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YALSA’s First Webinar: Join YALSA on March 31 at 2 p.m. Eastern for a FREE webinar! Linda Braun, YALSA president, will lead the hour-long session on the topic of Getting Involved with YALSA. Topics include the various ways to participate in YALSA, and how doing so can help your daily work and career development. Registration is limited, so please contact Eve Gaus at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 5293 or [email protected] to reserve your space.

Process Volunteer Forms Due Today YALSA will begin appointing process committee, jury, task force, and advisory board members this spring! Be sure to fill out your Committee Volunteer Form by March 12 so that Kim Patton, YALSA’s president-elect, will know you’re interested. (Read Kim Patton’s post on the process to find out more about serving on YALSA’s committees).

After the jump, learn more about YALSA’s preconferences (including which authors will appear!), how to access YALSA’s newly revised competencies, details on YALSA’s upcoming mentoring program, how to enter the 2010 Great Ideas contest, and information on the 2010 Young Adult Literature Symposium.

Join YALSA for Annual Preconferences: YALSA will offer two preconferences before the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.  (Advanced registration ends in May) If you have already registered and would like to add a preconference or special event, you have two options: (1) By phone: Call ALA Registration at 1-800-974-3084 and ask to add a workshop to your existing registration.; (2) Online: Add an event to your existing registration by clicking on this link. Use your log in and password to access your existing Annual registration and add events in the “Your Events” section (screen 6). Then simply check out and pay for the events you’ve added.

YALSA  has plenty planned, in addition to preconferences. See everything we have planned at the YALSA Annual Conference Wiki.

It’s Perfectly Normal: Dealing with “Sensitive” Topics in Teen Services is a full-day workshop on  Friday, June 24 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Have you ever found yourself worrying about how best to address critical but sensitive adolescent topics through your teen services and collection? Topics like sexuality, abuse, privacy and others can be difficult for librarians to address with teens &/or their parents and caregivers. Hear from experts in the field of adolescent development, along with authors and librarians, about how they have managed to successfully maneuver this difficult landscape. Explore strategies for collection development, services and programming relating to these sensitive issues. Tickets cost $195 for YA

As you plan professional development activities for your library, keep the new YA Speaker’s Bureau in mind! The YA Speaker’s Bureau is a directory of people who speak or train on topics related to YA services, arranged by state and hosted on the YALSA wiki.  The speaker’s bureau is an informal directory for information purposes only and does not imply endorsement from YALSA.

Special thanks to Beth Gallaway and Kelly Czarnecki for their help in getting the new YA Speaker’s Bureau online. Read on to learn about the development of the speaker’s bureau and find information on how librarians can use it and how potential speakers can add themselves to the list.

What is the YA Speaker’s Bureau and how can YA librarians and administrators use it?

The YA Speaker’s Bureau is an online compendium of experts in youth services who can provide training and professional development, arranged by state.

Each entry in the speaker’s bureau includes contact information and a list of topics in which the speaker can offer expertise. Several topics match headings in Young Adults Deserve the Best: Competencies for Librarians Serving Youth, so you can make sure that the speaker you choose is able to address important topics in YA librarianship.

“Librarians seeking training can use this resource to find someone to facilitate a staff development day for their library, to develop a continuing education workshop for a region or consortium, or to deliver a keynote speech or workshop for a state association’s library conference,” Beth Gallaway said. “Trainers can also use this resource to see who’s already training and on what topics, allowing them to identify gaps.”

It also provides one-stop-shopping for trainers, in a format that allows for easy updating.

“Centralizing this information will make it easier for library organizations to contact speakers and experts,” said Kelly Czarnecki. “We chose a wiki because it’s a format that many YALSA members are already familiar with and contributors can easily update their information.”

While speakers on this list are available for face-to-face communication, many are also available for webinars or other online training methods.

“Nothing can replace face-to-face contact,” Beth noted, “but when budgets are restrictive, this can be a great option for libraries.”

How does someone get onto the YA Speaker’s Bureau?

Kelly and Beth approached a number of well-known youth library consultants and invited them to add their contact information and training topics. In addition, Eve Gaus, YALSA’s program officer for continuing education, contacted YALSA’s past Serving the Underserved Trainers and asked them to contribute their information.

Do you provide training? Feel free to add yourself! It’s a simple process (and if you’re having trouble Kelly and Beth have volunteered to post information for you. Contact Beth at [email protected] or Kelly at techedlibraria

Promote the Morris Award shortlist @ your library^® The Morris shortlist is out! You can promote it to teens in your library with a downloadable bookmark (PDF) that allows you to put each book’s location at your library and customize the back with your logo and contact information. Congrats to this year’s five nominees!

Nonfiction Award shortlist next week Watch YALSA’s website and this blog to see the shortlist for YALSA’s 2010 Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award! The shortlist will be announced next week. This new award honors the best fiction written for young adults in a Nov. 1 – Oct. 31 publishing year. Learn more at www.ala.org/yalsa/nonfiction.

Register for YALSA’s Midwinter events Even though today is the last day to receive the advanced registration discount, prices won’t change for either of YALSA’s pre-Midwinter ticketed events:  Libraries 3.0: Teen Edition and Games, Gadgets and Gurus. You don’t need to register for Midwinter to attend either one.  Details and how to register for them after the jump (you can read about everything we have planned for Midwinter Meeting, including a free program and reception honoring the 2010 Morris and Nonfiction Award honorees, at the YALSA Midwinter Wiki).

Read on for details on YALSA’s pre-Midwinter events, the Young Adult Literature Symposium Stipend, Teen Tech Week registration, and YALSA’s winter online courses.

Pre-Midwinter event details: Libraries 3.0: Teen Edition: Join YALSA from 9-4:30 p.m on Jan. 15 to learn how you can take advantage of free online tools and social networking options to enhance and expand the services for teens, discover strategies to gain funding for technology initiatives and buy-in from administrators, and hear speakers like Stacy Aldrich (futurist & acting California State Librarian), Cory Doctorow (BoingBoing.net, Little Brother), Laura Pearle, Wendy Stephens, and Buffy Hamilton. Lunch included! Libraries 3.0 costs $195 for YALSA members, $235 for ALA members, and $285 for nonmembers. Full details on this event, and all of YALSA’s plans for Midwinter, are available online at http://bit.ly/yalsamw2010.

Games, Gadgets & Gurus: Join us from 8-10 p.m. on Jan. 15! Spend a fun evening networking with colleagues and learning new skills to take back to your library! Come play games – both board and video; demo gadgets like e-readers, mobile phones, digital audio recorders, video cameras and the latest software; and take advantage of the opportunity chat one-on-one with a tech guru. Other participants include Galaxy Press, PBS’ Digital Nation, and Tutor.com. Mingle with colleagues! Enjoy some refreshments! Play with neat tech toys! And go home with great swag! Tickets cost $40; full details online at ht

Congratulations! YALSA named its two 2010 Emerging Leaders! Anna Koval, teacher-librarian at Casa Grande High School in Petaluma, California, and Amy Barr, youth services librarian and assistant director at Kilgore Memorial Library in York, Nebraska. Both will attend the 2010 Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference. The Emerging Leaders are funded through the Friends of YALSA.

E-Chat Next Week! Mark your calendars! YALSA’s monthly online chats return next week in ALA Connect. On Nov. 4, we’ll be discussing inexpensive programming and ways to stretch your programming dollars with Jenine Lillian, editor of the new YALSA book, Cool Teen Programs for under $100. To join us, visit YALSA’s area in ALA Connect. YALSA members should use their login for the ALA website. If you’ve lost your password, you can recover it through the ALA website. Once logged in, head to the YALSA area (it’s http://connect.ala.org/yalsa or you can navigate there within Connect by choosing “YALSA” from under “My ALA Groups”) and then click “Chats.”

Lit Blog Applications and CE Proposals Due 10/30! Interested in editing YALSA’s new blog, focused exclusively on teen literature? Read the announcement to see the qualifications and find out how to apply. The deadline to propose new continuing education (online courses and face-to-face institutes) is tomorrow as well; see our announcement for topic ideas and the proposal form. Applications for the new blog manager and the CE proposals are both due to Beth Yoke at [email protected] tomorrow.

After the jump, find out how you can sign up for special events at ALA’s Midwinter Meeting, apply for $40K in grants and awards, promote the Teens’ Top Ten at your library, or receive a stipend to attend the 2010 Young Adult Literature Symposium.

Register for YALSA’s pre-Midwinter events Registration is now open for YALSA’s pre-Midwinter events! Sign up for the Midwinter Institute, “Libraries 3.0: Teen Edition” (featuring Cory Doctorow and others) and Midwinter Social Event, ”Games, Gadgets & Gurus.” Register for both and save! Register through Midwinter registration or, if you only want to attend these two events, by downloading this form (PDF; skip section I) and following the directions at the YALSA wiki. Want to add these events to an existing registration? You can add events two ways: (1) By phone: Call ALA Registration at 1-800-974-3084 and ask to add a workshop to your existing registration.; (2) Online: Add an event to your existing registration by clicking on this link. Use your log in and password to access your existing Midwinter registration and add events in the “Your Events” section (screen 6). Then simply check out and pay for the events you’ve added. You can see all of YALSA’s plans for Midwinter at the YALSA Midwinter Wiki, http://bit.ly/yalsamw2010.

Apply for $40K in awards & grants from YALSA YALSA members can apply for more than $40,000 in grants and awards! This year, we will award up the YALSA/Baker & Taylor Conference Grants, theYALSA/BWI Collection Development Grants, the YALSA/Greenwood Publishing Group Service to Young Adults Award, the MAE Award for Best Literature Program for Teens, the Frances Henne/YALSA/VOYA Research Grant, and the Great Books Giveaway. Applications for all YALSA member awards are due by Dec. 1. Details on all the awards and grants are available online at www.ala.org/yalsa/awards&grants.

Promote the Teens’ Top Ten with bookmarks! By now, you’ve read that teens cast more than 11,000 votes for the 2009 Teens’ Top Ten and seen that John Green’s Paper Towns topped the list. YALSA created bookmarks (PDF) to promote this year’s ten winning titles; you can customize and distribute them at your library.

Apply for a YA Lit Symposium travel stipend! Join YALSA in 2010 for the Young Adult Literature Symposium, Nov. 5-7, 2010, in Albuquerque, N.M, with a theme  of “Beyond Good Intentions: Teens, Literature and Diversity.” We’re also giving away two stipends to offset travel costs, one for someone whose worked directly with teens in a library setting for ten years or less and one for a student in an ALA-accredited MLS program (you must be enrolled in an MLS program at the start of the symposium); stipend applications are due by Jan. 4, 2010. Details on both are available at www.ala.org/yalitsymposium.

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’s Online Courses Cooler temperatures, falling leaves … why not complete the picture by signing up for one of YALSA’s Online Courses this fall? YALSA is offering three courses  (including two brand-new ones!): AIMing at Tweens: Advising, Involving, Motivating (taught by Teri Lesesne); Graphic Novels and Teen Readers: The Basics and Beyond (taught by Francisca Goldsmith) and Reaching Teens with Gaming (taught by Beth Gallaway). Read descriptions and register at YALSA’s Online Courses page.

Bundled Registration Open If you’re planning to attend both ALA conferences this year (Midwinter Meeting in Boston, Jan. 15-19 and Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., June 24-29) , take advantage of bundled registration and save 20% off of advanced registration for each conference separately. You’ll be able to register for hotels now, too. Starting Oct. 1, you can add registration for YALSA’s Midwinter Institute, “Libraries 3.0: Teen Edition” and YALSA’s Midwinter Social Event, “Games, Gadgets & Gurus.”

After the jump, learn how you can propose a program or paper for the 2010 YA Lit Symposium, see how you can preorder YALSA’s newest book, tell YALSA your opinion on future continuing education topics, and find out deadlines for the Teens’ Top Ten and Teen Read Week.

YALSA’s YA Lit Symposium Needs You Think about joining YALSA in 2010 for the Young Adult Literature Symposium, Nov. 5-7, 2010, in Albuquerque, N.M, with a theme  of “Beyond Good Intentions: Teens, Literature and Diversity.” Proposals for programs, papers, and the preconference will be accepted at the symposium website through Oct. 1. We’re also giving away two stipends to offset travel costs, one for someone whose worked directly with teens in a library setting for ten years or less and one for a student in an ALA-accredited MLS program (you must be enrolled in an MLS program at the start of the symposium); stipend applications are due by Jan. 4, 2010. Details on both are available at www.ala.org/yalitsymposium.

Preorder Cool Teen Programs for under $100 YALSA’s newest book, Cool Teen Programs for under $100, edited by Jenine Lillian for YALSA (YALSA, 2009), is now available for preorders! Books will ship in late September. This essential guide offers creative, fun programming ideas at prices that won’t break your budget (plus it has helpful chapters on budgeting and marketing for teen librarians).

Talk to Us YALSA is currently surveying members on topics for future professional development offerings – tell us what you’d like to see addressed in our online courses, monthly chats, face-to-face institutes, and more. The survey will take less than ten minutes and you’ll be entered to win a free online course from YALSA, just for completing it.

Two Weeks That’s how long you have until two big YALSA deadlines: registration for Teen Read Week ends Sept. 18, as does voting for the Teens’ Top Ten. Make sure you’ve registered for Teen Read Week and then encourage your teens to vote for this year’s Teens’ Top Ten. We’ll be announcing the winners during Teen Read Week in a video featuring WWE Superstars and Divas (and maybe a couple authors, too).

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!

Teens’ Top Ten Voting Begins Monday! The Teens’ Top Ten opens for voting on Monday! Teens can vote for their favorite books from the past year at the Teens’ Top Ten website through Sept. 18. We’re giving teens four weeks to vote this year, to make sure that every teen’s vote counts. Winners will be announced in a webcast featuring World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars and Divas (plus a few special guests!) during Teen Read Week, Oct. 18-24.

Canada: The New Frontier for the WrestleMania Reading Challenge For the first time, YALSA and World Wrestling Entertainment will open registration for the WrestleMania Reading Challenge to Canadian residents, excluding Canada. Registration at this time is open only to residents of Canada (excluding Quebec). Canadian librarians can sign up using an online form through Aug. 31.

Go Back to School with YALSA Relive your school days and sign up for YALSA’s top-notch professional development! We’re offering three classes for the fall session (including two brand-new courses). Join us for AIMing at Tweens: Advising, Involving, Motivating (taught by Teri Lesesne); Graphic Novels and Teen Readers: The Basics and Beyond (taught by Francisca Goldsmith) and Reaching Teens with Gaming (taught by Beth Gallaway). Read descriptions and register at YALSA’s Online Courses page. Registration ends Oct. 2.

After the jump, find out about how to propose a session or win a travel stipend for the YA Lit Symposium in 2010, encourage your patrons to nominate you for the 2009 I Love My Librarian Award, sign up for Teen Read Week, and more.

YALSA’s YA Lit Symposium Needs You Think about joining YALSA in 2010 for the Young Adult Literature Symposium, Nov. 5-7, 2010, in Albuquerque, N.M, with a theme  of “Beyond Good Intentions: Teens, Literature and Diversity.” Proposals for programs, papers, and the preconference will be accepted at the symposium website through Oct. 1. We’re also giving away two stipends to offset travel costs, one for someone whose worked directly with teens in a library setting for ten years or less and one for a student in an ALA-accredited MLS program (you must be enrolled in an MLS program at the start of the symposium); stipend applications are due by Jan. 4, 2010. Details on both are available at www.ala.org/yalitsymposium.

Congrats to Cristina Mitra! Cristina Mitra is YALSA’s 2009-2010 Spectrum scholar. Mitra will use the funds to earn an MLS at the  San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science. YALSA was able to sponsor a Spectrum scholar this year through donations to the Friends of YALSA.

I Love My Librarian Nominations Now Open Nominations are now open for the 2009 Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award. The award invites library users to recognize the accomplishments of librarians in public, school, college, community college and university libraries for their efforts to improve the lives of people in their community. Nominations will run through October 9 and are being accepted online at www.ilovelibraries.org/ilovemylibrarian. You can also find information on the 2008 winners and download publicity tools at the I Love My Librarian website.

Teen Read Week Registration: Don’t Forget Teen Read Week is coming up fast! Make sure you’re registered so you can download the 2009 theme logo, Read Beyond Reality @ your library. After you’ve registered, check out the Teen Read Week website for ideas and download publicity tools to get the word out at your school or in your community. Then, post what you’re doing this year on the Teen Read Week wiki.

Bundled Registration Opens Soon Bundled registration for ALA’s 2010 Midwinter Meeting (Boston, Jan. 15-19) and Annual Conference (Washington, D.C., June 24-29) opens on Sept. 1. Bundled registration costs $300 for YALSA members (and even less for students), a $60 savings. Learn more at the Midwinter Registration webpage.

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!