YALSA names winners of BWI/YALSA Collection Development Grant
Contact: Stephanie Kuenn
Communications Specialist, YALSA
(312) 280-2128
skuenn@ala.org
For Immediate Release,
January 29, 2008
YALSA names winners of BWI/YALSA Collection Development Grant
CHICAGO - Sarah Daviau of the Lincoln County Public Libraries in Libby, Mont., and Joan Light-Kraft of the Montrose Regional Library District of Montrose, Colo., won the 2008 BWI/YALSA Collection Development Grant, administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association, the fastest-growing division of the American Library Association (ALA).
Each receives a grant of $1,000, donated by BWI, for collection development. The grant is awarded to YALSA members who represent a public library and work directly with young adults ages 12-18.
Daviau is the adult public services librarian at the Lincoln County Public Libraries, located in northwest Montana. The system serves 19,000 residents through libraries located in Libby, Troy and Eureka. The county still qualifies for frontier status and many of its young people are home-schooled or attend one-room schoolhouses. Daviau wrote,"Because such students do not have access to a school library, the public libraries are their primary source of research and recreational materials. Also, programs such as the YA Summer Reading Club encourage heavy use of the YA collection." Daviau intends to build her nonfiction collection in various ways, including college and scholarship guides, books on the creative arts and career information. "You have made the young adults in three communities very happy by awarding us this grant," Daviau said.
Light-Kraft is a reference librarian for the Montrose Regional Library District, which serves four communities from a 500-square-foot library, the second smallest in Colorado. A new library will open in early 2008. Currently, the library has fewer than 100 books. "We desperately need help building a collection of current books," wrote Light-Kraft. She plans on using the grant to improve the young adult collection through the addition of contemporary fiction, nonfiction, college preparation books and manuals, DVDs, audiobooks and Spanish language materials.
BWI Collection Development Grant Jury members agreed this year's pool of strong applicants made selection challenging. This year's jury members are: Roxy Ekstrom, chair, Schaumburg Township (Ill.) District Library; Jennifer Duffy, King County Library System, Issaquah, Wash.; Jessica Fenster-Sparber, Passages Academy, New York; Michelle Roberts, New York; and Jessica Ulrich, Roseville (Calif.) Public Library.
The application form and information for next year's BWI/YALSA Collection Development Grant are available on the YALSA Web site,
www.ala.org/yalsa.
Applications must be received in the YALSA office by Dec. 1. For more information contact the YALSA office, 800-545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail
YALSA@ala.org.
For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, videos, and audio books for teens. For more information about YALSA or for lists of recommended reading, viewing and listening, go to
www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists, or contact the YALSA office by phone, 800-545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail
yalsa@ala.org.
