Have you downloaded the YALSA Teen Book Finder app? If you have, don’t you love it? If you haven’t, why not? It’s FREE, which is always nice! I’ve requested that we install it on my school’s iPads. I’m having to wait for the Droid version. This YALSA page can tell you more about it. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes to read YA fiction, or anyone that has a teen in their life.
Tag Archives: YALSA
WrestleMania Reading Challenge 2012
Have you signed your library up for the 2012 WrestleMania Reading Challenge? If not, get on that! It’s free, and you receive posters, bookmarks, other giveaways, and a support kit. It is an easy program to use to reach some teens who might not be on your radar. You must register by July 31st, so you don’t have much time left. Get going!
WWE also has a page about the Reading Challenge that you can reference to promote it to your teens.
Filed under Libraries
The First YALSA Board Fellow
I am so excited to have been selected to be the first YALSA Board Fellow! Here is the ALA press release. My position starts in June, and runs through July, 2013. This feels like it will be especially interesting since the position is new. I look forward to everything I will learn and experience in the coming year and a half.
Hello There, Dear Blog
Oh 2011, I feel like you just got here. Must you go so soon?
Seriously, this year has been a blur. I really can’t believe 2012 begins in 36 hours. Last year, I over-extended myself with commitments and scaled back this year. Somehow, the world kept life just as busy this year.
I traveled a lot (for me)! I attended ALA Midwinter, and was able to go to Disneyland with my husband for a few days. Spring flew by, and I attended ALA Annual right after school ended. (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3) During the summer, I was lucky enough to go to NYC for 24 hours and then spend a weekend at Rensselaerville. I got some beach time in at Ocean City (Maryland) and Wildwood Crest (New Jersey). I didn’t see as much of my family as I would like, but I was lucky to spend a good amount of time with dear friends.
Work has been busier than ever. We have a new library assistant this year, so getting her up to speed has been a focus. In addition to sponsoring the student book club, I am continuing on as the chair of Faculty Senate, and a member of the Climate Committee and two different literacy committees. I was a co-coordinator for our school Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical competition. I’ve been just as busy with book talks this year as I was last year, which is excellent.
I challenged myself, via GoodReads, to read 50 books this year. I thought that would be easy. I just made it, and it involved some last-minute reads of picture books and graphic novels. I have come to accept that reading challenges are not fun for me. Reading (and blogging) is something I do for pleasure. Once I commit to a challenge, it feels like a job. It becomes a finish line and is no longer about enjoying the experience. I won’t be doing that again this year.
Life itself has been a roller coaster, speeding through the highs and lows and dips and flips of love, loss, struggles, and blessings. The health of everyone I know ebbs and flows. I continue to be lucky to come home to a house filled with the love of my husband and two dogs. We continue the never-ending project that is living in a house built in 1951.
2012 is largely a mystery for me right now. I applied for the YALSA Board Fellow position. If I am fortunate to be selected, I envision a chunk of my year focused on that. If not, I intend to apply for another process committee position as my term on Teens’ Top Ten ends after Annual. My work commitments will continue, of course. I am not attending ALA Midwinter this year. I have no requirement to attend, and financially it is not a priority right now. I have not made a decision on attending ALA Annual, but I suspect the Board Fellow decision will have some affect on that. I would love to attend the YALSA YA Lit Symposium again, but I have some time to make that decision.
For now, I hope 2012 will pass a little more slowly than 2011 did. If any of my readers have stuck around since my last post in September, I thank you and hope you continue to stop by in 2012.
ALA Annual 2011 New Orleans Recap – Part 3
ALA Annual 2011 New Orleans Recap – Part 2
Part 2 of my experience at ALA Annual 2011 in New Orleans. Part 1 can be found here. One thing I forgot about Saturday: I ended up at the cooking stage in the exhibit hall and was able to see Kevin Zraly speak about wine and wine tasting.
He was very entertaining and educational without being any sort of wine-snob. I loved it! One thing he said that I found interesting: 90% of all wine is drunk by 10% of the population. They ran out of his books so the publisher said she would send me one. I hope she follows through!
ALA Annual 2011 New Orleans Recap – Part 1
ALA Annual 2011 was the first time I have attended Annual outside of Washington D.C. I’m so glad I was able to do so. I had a great time, although I also experienced some frustrations. Here is a recap of what I did – or tried to do – after the cut.
Where I’ll Be at ALA Annual 2011
Will you be in New Orleans this weekend? I will! I’m looking forward to attending; this is the first Annual I will attend that is not in D.C. I’ve never been to NOLA and have always wanted to go. I know that the end of June is not the best time to be there when you are a cold weather-loving gal like myself, but I’m still excited!
Last year, I had a very firm schedule due to my Local Arrangements commitments, but this year my schedule is much more fluid. Here is what I know I plan to attend:
Friday:
12:30 – 4:30 – YALSA pre-con Give Them What They Want
5:30 – Exhibits open!
Saturday:
10:00 – 12:00 – YALSA Strategic Planning session
6:00 – YALSA’s Happy Hour
8:00 – The YA Blogger Meet Up
Sunday:
9:00 – 10:00 am – YA Author Coffee Klatch
10:30 am – The Beekman Boys at the What’s Cooking Stage – I loooove the Beekman Boys and will have a few long-overdue posts about them post-Annual.
Monday:
10:30 am – I’m presenting! Reading & Wrestling: Think Outside the Box to Reach Today’s Teens – author Paul Volponi and wrestler Sgt Slaughter (last minute change) the Mouth of the South will also be speaking! Wish me luck!
8:00 pm – Printz!
Please say hi if you see me!
Filed under Libraries
Mental Download 4/22/11
I had grand plans to blog over spring break, but now it is Friday, and I’ve only published one post. I thought I would do a little stream-of-consciousness ramblings.
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ALA, AASL, and YALSA members: voting for this election ends tonight! Be a responsible member and vote, please! As you vote, the ballot has links to profiles and statements for each candidate so you can make thoughtful decisions. Want more school librarians or teen librarians to have a strong voice in ALA? There are many running and your vote could help put them in a place of advocacy!
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As someone who enjoys live tweeting a conference, this cracks me up!
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I’m ready for Gwyneth to leave Glee now. Go back to GOOP.
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Happy Earth Day! My new compost tumbler should arrive today. I admit that I will be a lazy composter and that the best way to get started is to just get a bin that I can close up and spin. No digging or stirring required. I’m excited! (And 30 minutes later, it is here!)
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My husband’s grandmother passed away yesterday. She was 93. She was an amazing person. She bought her house as a single woman back then women didn’t do that sort of thing. She had 4 children, and outlived her husband by over a decade. Not only was she blessed with grandchildren, but she was also blessed with great-grandchildren, and has been able to watch them grow. (Her oldest great-grandchild is now an amazing elementary school teacher.) She will be missed.
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ALA Annual is two months away! So exciting, especially since I cannot attend BEA like many other bloggers. (Testing season at school = all hands on deck.) I’m starting to consider what I can and want to see in New Orleans while I am there. Cemetery tours are on my radar.
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Awesome read about homosexuality and the church.
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Have you watched the new Beastie Boys short film? It’s pretty funny. I live-Tweeted my reactions while I watched it. NPR did a short piece on it, and I love the end quote from MCA. It is a humorous video with lots of cameos. I have to admit, seeing MCA with grey hair AND a gray beard makes me feel like I’m on the speed train to old age.
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I spent part of yesterday catching up on HBO’s Mildred Pierce. There’s a lot of naked Kate Winslet and Guy Pearce. Also, Mildred’s daughter Veda is possibly the worst daughter ever.
Filed under Ramble On
Off to ALA Midwinter 2011!
I am off to ALA Midwinter 2011 in San Diego – looking forward to it!
I am attending an AASL pre-con Friday. After that is over, I hope to cram in a stop in the exhibits, YALSA happy hour, YALSA Silent Auction, and the YA Blogger Meet Up.
Saturday, I have YALSA All-Committee and a few hours and then it’s off to Disneyland!
I haven’t been since college in 1995, I believe, so I am THRILLED to finally go back. Several of my childhood years were spent in California so Disneyland used to be a place we visited often.
Is anyone else going to Midwinter?
