Youth Source

YALSA extends deadline to apply to manage new blog

2009-11-12T09:45:40-06:00

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), will launch a new blog focused on young adult literature, in 2010. YALSA currently seeks a member manager for the blog. This blog will focus solely on young adult literature and will provide teens with a definitive Web connection to blog posts, images, booklists, videos and more, all related to teen reading. YALSA is currently seeking a member manager for the new blog.

The member manager will lead an advisory board that prepares content for the blog and solicits content from the YALSA community. Full details, including qualifications, duties and honoraria, are available online at http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2009/09/11/yalsa-seeks-member-manager-for-new-blog. YALSA membership is required for this position. Applicants should provide a cover letter and a resume that includes management, writing, and web publishing experience. Applications are due Nov. 30, 2009 to yalsa@ala.org. Questions may be directed to Beth Yoke at byoke@ala.org.

Registration opens for YALSA’s Teen Tech Week™

2009-11-12T09:43:13-06:00

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), launched its Teen Tech Week 2010 Web site, opening registration and offering resources for the annual celebration of nonprint resources . More resources, including activity ideas, presentations, publicity tools and more, can be found at www.ala.org/teentechweek . Teen Tech Week is March 7-13, with a theme of Learn Create Share @ your library, encouraging teens to take advantage of the many technologies available to them, free of charge, at their libraries.

“Throughout the year librarians and teens use technology regularly to communicate, collaborate and create, and libraries are a great place for teens to learn how to use technology safely and smartly,” said Linda W. Braun, YALSA president. “Registering for Teen Tech Week helps demonstrate that libraries around the country consider technology an important part of teen lives and an important part of the programs and services offered by libraries.”Teen Tech Week is a national initiative sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association and is aimed at teens, their parents, educators and other concerned adults. The purpose of the initiative is to ensure that teens are competent and ethical users of technologies, especially those that are offered through libraries such as DVDs, databases, audiobooks and videogames. Teen Tech Week encourages teens to use libraries' nonprint resources for education and recreation and to recognize that librarians are qualified, trusted professionals in the field of information technology. Teen Tech Week began in 2007 and has a general theme of Get Connected @ your library.

2010 Promotional Partners include ALA Graphics, Evanced Solutions and Tutor.com. DoSomething.org is a 2010 Nonprofit Supporter.

Tips on celebrating National Gaming Day @ your library

2009-10-21T09:23:14-05:00

Hundreds of libraries across the country are preparing to celebrate National Gaming Day @ your library on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009.

To learn more about the celebration, visit Visibility @ your library, http://www.pio.ala.org/visibility. You will find links to a publicity toolkit and a site with more information, including videos.

Visibility @ your library provides librarians and library supporters with news and information about important communications issues from ALA’s Public Information Office and the Campaign for America’s Libraries. It also contains links to the latest ALA News.

Thousands of school librarians prepare to “Rev Up Learning” in Charlotte

2009-10-21T09:15:21-05:00

The American Association of School Librarians 14th National Conference & Exhibition: Nov. 5 – 8 in Charlotte, N.C.

Studies in 19 different states show that a strong school library media program helps students learn more and score higher on standardized achievement tests. Still, school library media centers are experiencing deep budget cuts, as school library media specialists continue to take on the role of teaching students 21st century literacy skills.

More than 3,000 school librarians, educators, publishers and guests will gather from Nov. 5 to 8, for the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) 14th National Conference & Exhibition, themed “Rev Up Learning @ your library.” The conference is the only national conference dedicated entirely to the needs of school library media specialists. Attendees will discuss such key issues as information literacy, technology, 21st century learning skills and how to advocate for school library media centers.

"School library media specialists are crucial to the teaching and learning process," said AASL president Cassandra Barnett. "It’s not enough for kids to know how to read anymore, they must be savvy in a multitude of literacies essential in managing information. School libraries today have been transformed into media centers with a full range of multimedia learning resources. Today’s children must be able to use both print and electronic resources if they are to succeed in the next century – and school librarians are there to help them do it.”

The AASL National Conference will feature two full-day and five half-day preconference workshops, several school and educational tours, more than 100 top-quality continuing education programs, author events and more than 200 exhibiting companies.

The conference will also serve as a platform for the release of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills’ new MILE Guide, a resource created for educators and administrators to help them in measuring the progress of their schools in defining, teaching and assessing 21st century skills. The Partnership, of which AASL is a member, will also be releasing several implementation papers that will offer best practices on building 21st century standards, assessments, curriculum and instruction, professional development and learning environments. As the first state to launch the nation’s first Center for 21st Century Learning Skills in 2005, North Carolina will be the first educators to see these important resources in their final form.

Five school tours will also be offered as part of the conference’s special touring program. The school tours will focus on Joint Public/High Schools, unique student population and language academy schools, Middle School and Leadership Magnet Program Schools and Independent Schools to showcase examples of excellence in a wide range of school library media programs.

Social media expert and researcher Danah Boyd will keynote the Opening General Session on Thursday, Nov. 5 from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. As an expert on online social network sites, the interdisciplinary research related to technology, communication, identity and social behavior, Boyd is an internationally recognized authority on the ways people use these new media.

On Friday, Nov. 6, from 8 – 9 a.m., James Patterson, the number-one selling author in American for the past three years and author of the Maximum Ride series, will keynote a special session. Patterson will discuss the inspiration behind his new Web site ReadKiddoRead.com and the critical importance of getting our youth to love reading and learning.

Bringing the conference to a close will be Marco Torres, internationally renowned speaker, filmmaker, teacher and author, during the Closing General Session, Saturday Nov. 7 from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. Torres is a passionate teacher focused on helping students become engaged in learning and acquire the skills they need to thrive in our 21st-century digital culture.

Other award-winning author events will feature Linda Sue Park, “A Single Shared”; Richard Peck, “The Last Safe Place on Earth”; Charles R. Smith, Jr., “RIMSHOTS”; and Laurie Halse-Anderson, “speak.”

For more information on the AASL 14th National Conference, please visit the Conference press kit at http://www.tinyurl.com/aaslpk09 or contact Jennifer Petersen or Macey Morales at (312) 280-5043 / 4393, or jpetersen@ala.org / mmorales@ala.org.

Get out the vote for Teen Read Week™

2009-10-14T08:51:51-05:00

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) invites all teens to help YALSA choose next year’s Teen Read Week™ theme. Teens can vote at www.ala.org/teenread for their favorite from three choices during Teen Read Week 2009, Oct. 18-24.

The three potential themes are: Books with Beat @ your library®, Deal with It @ your library, or Find an Alibi @ your library. Voting will start on Oct. 18 at www.ala.org/teenread, and will close at 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 24.

“Libraries around the country are hosting a variety of programs in libraries and online, but teens can also get involved in planning for next year's Teen Read Week by voting for the next theme,” said Linda W. Braun, YALSA president. “By taking part in that voting, teens around the country get to help set the direction for the activities planned for Teen Read Week 2010.”

SLJ's Scare Tactics

2009-10-13T14:07:24-05:00

Planning for Halloween events in the library? School Library Journal (10/1/2009 - online) has recommended ghost stories for teens and tweens. In "Scare Tactics", Saundra Mitchell shares her favorite haunted books. It's a boo-tiful list of titles.

Need stories ready to tell in the dark of Halloween night? Spooky stories ready for telling are featured at American Folklore's Scary Ghost Stories page. Some stories include a podcast version for instant listening.

Booklist Online adds new youth content, navigation

2009-10-13T08:48:04-05:00

A new Book Links landing page and related feature content have been added to Booklist Online following the recent transition of Book Links from being a standalone subscription magazine to a free quarterly supplement to Booklist.

Book Links has been helping connect children with books around curriculum themes for nearly 20 years and now increases its reach through both the print supplement and the enhanced online presence.

The Book Links content on Booklist Online is fully searchable, via both Quick Search and the Feature Advanced Search page, and offers links to related content throughout the site.

Additional site updates continue to make Booklist Online an increasingly efficient and effective part of the library workflow. Booklist Online users have always been able to "Browse Current Print Issue" with a handy link to what is essentially a reprint of the table of contents, linked to all the elements of that issue of Booklist print magazine. This feature is now visible from any page on the site in the left-hand navigational bar—whether users are on the homepage, reading a review, feature, or blog, checking on a book award, working with a list or enjoying any of the site’s other functionality and content.

Booklist Online includes more than 125,000 reviews as well as a free Web site offering the latest news and views on books and media. Five blogs and three e-newsletters are among the popular free offerings. Booklist is the book review magazine of the American Library Association, considered an essential collection development and readers’- advisory tool by thousands of librarians for more than 100 years.

Book Links (a Booklist Publication) has been helping librarians, teachers, and parents connect children with high-quality books for nearly 20 years. This practical, easy-to-use magazine supplement puts a new spin on how to introduce books that capture and hold children’s interest. With thematic bibliographies, author features, and reviews of new titles and articles that tie books to national education standards, Book Links is a one-stop resource for librarians and teachers who want all the teaching sources on a subject at their fingertips.

ALSC student sessions

2009-10-07T09:03:44-05:00

Join the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) once again this year to interact, network and learn virtually though its online workshop series, ALSC Student Sessions. These one-hour programs, taking place in OPAL (Online Programming for All Libraries), give students the opportunity to learn first-hand about hot library issues from ALSC members around the country.

Although the sessions were designed with students in mind, all who are interested are welcome to attend. For more information about ALSC Student Sessions or OPAL visit: www.tinyurl.com/alscstudents. All participants need to attend is a computer with speakers and willingness to learn.

The first session, “Hosting a Mock Newbery @ your library®” is being lead by Kiera Parrott & Anna McKay from the Darien (Conn.) Library at6 p.m. CST on Wednesday Oct. 14, 2009 in the American Library Association 100 room, located at www.tinyurl.com/alaopal100. This session will discuss the details of hosting a mock Newbery program at your library, from how to provide a reading list to leading discussions about the books.

The second session of the year, “Marketing Your Library on the Web” is being led by Jill Bickford from the West Bloomfield Township (Mich.) Public Library at 6 p.m. CST on Wednesday Nov. 10 in the American Library Association 100 room, located at www.tinyurl.com/alaopal100. This enlightening discussion will teach participants how to market library programs electronically, getting parents and caregivers the information they need through a medium they are already comfortable with. The session will also cover cool new tools on the Web, as well as how to use these tools to their fullest.

“Connecting Kids with Great Website” will be led by Meagan Albright and Sharon Haupt at 7 p.m. CST on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009 in American Library Association 100 room, located at www.tinyurl.com/alaopal100. This session will show participants how to find, evaluate and use Web sites for kids. Albright and Haupt are the chairs of the ALSC Great Web Sites for Kids Committee, which evaluates hundreds of sites every year to find fun and educational tools for children and families. They will show you how the committee comes up with its widely used “Great Web Sites for Kids” list and how librarians can incorporate these resources into library programming.

Back by popular demand, “Getting Your First Library Job: Tips from Library Directors” with Therese Bigelow and Gene Nelson will be held at 6 p.m. CST on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 in American Library Association 100 room, www.tinyurl.com/alaopal100. In today’s economy, recent grads need an extra edge to land that first library job, and ALSC can help. This session will discuss the skills that make new librarians more marketable, new technologies that directors will hope librarians know how to use and, most importantly, how to can stand out in a sea of new graduates. The session will include ample time for Q&A.

Please log on to OPAL a few minutes prior to the session starting by entering a username. Your username is how other participants will identify you; there is no registration or password necessary. If you have never used OPAL before, you will need to download a small piece of software called “tcConference,” which is free and available when you enter the OPAL room.

OPAL provides online rooms for live events, allowing participants to interact via voice-over-IP, text chatting, synchronized browsing, and other functions. To learn more about OPAL visit www.opal-online.org. If you have any questions about ALSC’s Student Sessions, please contact Jenny Najduch, ALSC marketing specialist, at jnajduch@ala.org or (312) 280-4026. We hope to “see” you there!

ALSC, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. With a network of more than 4,300 children’s and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC is committed to creating a better future for children through libraries. To learn more about ALSC, visit ALSC’s Web site at www.ala.org/alsc.

October LGIAT

2009-10-05T12:57:57-05:00

The October issue of Let's Get It All Together (LGIAT), the monthly Youth Services newsletter produced by Rolling Prairie Library System, is now available at http://www.rpls.ws/lgiat/2009/1009.html

2009-2010 iREAD Timeline

2009-10-02T11:46:26-05:00

The 2011 Resource Guide submissions will be due January 18. The Resource Guide is only as great as Illinois makes it!

2010 Resource Guides should be shipping out this month free to all public libraries in Illinois!

Online shopping for 2010 orders should begin this month at our website: http://www.ila.org/pub/iread.htm, and orders are due November 6.

Don't forget that Brainstorming for 2012 is next week at ILA in Peoria. If you can't make it, don't worry! You can still participate by visiting http://twitter.com/iREAD_illinois

Visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/iread_illinois to see the 2010 Showcase ideas.