Tag Archives: ALA

General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Booklist: YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults

Red 10The great thing about a new year is the number of booklists that come out in the first few months!  YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) is a division of ALA (American Library Association) and releases its Best Fiction for Young Adults list annually.  This year, 58 titles were selected from 113 nominations.  The recipients are books recommended for ages 12-18, and “meet the criteria of both quality literature and appeal to teens” (ALA press release).  Here are the committee’s Top Ten books from the list:

  • The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley, Elephant Rock Books, 2014.
  • The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014.
  • The Gospel of Winter by Kiely Brendan, Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2014.
  • I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, Penguin Group (USA)/Dial Books, 2014.
  • Jackaby by William Ritter, Algonquin Books for Young Readers, 2014.
  • Noggin by John Corey Whaley, Simon & Schuster/Atheneum Books, 2014.
  • The Story of Owen Dragonslayer of Trondheim by E.K. Johnston, Carolrhoda LAB, 2014.
  • Vango by Timothee de Fombelle, Candlewick Press, 2014.
  • We Were Liars by e. lockhart, Delacorte Press, 2014.
  • The Young Elites by Marie Lu, Penguin Group (USA)/G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2014.

These are just ten of the 58 titles on the booklist – check out all 58 here!

This booklist is a part of the 2015 ALA Book Awards.

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Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist

And the ALA Book Award Winners Are….

The ALA (American Library Association) Book Award Winners were announced on Monday, February 2nd at 8:00 AM.  The announcement took place as part of the ALA Youth Media Awards, which were presented at the ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibition in Chicago, IL.  Youth Media Awards recipients are determined by committees of librarians and other experts in literature and media.  Here are five of the 30+ book awards that were presented:

The Crossover  John Newbery Medal
  The Crossover
  by Kwame Alexander
published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

 

 

The Adventures of Beekle - The Unimaginary Friend  Randolph Caldecott Medal
  The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend
  by Dan Santat
published by Little, Brown and Company (a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.)

 

 

I'll Give You The Sun  Michael L. Printz Award
  I’ll Give You the Sun
  by Jandy Nelson
published by Dial Books (an imprint of Penguin Group USA, a Penguin Random House Company)

 

 

Brown Girl Dreaming  Coretta Scott King Book Award – Author
  Brown Girl Dreaming
  by Jacqueline Woodson
published by Nancy Paulsen Books (an imprint of Penguin Group [USA] LLC.)

 

 


Firebird  Coretta Scott King Book Award – Illustrator
  Firebird
  illustrated by Christopher Myers
written by Misty Copeland
published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons (an imprint of Penguin Group [USA] LLC.)

 

For more information on the ALA Book Awards, check out Joyce Valenza’s post on the School Library Journal website (In case you missed the hoopla live. . .).  Her post includes links to a list of all the 2015 winners, a webcast of the awards, and many other resources related to young adult books.

See also: Booklist: YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults, a part of the 2015 ALA Book Awards.

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Library fines, source of revenue or deterrent to readers?

273/365: 09/30/2013. Money, Money, Money!Should libraries charge fines or shouldn’t they? This seems to be a question that is increasingly being asked by libraries and library administrators. In her recent article on Lit Reactor, Leah Dearborn asks us to think beyond the assumption of library fines’ existence and to think of other solutions to the issue.

The impact of library fines “can be both negative and positive,” says Dearborn. “[I]t’s a more complex problem than it might initially appear. On the one hand, no fees means lost revenue for libraries that may already be struggling to pay their staff and keep up with material costs. But on the other side of the fence, fines risk deterring low-income patrons from a public educational service.”

This seems to be the crux of the debate. Libraries use fines to deter loss, theft, abuse, and gain some much needed revenue. However, on the other side, libraries shouldn’t use fines to deter users or lose readers. Interestingly, the American Library Association (ALA) largely discourages the implementation of fines, fees, and user charges.

Some libraries are getting creative with how they are addressing fines. Some St. Paul Libraries recently offered a “Do Down” where teens could learn, experiment, and produce things with technology to eliminate their fines. Locally, Great River Regional has had several “Read down your fines” events.

How do you help your users reduce fines? How about a Fine Amnesty Program?

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Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

ALA Midwinter meeting resources for non-attendees

MW15_logo_vendor.inddCan’t make it to Chicago for the 2015 ALA Midwinter Meeting January 30-February 3? No need to worry, you can experience the events, speakers, forums, and more from your home computer, tablet, or smartphone. Check out these resources for following the conversation at ALA:

General, School Media Specialist

ALA President speaks out for school librarians

We here at CMLE think school librarians are important, and it’s nice to see the ALA President, Courtney Young, think they are too. Below is a recent communication from her about the importance of school librarians.

From ALA President Courtney Young
School Librarians Transform Learning
How do school librarians transform learning? As library professionals, we all know that school librarians are indispensable to education. We know that schools with a strong school library program and a certified school librarian give their students the best chance to succeed. We also know that the education today’s children receive at the school library level will affect their ability to use and benefit from public and academic libraries throughout their lives.We truly are an “ecosystem,” and we all need to support strong school libraries. That is why theAmerican Association of School Librarians is launching an awareness-campaign during the ALA Midwinter Meeting this month: to educate the whole of our profession — and through them, the public — about the importance of school librarians in the lives of children.How do school librarians transform learning? Here are just a few ways:

  • Schools with a strong school library program and a certified school librarian give their students the best chance to succeed.
  • Certified school librarians make the whole school more effective. They teach students how to learn, and they help teachers drive student success.
  • Students and teachers love, value, and use school libraries every day.

I am personally asking you to speak out about the value of school librarians in your communities. Everyone can be an advocate for school libraries!

Visit the School Libraries Make a Difference web resource on www.ilovelibraries.org for specific ways to get involved, including drafting a letter to the editor or writing an op-ed for a local publication. Letters to the editor and op-eds are an easy way to reach large numbers of community members.  If you have never written one of these letters, or need tips along the way, I Love Libraries provides a comprehensive guide to writing and placing an op-ed piece at www.ilovelibraries.org/how-write-and-place-op-ed-piece.

We know that our children’s education and readiness for the workforce is in peril when school library budgets and school librarians are cut. You have a role in ensuring excellence for every student by demanding a school library with a certified school librarian in every school. Join us in speaking up for school libraries!

Sincerely,

Courtney L. Young

ALA President
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CMLE has been covering this issue too and a few of our recent blog posts about school librarians might be of interest: