Book Wholesalers, Inc. / YALSA Collection Development Grant winners announced
Contact: Nichole Gilbert
312-280-4387
For Immediate Release
January 21, 2005
Book Wholesalers, Inc./YALSA Collection Development Grant
winners announced
CHICAGO - Kimberly Archer, the coordinator of Young Adult Services at the Sterling Municipal Library (Baytown, Texas) and Christa Gunderson, a reference library assistant at New Bern-Craven County Public Library (New Bern, N.C.) have been named winners of the Book Wholesalers, Inc. /Young Adult Library Services Award Collection Development Grant, administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).
The grant, $1,000 donated by Book Wholesalers, Inc., is for collection development and is given to YALSA members who represent a public library and who work directly with young adults ages 12-18. The grant was announced at the ALA Midwinter Meeting, January 14-19, 2005 in Boston.
The first recipient is Sterling Municipal Library, located in the Houston area and serving a young adult population of 6,402. Its recently established young adult program has produced a 45% increase in circulation of their young adult materials. As part of establishing Teen Central, the Sterling Municipal Library offers teens programs and volunteer opportunities.
After surveying the local teens, Archer determined that the overwhelming majority were interested in current nonfiction subjects. She plans to use the grant to increase the amount of popular nonfiction in the collection, concentrating on the topics most requested by the teens.
The second recipient is the New Bern - Craven County Public Library, which is the only site in the region that provides young adult programs. The current young adult collection is only 888 items for a young adult population of approximately 5,300. In spite of this limitation, Gunderson has increased the circulation of these materials by 56%, started a Teen Advisory Board and offered a variety of programs, including Teen Read Week
TM and Book Bingo.
When speaking about her plans for the grant, Gunderson says, "[It will allow] us to build on the interest that has been generated in our Young Adult Program. Our teen patrons are excited about having a voice in building the YA collection."
This year's committee members are: Jody Sharp, chair, Baltimore County Public Library (Md.); Barbara Blosveren, Stratford Library Association (Conn.); Theresa Borzumato, Random House (N.Y.); Sandra Brown, Knowledge, Trends & Ideas (Conn.); Jennifer M. Duffy, King County Library System (Wash.); Roxy L. Ekstrom, Schaumburg Township District Library (Ill.); Phyllis D. Fisher (N.Y.); David Hrivnak, Peoples Library (Pa.); Judy Sasges, Sno-Isle Libraries (Wash.); and Lisa Von Drasek, Bank Street College of Education (N.Y.)
