby's adult fiction) and Penguin Young Readers will follow, in 2008, with simultaneous paperback editions.

A quick update on The Boring Store. You may recall a February 2nd piece I wrote on it, explaining how it's a front for 826Chicago.

Well, it's just opened up, and it's a doozy. Looky.





They appear to be taking their cues from the Lemony Snicket Playbook.

You can see why I like it.

And while I'm stealing stuff from the BB-Blog, here's some info I hadn't heard until now.

You knew all about the Pirate Supply Store. You laughed and enjoyed the Superhero Supply Store. You desperately needed the Space Travel Supply Store more than you'd ever admit in public. Now hold onto your seats, pretty chickens, so as to best enjoy The Boring Store.

Here in Chicago we are surrounded by secret agents, none of whom have a proper, private place to shop. This is about to change. 826CHI will offer secret agent supplies in a most secretive way. Be on the lookout for The Boring Store, the covert front for our operations. All proceeds from the store will go directly toward supporting our programs.