Congratulations All Elected ALA Candidates (But Most Especially Carlie Webber)!

The results are in, and our dear friend, colleague, and fellow Pop-er (Pop-ian? Pop-ie? What's the best suffix for us?) Carlie Webber has been elected to YALSA's Michael L. Printz Award Committee. She's the second of our crew (Liz Burns was the first) to attain this honor, and we couldn't be more pleased, more proud, or less surprised (I mean that in the best possible way -- anyone who's met or read Carlie knows what a savvy, tough reader she is).  

Congratulations to all of the winners, and, as a member of the 2009 YALSA Nominating Committee, thanks to everyone who ran this year!  

If you're a member of YALSA, please consider running for office next year!  Info on all available positions is at the YALSA Wiki.

Carlie Webber for Printz 2010!

We are delighted to endorse Carlie Webber, fellow Pop Goes the Library-an, friend, esteemed colleague, and genius of the supremely catchy catchphrase, for the Michael L. Printz Committee for 2010.

Carlie is a smart, sharp reader who can not only articulate her vision of literary quality; she can sniff out a lack of it at twenty pages.

Carlie is passionate about the need for the Printz Award winners and honor books to be more than mere vehicles for shiny labels.

Carlie is a seasoned book reviewer and Mock Printz contest moderator. She cuts through BS with her Ginsu knife-like wit, leaps tall ARCs in a single bound, and has read and reviewed more books than you've had hot dinners. The woman knows her stuff and doesn't mince words.

Carlie Webber! Passion. Vision. Experience. Savvy. Abundant Charm.

ALA Awards by Text Message

File under: Awesome, Made Out of Five Different Kinds of

Text the word "ALA 5" to 32075 in the U.S. and Canada to receive notification of the winners of the following five awards, one text message per award:

• Newbery Medal
• Caldecott Medal
• Coretta Scott King Awards
• Michael L. Printz Award
• Pura Belpré Award

You will receive 5 text messages for this subscription, winners only.

For complete results, text the word "ALA 13" to 32075 in the U.S. and Canada to receive notification of the winners of all 13 Youth Media Awards, including the five previously mentioned and the following, one text message per award:

• Alex Awards
• Margaret A. Edwards Award
• Odyssey Award
• Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award
• Andrew Carnegie Medal
• Mildred L. Batchelder Award
• Schneider Family Book Award
• Theodor Seuss Geisel Award
  

You will receive 13 text messages for this subscription, winners only.

Learn more here:
http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2008/january2008/ymatext08.htm

31 Flavorite Authors for Teens

Teen Read Week is this October. The Readergirlz and YALSA have decided to celebrate TRW all month, starting today.

Every day this month a different YA author is highlighted, with a nightly chat at the Readergirlz group forum at 5 PM PST/8 PM EST (with the exception of the Halloween chat, which will be held at 9 PM PST/MIDNIGHT EST). More info at the Readergirlz site, including downloadable bookmarks and the like.

Here's the full schedule:

Week One
October 1st: Meg Cabot
October 2nd: Tiffany Trent
October 3rd: Brent Hartinger
October 4th: Lorie Ann Grover
October 5th: K.L. Going
October 6th: Nikki Grimes

Week Two
October 7th: Ellen Hopkins
October 8th: Justina Chen Headley
October 9th: Chris Crutcher
October 10th: Ann Brashares
October 11th: Sarah Mlynowski
October 12th: Cecil Castellucci
October 13th: Kirby Larson

Week Three
October 14th: Tanya Lee Stone
October 15th: John Green
October 16th: Sara Zarr
October 17th: Deb Caletti
October 18th: Rachel Cohn
October 19th: Kirsten Miller
October 20th: Mitali Perkins

Week Four
October 21st: Sonya Sones
October 22nd: Lisa Yee
October 23rd: Carolyn Mackler
October 24th: E. Lockhart
October 25th: Janet Lee Carey
October 26th: Gaby Triana
October 27th: Lauren Myracle

Week Five
October 28th: Holly Black
October 29th: Cynthia Leitich Smith
October 30th: Dia Calhoun
October 31st: Stephenie Meyer (Special time: 9 PM PST/MIDNIGHT EST)

YALSA

Over at the blog Bildungsroman, there's an interview with Paula Brehm-Heeger, the 2007-2008 YALSA President.

Post-Harry, Whatever Will They Read?

Reading the NY Times piece Potter Has Limited Effects on Reading Habits, I thought, "Well, duh." A quote from a teacher & author sums up the situation perfectly:

“Unless there are scaffolds in place for kids — an enthusiastic adult saying, ‘Here’s the next [book you might like]’ — it’s not going to happen,” said Nancie Atwell, the author of “The Reading Zone: How to Help Kids Become Skilled, Passionate, Habitual, Critical Readers” and a teacher in Edgecomb, Me. “And in way too many American classrooms it’s not happening.”

You get exactly one guess as to where I'll say it is happening. Did you guess libraries? Oh, well done! A gold star for you. (I mean it! If you see me at a conference, and you guessed "libraries", I will give you a gold star. Either that, or I'll buy you the beverage of your choice.)

I would argue a few things:

• Harry Potter has had an impact on young peoples' reading habits, but it may be more subtle than the study conducted by the NEA was designed to reflect. Many teens go through a period of not reading much, but those who start out with a foundation of enjoying reading early in life come back to it as older teens or as adults.
• Harry Potter has had another indirect impact on teen & children's reading, and that is the impact it's had on publishing. Publishing for children & teens is one helluva booming business these days, and although that's partly to do with demographics -- there are more youngsters, with more disposable income, than ever before in this country -- it's also due to Harry's stunning popularity. One of the reasons we see series of all kinds, from Gossip Girl to TrueColors to Cirque du Freak to Bartimaeus to Skybreaker to Keys to the Kingdom to Spiderwick Chronicles to Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants to the comeback of Choose Your Own Adventure is that Harry showed publishers that kids & teens will read.

I happened to be in my car during NPR's Here & Now program, and was so pleased that Robin Young interviewed YALSA's new president, Paula Brehm-Heeger to get the YA librarian's POV on this topic. Thank you, Robin, and great job, Paula! You can listen to the segment here.

Congratulations, Liz!

I am beyond delighted to report that the YALSA election results are in, and our very own Liz Burns is a brand-new member of the Printz Committee! I could not be happier, prouder, or more full of squee than I am right now. As everyone who reads Liz's posts here and at Tea Cozy knows, she is brilliant, thoughtful, fair, and funny, which is about as fine a combination of qualities a Printz Committee member can have.

Mazel Tov, Smartie. You earned it.

In other fabulous YALSA/NJ news, Friends of Pop Sarah Cornish Debraski is YALSA President-Elect, and Sharon Rawlins is on the Margaret A. Edwards Committee. A great day for NJ librarians, I'd say.

Good Press for YA Lit

We here at Pop have complained about the "all YA books suck" newspaper stories.

So it's only fair we say, Way to Go Seattle! Cecelia Goodnow of The Seattle Post-Intelligencer had not one, not two, not three, but FOUR articles about teens and books, and not a nary "YA books suck" article amongst them.

For your reading pleasure:

Teens buying books at fastest rate in decades (interviews actual authorities in the field)

If you're looking for tasty teen titles to satisfy, check out this menu (which highlights YALSA's Best Books list)

Is young-adult fare too mature for some of its readers? (respectfully points out that YA may be ages 12 to 18, but not all books are for all readers)

and Top Trends in Teen Literature

And just when I thought it couldn't get any better --

Entertainment Weekly highlights the YALSA Alex Awards in an online column, Kids Corner.

What great coverage!

No Blogging for Committee Members?

LibrariAnne has a detailed report on a rumor about ALSC and bloggers who are committee members not being allowed to blog. I did hear whispers about this during Midwinter, and a comment to LibrariAnne's blog confirms that ALSC is "grappling" with this issue.

So I ask you: anyone know the deal? The specifics of the guidelines? Is it just ALSC, or is YALSA doing something similar?

Thanks to A Year Of Reading for the link.

Seattle/Midwinter

Idea totally & utterly stolen from Heidi (who is not only a rockin' librarian, but also a fellow Bryn Mawr alum).

Heidi is a Seattle native, so she's got plenty of scoop on where to eat & how to get around. Also potentially useful in this regard: the ALA Midwinter Meeting Wiki.

Here's my schedule, for now:

Saturday, January 20
ALA-APA Fundraising Committee, 10:30-12:30
YALSA Gaming Interest Group, 1:30-2:30
Quick Picks for Reluctant YA Readers, 2:30-3:30
YALSA Publications Committee, 4-6 PM
Seattle Public Library Atherton Reception with the divine Liz B, 7-9 PM

Sunday, January 21
Teen Tech Week Kick-Off, 10:30-12:30
Quick Picks, 1:30-3:30
YALSA Board II, 4-6 OR Pop Culture in Libraries, 4-6
YALSA 50th Anniversary Kick-Off, 7-9 PM

Monday, January 22 -- Happy Birthday, Mom!
Youth Media Awards, 8-9 AM
ALA Exec Board Forum, 11:30 AM (re-check time)
Exhibits!
Best Books for Young Adults, 4-6 PM
YALSA/ALSC/AASL Joint Membership Reception 6-8 PM

Somewhere in there, I also plan to have a meal or drinks with Rochelle, Jill, Jaina and my library school pal Chris.

I'm staying at the Sheraton, and it'll be best to reach me by cell. E-mail or IM me if you want the number.

YALSA Elections (and a personal note)

ALA and YALSA elections are coming up; in order to vote for the YALSA part you must be a member of ALA and YALSA by January 31, 2007.

The election opens March 15 and closes April 24.

Go over to the YALSA blog to see the full slate of candidates for different positions.

Please note the candidates for the 2009 Michael L. Printz Award Committee:

Elizabeth Burns (yes, this is me!)
Donna Cook
Stacy Creel-Chavez
Alison Hendon
Celia Holm
Ellen Loughran
Karyn Silverman
J. Marin Younker

Eight candidates are running for four positions. The full policies and procedures for the Printz are here.

Cross posted at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy.