Be a part of the discussion on the future of teen library services by participating in YALSA’s virtual town halls

For Immediate Release
Tue, 03/12/2013

Contact:

Jaclyn Finneke

Communications Manager

Young Adult Library Services Association

1-800-545-2433 ext.2128

jfinneke@ala.org

CHICAGO  — As part of the year-long National Forum on Libraries and Teens project, the  Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), will sponsor the first of three town halls from 2 to 3 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, March 19, 2013.

All virtual town halls will take place in YALSA’s Adobe Connect space,  with the two future events on April 16 and May 21. Each session will focus on a specific theme. Participants, including library staff and stakeholders from a variety of communities, will have the chance to help YALSA understand what teen library services will (and should) look like in the future.

The first session will focus on partnerships. Library staff members are encouraged to invite stakeholders from their community to join the conversation, which will focus on why partnerships are important to library teen services; what opportunities are available for library staff and stakeholders to support teens through partnerships; what successful partnerships look like; and what is required of libraries and stakeholders to move forward in partnerships in order to serve teens into the future.

For more information on the virtual town halls including interesting articles to prepare you for the first event please visit the YALSAblog.

The Forum is a grant funded effort that will bring together key stakeholders from the areas of libraries, education, technology, adolescent development and the for-profit and nonprofit sectors to explore the world of young adults and library services to this population, and ultimately produce a white paper which will provide direction on how libraries need to adapt and potentially change to better meet the needs of 21st century teens.  Grant funding is generously provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. For more information, please visit http://www.ala.org/yaforum/.

For more than 50 years, YALSA has worked to build the capacity of libraries and librarians to engage, serve and empower teens.  For more information about YALSA or to access national guidelines and other resources go to www.ala.org/yalsa, or contact the YALSA office by phone, 800-545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail: yalsa@ala.org.

About the IMLS

The IMLS is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Through grant making, policy development, and research, IMLS helps communities and individuals thrive through broad public access to knowledge, cultural heritage, and lifelong learning.