Amelia Shelley is the winner of the 2005 YALSA/Sagebrush Award
Contact: Nichole Gilbert
312-280-4387
For Immediate Release
January 21, 2005
Amelia Shelley is the winner of the 2005 YALSA/Sagebrush Award
CHICAGO - The 2005 Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)/Sagebrush Award for a Young Adult Reading or Literature Program was awarded to Amelia J. Shelley, the youth and outreach services division manager at the Laramie County Library System in Cheyenne, Wyo. Shelley won the award for literacy work at the Wyoming Latina Youth Conference (WLYC).
For the past two years, Laramie County Library System has participated in the statewide Wyoming Latina Youth Conference by providing books and bibliographies to all attendees. Library teens assisted in the selection of the books and looked for the most appealing books, as well as books that addressed pertinent issues in their lives with an emphasis on Latino authors. By giving the books to the teen conference attendees, the library creates both a positive attitude towards reading, as well as puts books into the hands and homes of at-risk teens.
The YALSA/Sagebrush Award provides $1,000 to support the recipient's attendance at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference, to be held June 23-29 in Chicago. Each year the corporation offers a maximum of two awards that allow the winners to promote reading or literature to teens in a significant, replicable program.
The YALSA Outreach to Young Adults with Special Needs Committee of ALA selects the YALSA/Sagebrush Award. The 2005 committee members are: Kristin Fletcher-Spear, Glendale Public Library (Ariz.); Tracy Hale, L. E. Rader Treatment Center School (Sand Springs, Okla.); Marijo Kist, Phoenix Public Library (Ariz.); Marc Laslow, Caesar Rodney High School (Camden, Del.); Maren Ostergard, King County Library System (Wash.); Katherine Richter, Chicago Public Library (Ill.); Bette Silverman, Lincolnwood Public Library (Ill.); Stephanie Squicciarini, Fairport Public Library (N.Y.); Patricia Suellentrop, Johnson County Library (Kan.); and Lisa Youngblood, Harker Heights Public Library (Texas).
For more information, visit the YALSA website at
www.ala.org/yalsa or contact the YALSA office: e-mail
yalsa@ala.org; phone 800-545-2433, ext. 4390.
