Starr LaTronica elected ALSC 2013-2014 president

For Immediate Release
Tue, 05/08/2012

Contact:

Laura Schulte-Cooper

Program Officer

Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)

(312) 280-2165

lschulte@ala.org

CHICAGO — Starr LaTronica, youth services/outreach manager, Four County Library System, Vestal, N.Y., has been elected vice president/president-elect of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). 

"I am honored and delighted to work with the dynamic and dedicated membership and staff of ALSC. Their collective talent, passion and commitment to the profession and the public provide the strength of this organization," LaTronica said.  "I look forward to carrying on the work of ALSC in supporting and inspiring its members as they meet the challenges and opportunities in ‘creating a better future for children through libraries.'"
 
LaTronica received her MLS in 1980 from University of California, Berkeley, and has been an ALSC member for 26 years. She currently serves on the ALSC Advocacy and Legislation Committee and has served on numerous other committees, including Intellectual Freedom, Newbery, School-Age Programs and Services and Membership. She also was priority group consultant for child advocacy, 2008-2010, and served on the ALSC Board of Directors, 2005-2008.
 
Outside of ALA, LaTronica has been an active member of the New York Library Association (NYLA), serving as president of the Youth Services Section in 2001-2002. She received NYLA’s Dewey Fellowship Award in 2011. Among her accomplishments, LaTronica has collaborated with agencies and organizations on numerous initiatives such as the annual Kids’ Bookfest and the Story Garden at The Discovery Center of the Southern Tier in Binghamton, N.Y.
 
Three members were elected to serve on the ALSC Board of Directors: Rita Auerbach, N. Y.; Jamie Campbell Naidoo, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa; and Michael Santangelo, Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library. In addition, Megan Schliesman, Cooperative Children's Book Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, was elected to a one-year term to fill a Board vacancy. Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, was elected as division councilor.
 
The newly elected vice president, board members and councilor will be seated to the ALSC Board of Directors in June 2012, at the close of the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif.
 
Individuals elected to serve on the 2014 Newbery, Caldecott, Sibert and Wilder Committees are:
 
2014 Newbery: John Schumacher, Brook Forest Elementary School, Oak Brook, Ill.; Marilyn Ackerman, Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library; Amy Sears, Teaneck (N.J.) Public Library; Debra McLeod, Lenexa, Kan.; Kathy Jarombek, Perrot Memorial Library, Old Greenwich, Conn.; Meg E. Smith, Cumberland County Public Library, Hope Mills, N.C.; Laura Jenkins, Chicago Public Library; and Andrea Erickson, Prince Georges County Memorial Library System, Laurel, Md.
 
2014 Caldecott: Judy Freeman, Highland Park, N.J.; Carla Kozak, San Francisco Public Library; Travis Jonker, Wayland Union Schools, Dorr, Mich.; Dennis Leloup, Avon (Ind.) Intermediate School East; Leslie Molnar, North Royalton, Ohio; Natasha Forrester, Multnomah County Library, Portland, Ore.; Deborah Burns, Chicago Public Library; and Kathy Short, University of Arizona, Tucson.
 
2014 Sibert: Barbara Genco, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Tish Wilson, Dayton (Ohio) Metro Library; Victor Schill, Fairbanks Branch Library, Houston; Sally Miculek, Austin (Texas) Public Library; and Allison Kaplan, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
 
2015 Wilder:  Kathleen T. Horning, Cooperative Children's Book Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Jane Marino, Great Neck (N.Y.) Library; and Ellen Ruffin, McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg.
 
Mary Fellows, current ALSC president, has appointed the following award committee chairs: Elizabeth Orsburn, Free Library of Philadelphia, 2014 Newbery Award Committee chair; Marion Rutsch, Chevy Chase, Md., 2014 Caldecott Award Committee chair; Cecilia McGowan, King County Library System, Issaquah, Wash., 2014 Sibert Award Committee chair; and Karen Nelson Hoyle, St. Paul, Minn., 2015 Wilder Award Committee chair. Carolyn Brodie, current ALSC vice president/president-elect, will appoint the remaining members of these four committees, as well as members of ALSC’s other prestigious award committees this fall.
 
ALSC is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children.  With a network of more than 4,000 children’s and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC is committed to creating a better future for children through libraries.  To learn more about ALSC, visit their website at www.ala.org/alsc.