Fraser wins YALSA/ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Service to Young Adults Achievement Award

CHICAGO — The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA) awarded the YALSA/ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Service to Young Adults Achievement Award to Betsy Fraser.

Fraser is currently a Selector with the Calgary Public Library, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The $2,000 award, given every other year, is funded by ABC-CLIO/Greenwood and recognizes a YALSA member who has demonstrated unique and sustained devotion to young adult services through substantial work in several initiatives.

“My involvement with YALSA opened up the library field to me by allowing me to work with and learn from talented people on a wide variety of committees. This then let me use what I had learned in my system, and I continue to be informed by YALSA’s practices and strategic directions,” Fraser said. “I am honored to be considered among the recipients of this award.”

“The Greenwood Outstanding Achievement Award Jury is pleased to have selected Fraser as the 2016 recipient of this prestigious award,” said Ma’lis Wendt, chair. “Betsy's long-term achievements and sustained service to YALSA and the young adult community make her an excellent choice for this award.”

Di Herald, nominator of Betsy Fraser for this award, wrote: “Betsy’s dedication to young adult services has been obvious to me since we first served together on YALSA’s Best Books for Young Adults committee…she exhibited a passion for connecting young adults with the resources they need, love or will enjoy…she has always been a font of knowledge, a great resource, and a person from who to find sage counsel to other librarians working with teens.”

Fraser has been an ALA member for over 23 years and a YALSA member for over 20 years. She has served on many ALA and YALSA committees including the Schneider Committee; ALA Website Advisory Committee; Chair of the YALSA Summer Reading Taskforce; the Morris Award Committee; YALSA President’s Program Taskforce; Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Committee; Michael L. Printz Award Committee; YA Galley Committee; Best Books for Young Adults Committee; YALSA Teen Website Advisory Committee; YALSA Mentor; ALA Council Member; Youth Council Caucus; and Virtual Regional Advisory Board, International Member. In addition, she has served as the Chair of the Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book of the Year Award Committee and is the author of: Reality Rules: a guide to teen nonfiction reading interests Libraries Unlimited, 2008; Reality Rules II: a guide to teen nonfiction reading interests Libraries Unlimited, 2012.

Members of the 2016 YALSA/ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Service to Young Adults Achievement Award committee are Ma’lis Wendt, chair, Brooklyn, NY; Jennifer Jung Gallant, Bay Village, Ohio; Kimberly Patton, Kansas City Kansas Public Library; and Vivian Wynn, Hermitage TN.

For more than 50 years, YALSA has worked to build the capacity of libraries and library staff 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.