YALSA offers more than $35,000 in grants for conference, research and more
Contact: Stephanie Kuenn
YALSA Communications Specialist
312-280-2128
NEWS
For Immediate Release
August 25, 2009
CHICAGO - The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is announcing more than $35,000 worth of grants and awards available to YALSA members. Members can use the awards to attend ALA Annual Conference for the first time, start a research program, add to their library’s collection and much more. In addition, YALSA will award the biennial YALSA/Greenwood Publishing Group Award for outstanding achievement in teen services on a national level.
“YALSA knows it's important to recognize the work of its members. The money that YALSA gives away each year gives the division a chance to highlight the good job librarians are doing for and with teens,” said YALSA President Linda Braun. “I highly recommend that YALSA members look closely at the opportunities available and apply for one of the awards or grants. Who knows, it could be the highlight of a career or the start of a professional experience that might not otherwise have been possible.”
The deadline to apply for the following grants and awards is Dec. 1, 2009. To learn more, visit
www.ala.org/yalsa, and click on “Member Awards & Grants.”
- Baker and Taylor/YALSA Conference Grants. Funded by the Baker and Taylor Company, two grants of $1,000 each are awarded to librarians who work directly with young adults in a public or school library to enable them to attend the Annual Conference for the first time.
- BWI/YALSA Collection Development Grant. This grant awards $1,000 for collection development to YALSA members who represent a public library and who work directly with young adults ages 12 to 18. It is funded by Book Wholesalers, Inc.
- YALSA/Greenwood Publishing Group Service to Young Adults Achievement Award. This grant of $2,000 is funded by Greenwood Publishing and recognizes the national contributions of a YALSA member who has demonstrated unique and sustained devotion in two or more of the following areas to young adult services: promoting literature or programming for young adults, conducting and publishing research about young adults, mentoring other professionals in the field or for notable efforts in the work of the Young Adult Library Services Association. The purpose of the cash award will be to enable the recipient to further his or her good work in the field of young adult librarianship.
- MAE Award for Best Teen Literature Program. The MAE Award, which replaces the Sagebrush Award, is designed to honor a member of YALSA who has developed an outstanding reading or literature program for young adults. The award provides $500 to the winner and an additional $500 to the winner's library. The award is made possible through the Margaret A. Edwards Trust.
- Frances Henne/YALSA/VOYA Research Grant. The Henne grant increases this year to offer $1,000 of seed money for small-scale projects that will encourage research that responds to the YALSA Research Agenda. Funding is provided by Scarecrow Press.
- Great Book Giveaway Competition. Each year, the YALSA office receives more than 1,200 newly published children's, young adult and adult books, videos, CD's and audio cassettes for review. YALSA and the cooperating publishers offer one year's worth of review materials as a contribution to a library in need. The estimated value of this collection is $30,000.
For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, videos and audiobooks for teens. For more information about these awards or for additional lists of recommended reading, go to
www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists. For more information about YALSA, please contact us via e-mail,
yalsa@ala.org; or by phone at 1(800) 545-2433 ext. 4390.
