YALSA to lead transformation of teen library services with new three-year organizational plan

CHICAGO — The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA) has adopted a three-year organizational plan aimed at encouraging the transformation of teen library services.

The three-year plan, which will be implemented starting this year through 2018, was constructed in response to the new vision for teen services presented in YALSA’s report, The Future of Library Services for and with Teens: A Call to Action, which emphasized that while the need for teens to build 21^st century skills to succeed in college, careers and life has become increasingly high, not all libraries are well-equipped to help teens achieve this. With this in mind, the organizational plan was structured to focus on the following priority areas:

• Leading the transformation of teen library services
• Advocacy to policy makers at all levels to increase support for teen library services
• Funder and partner development

With the three-year plan, YALSA hopes to better support the library community by initiating the transformation of teen library services and forming a solid foundation that the library community can build and prosper upon through various projects, resources, grants, and more.

Learn more, read the full organizational plan, and access a list of frequently asked questions here. In addition, YALSA Board members will be providing updates and sharing thoughts on the new plan on the YALSAblog via the “YALSA Info” section of the site. Individuals interested in getting involved in implementing services and programs related to the plan are encouraged to fill out this brief form.

Individuals attending the 2016 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, FL have the special opportunity to attend an open session about YALSA and the organizational plan titled, What's New in YALSA & How You Can be a Part of It, on Saturday, June 25 from 8:30-10:00am at the Rosen Centre Hotel, Salon 03/04. View a full list of YALSA’s programs and events on its wiki page.

The mission of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is to support library staff in alleviating the challenges teens face, and in putting all teens ‒ especially those with the greatest needs ‒ on the path to successful and fulfilling lives. 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.