Bohn wins YALSA’s MAE Award for Best Literature Program for Teens
Contact: Stephanie Kuenn
Communications Specialist
312-280-2128
NEWS
For Immediate Release
January 26, 2010
CHICAGO — The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) named Susan Bohn the winner of the 2010 MAE Award for Best Literature Program for Teens. The MAE Award provides $500 to the recipient and $500 to the recipient’s library and is sponsored by the Margaret A. Edwards Trust.
Bohn, a school librarian, implemented the Animania program at the Hononegah Community High School (HCHS) in Rockton, Ill. The Animania program attracted reluctant readers to the library and provided an opportunity for student involvement. The program brought students together and inspired the creation of a permanent club that focused on anime and manga.
The Animania program started when Susan noticed the popularity of manga within the HCHS’s student community. She observed that manga attracted a variety of students, including reluctant readers, to the library. With some student assistance, Susan created the Animania program to encourage reading. The school’s principal supported the program, happy that the club provided an extracurricular connection to the school. Susan has planned a variety of Animania programs focusing on manga, including a book swap, trivia, contests and creating a club t-shirt. These programs led to the creation of the school’s Anime Club, a group that assists with planning of library manga programs and collection development.
“Reading is most often a solitary activity, and this group of students has found a way to share their appreciation for this genre,” Susan Bohn noted in her winning application. “The text on the t-shirt design the students selected says a lot about the attitude they have toward their newly founded club: ‘Welcome to the Family.’”
“The committee was impressed by Susan’s Animania program success. Her literature program not only attracted reluctant readers but is helping to create lifelong readers,” said Alexandra Tyle-Annen, chair of the MAE Award. “I am pleased to hear such incredible things are being done for and by teens.”
The 2010 YALSA/MAE Award Jury members are Alexandra Tyle-Annen, chair, Homer Township Public Library; Mary Elizabeth Burkey, Oletangy Local Schools; Kate Pickett, Johnson County Library; Drue Annen Wagner-Mees, Los Angeles Public Library; and Bailey Raquel Ortiz, Lucy Robbins Welles Library.
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.
