Johnson, Runyan and Hutchins receive YALSA’s Conference Scholarship Grants

CHICAGO — The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), awarded 2014 Baker & Taylor/YALSA Conference Grants to Jeanette Johnson and Lyndsey Runyan. The Dorothy Broderick Student Scholarship was awarded to Julia Hutchins. Each will receive up to $1,000 to attend the 2014 ALA Annual Conference in Las Vegas this summer.

The Baker & Taylor Conference Grant is awarded for first-time attendance at an Annual Conference. The recipients must be YALSA members and have between one and 10 years experience working with teenagers. The Dorothy Broderick Student Scholarship is funded by YALSA's Leadership Endowment and given to a graduate student attending the conference for the first time.

Jeanette Johnson has been the instructional resource specialist at Oak Avenue Intermediate School in Temple City, Calif. since 2007. She collaborates on a daily bases with the community, colleagues, staff members and administration when planning and promoting programs, all while encouraging young adults to participate in library activities. “Attending conference will give me the knowledge I need to be confident in my new YALSA role as chair of Popular Paperbacks as well as the opportunity to network and gain valuable ideas from my colleagues,” said Johnson. “I will come back to my school with new ideas to improve my programs and to get my students excited.”

Lyndsey Runyan serves as the young adult services librarian at Keene Public Library (KPL) in New Hampshire. Programming and outreach for teens is a vital part with many young adults experiencing economic disadvantage. Runyan said, “The amazing programs offered at the conference can give me ideas for state-of-the-art programs, outreach, and resources to bring home to my library and community. Networking with other librarians and learning about innovative ways to engage and empower young adults in our libraries are key reasons I’m excited to participate.”

Julia Hutchins, a student at the Florida State University will graduate in May 2014 with an MLIS and Library Leadership & Management Certificate. She plans to return with knowledge and skills from ALA’s innovative programs she can then share with her peers after attending the Annual Conference in Las Vegas. Hutchins believes that young adults deserve the highest quality in library services and. like all patrons, the respect and advocacy efforts of librarians and library workers. “By instilling a love of literacy and an appreciation of library services and programs in our teenage patrons,” said Hutchins, “we will ensure a generation of library users.”

The YALSA Travel Scholarships Jury, who selected these winners are: Kathryn LaMantia, chair, Schaumburg (Ill.) Township District Library; Stefanie Graen, Bainbridge Island (Wash.) Library; Kristin Patrice Jones, Carver County Library, Watertown, Minn.; and Bridget Kiely, Arapahoe Library District, Centennial, Colo.

Applications for the 2015 Baker and Taylor grant can be found in the Awards and grants for Members section of the YALSA web site at www.ala.org/yalsa. Applications are due Dec. 1.

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.