Youth Source

YALSA names 2009 Outstanding Books for the College Bound & Lifetime Learners List

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), announced the 2009 Outstanding Books for the College Bound and Lifetime Learners list. Revised every five years, this list is intended as a tool for several audiences: students preparing for college, parents, educators and librarians. The 2009 list was produced by a YALSA committee made up of public, school and academic librarians, in collaboration with the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL).

YALSA offers downloadable Teen Tech Week PSAs featuring Tom Kenny

Known as the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants, Tom Kenny lends his support to teens, libraries and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) through downloadable public service announcements (PSAs) announcing Teen Tech Week, March 8 – 14. The PSAs are courtesy of Galaxy Press, a 2009 Teen Tech Week Promotional Partner.

'What's So Funny?' Coats Delivers Gryphon Lecture

The cross-disciplinary Youth Literature Interest Group (YLIG) at the Center for Children’s Books (CCB) is hosting the fifth annual Gryphon Lecture, which will feature Dr. Karen Coats. Dr. Coats is on the faculty of the English department at Illinois State University. The lecture will take place on Friday, March 6, at 6:30 p.m.

Her talk, "What's So Funny About Children's Literature?" will describe and discuss the linguistic and psychoanalytic conditions necessary for children to acquire a sense of humor and understand jokes, and the ways in which children's books facilitate this achievement.

Bluestem Award

The Illinois School Library Media Association (ISLMA) is sponsoring the creation of a new book award.  “The Bluestem Award: Illinois’ 3-5 Children’s Choice Award”, designed for students in grades 3-5, will have an annual reading list that may contain non-fiction, timeless classics as well as current titles, biography,  and  other diverse and varied content titles appropriate for this age group.

The committee is in need of title nominations (by June 15, 2009) and volunteer readers.  Reading will be done during 2009-2010 with the first Master List to be released for the 2010-2011 school year.

See the ISLMA web site for forms and more information.

National Center for the Blind Youth Slam

The National Center for the Blind (NCB) and the National Center for Blind Youth in Science (NCBYS) are sponsoring Youth Slam, a 5-day learning opportunity at the University of Maryland from July 26 - August 1, 2009. Two hundred blind and low vision students from all across the country will be accepted to attend the five-day adventure that will engage, inspire, and encourage the next generation of blind youth to consider careers falsely believed to be impossible for the blind.

Applications are open to high school students including those entering high school in Fall 2009 and those graduating in Spring 2009. Applications are due by March 1, 2009. See the full details on the NCBYS website.

ALSC preconference shines spotlight on intellectual freedom

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), will host the preconference “Meeting the Challenge: Practical Tips and Inspiring Tales on Intellectual Freedom” from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, July 10, during the American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago.

The preconference will emphasize the right to read as an essential foundation of library service to youth and feature librarians and intellectual freedom advocates, including author Judy Blume.

Join YALSA for 28 Days of Advocacy

This month, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), will celebrate 28 Days of Advocacy on its blog, http://yalsa.ala.org/blog. Jointly sponsored by YALSA’s Legislation Committee and Advocacy Task Force, 28 Days of Advocacy features daily posts on the importance of advocating for teens at libraries and the many ways in which librarians can help.

ISLMA/LBSS Endowment Fund Grant

The Illinois School Library Media Association/Library Book Selection Service (ISLMA/LBSS) Endowment Fund will issue its second annual book grants.  Public and private school libraries as well as public libraries registered in any of the children’s choice reading awards programs—the Monarch Award, the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award, and the Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award—are eligible to apply.

Grant recipients will be awarded one set of books for the 2010 reading campaign for the book award the library indicated on their application.  The titles in each book award set are determined by the individual committees in charge of the reading award programs.  Sets include one copy of each of the 20 or 22 books depending on the award program selected. 

Information about the grant and the application form is available at the ISLMA/LBSS Endowment Fund website (www.lbssfund.org).  The application form will be available starting March 15, 2009   All grant applications must be submitted by May 15, 2009.  Applicants must also be registered to participate in the appropriate 2010 children’s choice program by May 15, 2009.  Questions may be sent to info@lbssfund.org, by fax to 309/649-0916 or by phone to 309/649-0911.

Book vendors interested in bidding for the contract to provide books for this grant will find information at the same website.
 
Funds for the endowment fund were received by the Illinois School Library Media Association when the nonprofit Library Book Selection Service was dissolved in June of 2005.  A stipulation of the agreement between LBSS and ISLMA was that the assets be invested in order to fund grants to encourage student reading of quality literature in Illinois.

The ISLMA/LBSS Endowment Fund’s mission is to “Promote reading in Illinois.”  In 2008, the fund awarded 160 sets of books to school and public libraries.

February LGIAT

The February 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/2009/0209.html

ALSC Student Sessions connect student members with professionals in OPAL

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is inviting student members to interact, network and learn virtually though it’s new online 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.

The first session entitled, “Feeling the Crunch: Library Programming on a Budget,” with Senior Librarian Eva Mitnick, is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST on Thursday, Feb. 19.  To attend this discussion, enter  OPAL meeting room two, located at: www.conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rs191a4097cf2a