Many (most?) school librarians are placing summer book orders, enabling them to have wonderful new books on display when students return in September (or August, for some of you).  Public librarians are always looking for great new teen reads to help keep up with demand.  What could be better than following the awards and lists and choosing from them?

In addition to the various ALA-related awards, most states have book awards for teens.  Luckily for us, in January 2000, Melissa Depper of Colorado’s Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award Committee compiled a relatively comprehensive list for PUBYAC, now publicly hosted on Cynthia Leich Smith’s site. If you don’t have the time or energy (or budget) to do a Mock Printz/Morris/etc., why not do a Mock [state award name]?  It’s a great way to bring local authors in to the library and get your teens reading “local” lit.

If you want to follow the awards, of course there are many Mock blogs out there – just search for “Mock Printz” and see what comes up.  Here at YALSA we have the YALSABlog and The Hub, both of which cover the various awards and lists.  YALSABlog’s awards category includes posts about upcoming events and awards news, as well as past Youth Media Awards coverage (like this post from the January 2013 ceremony).  Over on the Hub, the awards category brings up great posts from the Hub Reading Challenge and information about  Popular Paperbacks.

Given all the “chores” that take up our time, why not use the YALSA awards and lists as a useful collection development tool – not just at awards time, but all year long?

If you are a YALSA member YALS is a perk of your membership dues. If not a member learn how to join, or learn how to subscribe.

If you are a YALSA member YALS is a perk of your membership dues. If not a member learn how to join, or learn how to subscribe.

• What the reading load is like and how to manage it.
• What it takes to feel comfortable speaking up in committee meetings.
• General advice on how and why to it’s worth being involved in this work.

If you are interested in participating in a YALSA selected list committee you will want to fill out a volunteer form. If you are interested in being on the ballot for an awards committee you’ll need to fill out a nomination form, or you can contact the Chair of the Awards Governance Committee, Pam Spencer Holley. In order to serve you have to be a member of the association.


Full information on YALSA’s lists and awards, including nomination forms for each list or award, is available on the YALSA website.

Chairs that participated in this video are:

Tessa Barber is serving her 3rd year on the Great Graphic Novels for Teens Committee and her 1st as Chair.

Lisa Goldstein works as a youth services librarian and branch supervisor for the Brooklyn Public Library in Brooklyn, NY. Currently the chair of Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, she has also served on YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels for Teens committee.

Jamison Hedin is a first-time chair leading the 2014 Excellence in Nonfiction Award Committee. She really hopes she’s doing it right.

Jennifer Lawson is an audibook-ophile and has served on both the Odyssey and AAYA, in addition to the Alex and this year’s Printz!

Sarah Townsend is the current Chair of Best Fiction for Young Adults, and if you don’t hear from her, it’s likely she’s trapped under a fallen stack of the hoard of amazing books she’s picked up from being on YALSA selection committees.

Dorcas Wong served on the Great Graphic Novels for Teens committee for several awesome years and is now serving as the Morris Award committee chair, on the lookout for new YA authors.

If you are a YALSA member YALS is a perk of your membership dues. If not a member learn how to join, or learn how to subscribe.

And, if you need something more recent, don’t forget to look for YALS in EBSCO databases at your local public, school, or academic library.

Q: We hear so much about Mock Printz, Newberry and Caldecott programs – why don’t we hear about a Mock Alex program?

A: I think it’d be difficult to do a Mock Alex: there are so many books being published, and only the SLJ AB4T blog and Booklist reviews are focused on which adult books might actually work for teens.  Not to mention the fact that so many adult books are quite long. 

Q: Do you think that teens would read the books if you bring them to teen’s attention?

A: Absolutely, but just like YA books, not everything appeals to every teen. Some books, like Night Circus will have many readers.  The thing is, most kids over 16 are ready to explore what’s out there – they don’t care who published it or what the target age group is; the challenge is that they don’t know where to start and what books will be really appealing. 

Q: So what about the “New Adult” trend?

A: Those seem to be YA books with more sex in them, or books about 19-20somethings, set in college or graduate school (like The History of Us or The Fallback Plan). Just like adult books in general, it is necessary to look at the books individually to know which may appeal to teens

Q: What should we do to help them find great adult books if we can’t do a Mock Alex?

A: What about a Post Alex, having a group read a few of the previous year’s winners? Also, the nominated list is a great tool for collection development for teens - and another great source is RUSA’s Reading List, which has great genre fiction suggestions. Both tend to shy away from the really literary works, but they include really great stuff!

If you are a YALSA member YALS is a perk of your membership dues. If not a member learn how to join, or learn how to subscribe.

• Benefits of Board Membership – Maybe you are thinking, “what do I gain from being a Board member?” A lot actually. Read through this list for a good idea of exactly what you’ll get from being a member of YALSA’s Board of Directors.
• Duties and Responsibilities of Board Members – Check out this list of all of the tasks and activities Board members are involved in. Reading through will give you a good idea about the work required of any YALSA Board member.
• FAQ – If you are wondering about timelines, the election process, and topics like those the FAQ on governance and the Board will be just what you need.

These are just a few of the resources available. You can find more on the YALSA website in the Governance section.

If you are interested in running for a YALSA Board of Directors position you’ll want to chat with a member of the Governance Nominating Committee. Feel free to contact Sarah Flowers the Chair of the current Committee.

And, if you aren’t quite ready to run for the YALSA Board, but would like to learn more about what it’s like to serve as a Board member, consider applying for the association’s Board Fellow position.

If you are a YALSA member YALS is a perk of your membership dues. If not a member learn how to join, or learn how to subscribe.

• Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults
• Best Fiction for Young Adults
• Fabulous Films for Young Adults
• Great Graphic Novels for Young Adults
• Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults
• Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

Of course you’ll want to read all of the articles in the spring issue and visit this site every week for content that connects to what’s in the print version of the publication.

If you are a YALSA member YALS is a perk of your membership dues. If not a member learn how to join, or learn how to subscribe.

The article includes a very useful list of resources for keeping up and learning more about the world of e-books, libraries, and publishing. The list below is a one-stop-shop for accessing the resources mentioned. Keep in mind that the world of e-books and e-book publishing is moving and changing quickly. The best way to keep up is to keep reading and learning via blogs and other regularly updated resources.

• American Libraries E-Content Blog
• American Library Association. Ebooks and Copyright Issues. State of America’s Library Report 2013.
• Digital Content Working Group. Tip Sheet on DRM.
• E-Book Business Models: A Scorecard for Public Libraries.
• J. Hoffman. et al.  Libraries Connect Communities: Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study 2011-2012. Digital supplement of American Libraries magazine, June 2012.
• Kathryn Zickhur, et al. Younger Americans’ Reading and Library Habits
  Pew Internet & American Life Project, April 5, 2012.
• Lee Rainie, et al. The Rise of E-reading.
• Michael Kelly. Librarians Feel Sticker Shock as Price for Random House E-Books Rises as Much as 300 Percent.
• Michael Lovett. Hachette Book Group’s New Library e-book Pricing.

If you are a YALSA member YALS is a perk of your membership dues. If not a member learn how to join, or learn how to subscribe.

• The winners of the 2013 YALSA Awards and titles selected for all of YALSA’s lists. You can read about the selections in the journal and then right here, on this site, you’ll be able to download (starting next week) reproducible copies of the awards and lists so you can give those out in your community to teens, teachers, parents, etc.
• The Hub Reading Challenge where anyone, anyone, can sign-up to read 25 titles from YALSA’s selected lists over the next couple of months. Those that complete the challenge will have the chance to win fabulous prizes.
• YALSA’s Teen Book Finder app, a great way for anyone, yes anyone, in the community to find good books no matter where they are – in school, at home, at the mall, at the movies, or hanging out at a friend’s house.
• The Odyssey Award, what it takes to read with your ears and how audiobooks have an important place in the reading lives of teens.
• What the YALSA member and non-member survey tells the association about the needs of those working with teens in libraries and what the Public Library Data Statistics tell the entire library community about teen services in the United States and Canada – and what the statistics say about what still needs to be researched.
• What’s up with e-books, what’s going on with publishers and libraries and e-books, and how ALA’s Digital Content Working Group is getting involved.

That’s just a brief overview of the spring issue of YALS. Look for it in your mailbox very soon, and check this site every Tuesday for content that compliments what’s in the print pages of the journal.

If you are a YALSA member YALS is a perk of your membership dues. If not a member learn how to join, or learn how to subscribe.

Our Teen Tech Squad has gone through some changes since the YALS article was published. In 2010, Hennepin County Library received a grant from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Funds from this grant allowed the Teen Tech Squad to explore new tools for art and media creation. Since the beginning Teen Tech Squad workshops attracted many aspiring musicians, and while there were many free and open source applications available for the teens to use, none quite met attendee needs. The new grant funds enabled us to purchase MAC laptops, a cart of 10 iPads, midi controllers, studio monitors, and music and video production software and apps.

With these new tools, Teen Tech Squad began MVStudio workshops. In these workshops, teens worked individually or in small groups to make music with the GarageBand iPad app. Members of the Teen Tech Squad also led collaborative music making workshops, inviting all participants to contribute to a group music project using the professional-grade music production program, Logic Studio. The Teen Tech Squad based at Minneapolis Central Library led these workshops through the summer of 2012. A newly-formed Teen Tech Squad at the Franklin Library continues to offer MVStudio workshops, using iPads, the GarageBand app and MyCreate, an iPad app used for creating stop-motion animation films.

Our Teen Tech Squad continues to evolve. In January 2013, the Best Buy Teen Tech Center opened at the Minneapolis Central Library. The Best Buy Teen Tech Center was made possible by the Friends of the Hennepin County Library through a grant from Best Buy. The Teen Tech Center is part of the Intel Computer Clubhouse Network, an international network of after school programs. The Best Buy Teen Tech Center’s computers are equipped with graphic design, music and video production software. It offers new platforms for art and media production, and will also be the new workspace for the Teen Tech Squad program.

Minneapolis Central Library is in the process of hiring a new cohort of Teen Tech Squad members, and library staff is excited about new opportunities for engagement that this new space makes possible. Though the tools have changed, and Tech Squad Members graduate and move on to lives as young adults, the Teen Tech Squad program continues, offering leadership opportunities and an environment in which teens can explore their creative interests.

In the original article a list of tools was included. Here’s an update to that list:

What’s no longer available – SAM Animation, Comic Life, and ArtRage no longer provide free demo or trial versions. But, the following programs, described above are worth checking out.

• GarageBand for the iPad – 
Apple adapted this popular Mac application for the iPad. The app version enables users to create multi-track recordings, record vocal tracks, and construct beats using built-in sounds and music loops. 

• MyCreate – An iPad app version of the stop-motion animation program, SAM Animation, that works on an iPad2. It allows users to easily capture frames using the iPad’s built-in camera and combine them into a film.

• Logic Studio
 - Logic Studio has been described as “GarageBand on steroids.” It can be used to record and edit music and contains many built-in instruments. Projects from GarageBand can be imported into Logic Studio and edited.


If you are a YALSA member YALS is a perk of your membership dues. If not a member learn how to join, or learn how to subscribe.