YALSA/Sagebrush Award for a Young Adult Reading or Literature Program winner announced
Contact: Nichole Gilbert
YALSA
312-280-4387
For Immediate Release
January 24, 2006
YALSA/Sagebrush Award for a Young Adult Reading or Literature Program winner announced
CHICAGO - The 2006 Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)/Sagebrush Award for a Young Adult Reading or Literature Program was awarded to Vaunda Nelson, the teen librarian at the Rio Rancho Public Library in Rio Rancho, N.M. Nelson won the award for the
Lights! Camera! Books! 2005 Teen Summer Reading Program.
The six-week reading program tied the theme of books and movies together with a fresh new take. Through teen participation, Nelson and her Teen Advisory Group, created a commercial promoting the reading program for each of the schools. The reading program was based on reading different genres and by the number of pages read by a teen. Nelson used weekly raffle incentives as a motivator for the teen book reviews in which teens gave books stars as well as Oscar nominations for titles that would make great movies. Each week held a special program that incorporated the library collection and the theme of the summer reading program. This program was a great success and deserves “two thumbs up!”
The YALSA/Sagebrush Award provides $1,000 to support the recipient's attendance at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference to be held in June in New Orleans, La. Each year the corporation offers a maximum of two awards that allow the winners to promote their local projects at the conference. Each winning project must promote reading or literature to teens in a significant, replicable program.
The YALSA/Sagebrush Award is selected by the YALSA Outreach to Young Adults with Special Needs Committee. The 2006 committee members are: Kristin Fletcher-Spear, Glendale (Ariz.) Public Library; Amy Cheney, Alameda County (Calif.) Library; Marijo Kist, Phoenix (Ariz.) Public Library; Amy Long, Harford County (Md.) Library; Andrea Purdy, Wake County (N.C.) Public Library; Ruth Shaw, Anchorage (Alaska) School District; Bette Silverman, Lincolnwood (Ill.) Public Library; Stephanie Squicciarini, Fairport (N.Y.) Public Library; Kelly Vikstrom, Enoch Pratt (Baltimore) Free Library; and Tracy Bynum, L.E. Rader Treatment Center School (Sand Springs, Okla.).
YALSA is the fastest growing division of the American Library Association (ALA).
For more information, visit the YALSA Web site at
www.ala.org/yalsa or contact the YALSA office: e-mail
yalsa@ala.org; phone 800-545-2433, ext. 4390.
