Orsburn elected ALSC 2016-2017 president

CHICAGO — Elizabeth “Betsy” Orsburn, adjunct faculty, Drexel University, College of Computing & Infomatics, Philadelphia, 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 to represent our dedicated community of children’s librarians, educators, editors, and other professionals that make up ALSC; and with your support, I am excited to take on this leadership challenge,” Orsburn said.

In 2013, Orsburn retired from The Free Library of Philadelphia after 37 years of service in various positions, including interim director of library services (2012-2013), Public Service Support Division chief (2005-2012) and youth service specialist (1996-2005). Orsburn received an M.S. Library and Information Science from Drexel University in 1973 and earned an M.Ed. Communications and Media from Temple University in 1978. 

Orsburn has been a member of ALA for 23 years and has served on the ALSC Board of Directors (2007-2011) and on numerous ALSC committees, including Managing Children's Services, Newbery Award Selection, Preconference Planning and Scholarship. She currently is ALSC’s priority group consultant for professional development.

In addition to her ALSC activities, Orsburn also has been active on the state level. From 1996-2012, she was Pennsylvania State Library District Library Center youth services specialist for Philadelphia County. Orsburn also has served on the Marketing Committee for the Pennsylvania Library Association and as a Selection and Planning Committee member for the Pennsylvania State Library’s “One Book, Every Young Child” early literacy initiative.

Three members were elected to serve on the ALSC Board of Directors: Christine Caputo, Free Library of Philadelphia-TOPSS; Vicky Smith, Kirkus Reviews, Portland, Maine; and Mary Voors, Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana. 

Jenna Nemec-Loise, Chicago Public Library, Roosevelt Branch, was elected to the position of ALSC division councilor on the ALSC Board of Directors.  

The newly elected vice president and board members will be seated to the ALSC Board of Directors in July 2015, at the close of the ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco.

In addition, proposed changes to Bylaw VIII, Committees, Section 2 and Bylaw X, Nominations and Elections, Section 2 were adopted, resulting in the following language (new language is underscored): 

“The Wilder Award Committee shall consist of the following five (5) members: Three (3) members to be elected annually from a slate of no fewer than six (6), a chairperson appointed by the president, and one (1) member appointed by the president.” (Bylaw VIII, Section 2)

“…Newbery Award Committee members-at-large; sixteen (16) candidates for eight (8) Caldecott Award Committee members-at-large; ten (10) candidates for five (5) Sibert Award Committee members-at-large;…” (Bylaw X, Section 2)

Individuals elected to serve on the 2017 Caldecott, Newbery, Sibert and Wilder Committees are:

2017 Caldecott: Stacy Dillon, Little Red School House & Elisabeth Irwin High School (LREI), New York; Laurie Reese, Los Angeles Public Library; Ashley Waring, Reading (Massachusetts) Public Library; Brian Wilson, Evanston (Illinois) Public Library; Erica Dean Glenn, Berkeley (California) Public Library; Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua (N.Y.) Public Library; Janet Mumford, James McKinney Elementary School Library, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; and Holly Jin, Skokie (Illinois) Public Library. 

2017 Newbery: Daniel Meyer, Kew Gardens Hills, New York; Brandy Sanchez, Daniel Boone Regional Library, Columbia, Missouri; Tony Carmack, Rocklin (California) Library; Jamie Watson, Baltimore County Public Library, Towson, Maryland; Laura Lutz, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York; Matthew Krueger, Irondequoit Public Library, Rochester, New York; Maryann Owen, Oak Creek (Wisconsin) Public Library; and Betsy Fraser, Calgary Public Library, Alberta, Canada.

2017 Sibert: Elise DeGuiseppi, Pierce County Library System, Tacoma, Washington; Ted McCoy, Springfield (Massachusetts) City Library; Gail Nordstrom, Viking Library System, Fergus Falls, Minnesota; Louise Capizzo, Scarborough (Maine) Public Library; and Michael Rogalla, Champaign (Illinois) Public Library. 

2017 Wilder: Robin Gibson, Westerville (Ohio) Public Library; Luann Toth, School Library Journal, New York; and Virginia Walter, Venice, California.

Ellen Riordan, current ALSC president, has appointed the following award committee chairs: Rhonda Puntney Gould, Gould Library Consulting, Tacoma, Washington, 2017 Caldecott Award Committee chair; Thom Barthelmess, Dominican University GSLIS, River Forest, Illinois, 2017 Newbery Award Committee chair; Caitlin Dixon Jacobsen, Ketchikan (Alaska) High School Library, 2017 Sibert Award Committee chair; and Starr LaTronica, Four County Library System, Vestal, New York, 2017 Wilder Award Committee chair. Andrew Medlar, current ALSC vice president/president-elect, will appoint the remaining members of these committees, as well as members of ALSC’s other prestigious award committees this fall.

ALSC, a division of ALA, 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.