For immediate release | August 15, 2011

Take information literacy to the next level in YALSA’s "From 140 Characters to 10 Pages webinar"

CHICAGO — Social media has altered the information landscape by expanding the flow of information from books, newspapers and journals to instant reports from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. How can librarians help teens navigate these information streams and learn to separate the wheat from the chaff? Join YALSA for “From 140 Characters to 10 Pages: Teens, Social Media and Information Literacy.” This webinar will be presented by Laura Pearle on Aug. 18 at 2 p.m. EDT.

Pearle will discuss how school and public librarians can help their teens use social media for research projects. She’ll explore ways to help teens locate appropriate material in social media streams as well as determine the validity of the source material. Participants will learn how to create research-focused Twitter hashtag lists for students and how to assist students in citing information from social media sources. She will also discuss how librarians can help teens become good digital citizens when contributing to social media streams.

Registration is now open at www.ala.org/yalsa/webinars. Webinars cost $29 for students, $39 for individual YALSA members, $49 for all other individuals and $195 for groups (all participants watch in the same location). Questions can be sent to Eve Gaus, YALSA’s program officer for continuing education, at egaus@ala.org or 1 (800) 545-2433, ext. 5293.

For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, videos and audiobooks 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.

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