YALA to offer online courses

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), opened registration for two online courses for Summer 2009: “Pain in the Brain:  Adolescent Development and Library Behavior” (Beth Gallaway) and “Beyond Booklists:  Serving Today’s Diverse Teens” (Jennifer Velasquez).

Both of YALSA’s Summer 2009 courses meet for four weeks. Courses begin June 1. To read course descriptions, please visit http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/onlinecourses/info.cfm

Registration for YALSA’s online courses is available at www.ala.org/yalsa.  Four-week courses cost $US 135 for YALSA members, $US 175 for ALA members and $US 195 for nonmembers.  Discounts are available for groups of ten or more, and all YALSA e-courses are available for licensing; contact Nichole Gilbert at ngilbert@ala.org or 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4387, for more information.

For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, videos, and audiobooks for teens. For more information about these awards or for additional lists of recommended reading, go to www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists. For more information about YALSA, please contact us via e-mail, yalsa@ala.org, or by phone, at 1-800-545-2433 ext. 4390.

Decks and Dustcatchers

Teens and magazines can create a bit of a quandary for libraries. Magazines are great pick-up reading, yet it can be difficult to convince readers to take them home. Sometimes the price of a year’s subscription makes you want to utter words not to be heard in the teen section! However, with a slight shift of perspective, magazine collections can be seen as browsing collections that can lure in shy reluctant readers. more » » »

What works well engaging multicultural youth with your library?

The Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia (FECCA) is the national peak body representing Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. FECCA provides advocacy, develops policy and promotes issues on behalf of its constituency to government and the broader community. FECCA and the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) are seeking to identify best practice initiatives in multicultural youth projects in Australia, with the possibility of developing a national model.

This initiative is being done in two phases:

Part A was finalised in December 2008. It aimed to identify best practice examples from multicultural youth programs that focus on capacity building, engagement with the broader community and leadership. A report from FECCA has been presented to DIAC. (For a copy, contact Charles Njora, FECCA’s Policy and Liaison Officer, at the email address given below.)

Part B, Developing a National Model Based on Best Practice Initiatives: This phase of the project will focus on the possibilities for a national model based on best practice initiatives.

Consultations for Part B are in progress until 17 April 2009.

FECCA is seeking to generate ideas for part B from youth, youth networks and other interested parties. To contribute enter your ideas in this survey tool
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=iDwq3yLK5blc6XaoS0u7_2bw_3d_3d the information will be collated and submitted to FECCA.

Alternatively, you can contact Charles Njora, FECCA’s Policy and Liaison Officer, ph: (02) 6282 5755; fax: (02) 6282 5734; email: policy@fecca.org.au , http://www.fecca.org.au

YALSA Wants Your Teen Program Highlights

• YALSA Wants Your Teen Program Highlights
  Has your library held a program that allowed teens to showcase their creativity? The 2009 YALSA President’s Program Committee is constructing a PowerPoint show of teen programs with a creative flare to be presented during the President’s Program in Chicago this summer. The committee is looking for pictures of programs that taught or showcased photography, fine arts, music, and theater or gaming design for teens.
  more » » »

What Librarians Say About Street Lit

 
As librarians who work in big cities with teens, we know that kids are crazy about street lit. But as we were researching the genre for our collection-development class at Pratt Institute, in New York, we wondered how other librarians felt about street lit. Is it offered in most libraries across the country? Do teens in rural communities also crave street lit? Do most librarians tend to shelf these titles in the teen section or in the adult section? more » » » 

NY Library Coordinator Wins Maybelline Education Award

 
Jessica Fenster-Sparber, CEO of Literacy for Incarcerated Teens and a library coordinator who works with New York City’s incarcerated youth, is among 10 winners of the Maybelline New York Beauty of Education award, given to those who have made a difference in their community by supporting educational initiatives.

At a ceremony held this week at the historic New York Public Library in Manhattan, Fenster-Sparber was honored for her work with Literacy for Incarcerated Teens, the only nonprofit organization that raises money to build libraries and literacy programs in the city’s juvenile detention centers. The program works with the New York City Department of Education and the Department of Juvenile Justice to ensure that all of the city’s detained youth have access to high-quality library materials and services. more » » » 

Guidelines for Library Services for Young Adults – IFLA

The YA guidelines (presented at the Quebec conference) is now available at:
http://www.ifla.org/VII/s10/index.htm#GuidelinesYA
Guideline is available in English, French and Spanish.

You might also be interested in the following updates at the section webpage:

1) Strategic plan, update 2009 – http://www.ifla.org/VII/s10/index.htm#StrategicPlan  

2) Policy Statements
* “Literacy Training for Children and Young Adults in Public Libraries”
* “Internet and Children’s Library Services”
http://www.ifla.org/VII/s10/index.htm#PolicyStatements

Teen Advisory Group Evolves Thanks to Trillium

In April 2008, the Ontario Trillium Foundation awarded $75, 000 to the County of Lennox and Addington Public Library, Napanee, Ontario, for enhancements of teen services. Rebecca Hinch was hired in June of 2008 as the teen services facilitator to recruit a Teen Advisory Group (T.A.G.) to help guide these changes and foster teen programming in all of its facilities. And while it has been hard work, the results are rewarding. more » » »