ALSC/YALSA Reunification FAQs

After many years of effort by ALA and YALSA members, YALSA remains financially unsustainable, with 8 of the last 10 years running in an operational deficit. Consequently, ALA is pursuing the reunification of YALSA with the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). This means that YALSA will be dissolved from a governance perspective, and member activities will be transitioned into ALSC.  

While ALA remains committed to meeting the needs of practitioners in the fields of children’s and teen services, we know that this news will come with many questions from YALSA members. 

Please see the FAQs below for more details and to learn how to submit your feedback to the YALSA Board and staff as we work towards the reunification of ALSC and YALSA. 

Reunification Details and Timeline

What will the division be named?

The incoming, reunified 2026-2027 Board will undertake the process of determining the new:

  • Vision
  • Mission
  • Strategic Plan
  • Division Name

The process will include member input.

How are you aligning the organization's focus?

The new division's committee structure will represent the needs and interests of practitioners working with children, tweens, and teens. Also, a new division journal will focus on children's, tween, and teen services.

The 2026 National Institute this fall includes a teen services track and a stand-alone Teen Services Development Day immediately preceding the Institute. This will be a working preview for future Institutes, which will include content focused on services for young people aged 0 to 18.

ALSC and YALSA members and staff have been working together for years in the realm of book and media awards, co-administering the Belpre (with REFORMA) and Odyssey (with Booklist), and producing the annual Youth Media Awards.

How is division staff capacity being addressed?

While it’s true that staff time is stretched and limited, there are opportunities for sharing the workload. For instance:

  • There is a staffing plan in progress that ultimately will aim to support board-identified areas of work.
  • The 2026-2027 Board will be setting its direction with resources in mind.
  • The Board will also revisit committee work plans
  • ALSC’s Priority Group Consultants* (PGCs) have been a strong resource this year and will continue to be after reunification
  • Our board, task forces, working groups, committees, and PGCs will have an active role in updating policies, committee process, award manuals, bylaws, etc.

*Each ALSC committee is assigned to a distinctive category (“Priority Group”), based on its overall focus:

  • Advocacy
  • Youth Media Lists
  • Professional Awards and Scholarships
  • Organizational Support
  • Awards
  • Professional Development

Each group of committees is overseen by a Priority Group Consultant who serves as liaison between the ALSC Board and committee chairs and between the ALSC Office and committee chairs. Consultants support committees and help find answers to their questions.

How Was Reunification Decided Upon? 

Since December 2023, ALA has utilized a shared staffing model to support YALSA when ALSC’s Executive Director stepped in as YALSA’s Interim Executive Director, while continuing to hold the Executive Director position in ALSC. This was a short-term solution to a longer-term challenge as YALSA has carried a net-deficit budget for more than three years. 

ALA has been in conversation with YALSA and ALSC’s Executive Committees, discussing possible options to reunify the divisions, since historically, teen and children’s services were housed under one division (read more on ALSC’s History here and YALSA’s History here).  The parting had been amicable and recognized the growth of teen services and the expanded member work in dedicated teen spaces in their libraries, but this is no longer a sustainable model.   

Through the recent conversations, ALSC leadership resolved that ALSC is open to including teen services in the spectrum of the division's programming. Both divisions have considered many ways to define this new relationship, and both agree that “reuniting” is a strong path forward, given that ALSC and YALSA were a combined unit many years ago. Reuniting ALSC and YALSA is an integral part of the ALA Forward initiative, an effort that aims to optimize how we work together, align our structure with strategic goals, and empower ALA to deliver even greater value to members and libraries. 

Why is YALSA pursing reunification over other options? 

YALSA and ALSC’s Executive Committees have identified clear advantages to reunification, including: 

  • Reuniting will allow ALA to continue providing over 2500 YALSA members with dedicated resources and opportunities to support teen library services and expand ALSC’s collaborative efforts from children through teens.  
  • Cost savings to members who currently hold both ALSC and YALSA memberships (roughly 30% of members). 
  • A continued shared staffing model, which ALA has seen positive results with so far, and overlap with membership. 
  • Combining staffing resources while still maintaining a distinction between teen and children’s services and familiarity with the programs, services, awards, and other projects unique to each division. 

Will Teen Services still have a unique space within ALA? 

Yes – while ALSC has traditionally been the home for library service to children from birth through eighth grade, ALSC leadership is working towards ensuring that a unique space for teen services is maintained during the reunification process. ALSC is reassessing and re-envisioning  many of its programs and member benefits. 

Reuniting will require discussions on how best to brand and promote the reunited unit. A timeline for this work has not yet been determined. 

What is the timeline for reunification? 

The proposal for the dissolution of YALSA and reunification with ALSC has already been submitted to ALA’s Committee on Organization (COO), and we have an aggressive but optimistic timeline: 

  • Mid-June 2025 - COO submits final proposal to ALA Council  
  • End of June 2025 at Annual Conference - ALA Council votes twice to approve proposal   
  • September 1, 2025 – August 31, 2026 will be a transition year inclusive of:  

Collecting member input to determine division priorities and what members would like to see retained from YALSA’s current structure and programming slate. This will include opportunities for members to give feedback via a survey, membership meetings at ALA Annual Conferences in 2025 and 2026, community forums, and focus groups; 

Aligning staffing with ALSC and YALSA division priorities; 

Managing transitions on internal systems (finance/budgeting, membership databases, etc.); 

Building the FY27 budget to reflect planned projects, activities, and current endowments. 

  • August 31, 2026 - Dissolution of YALSA effective  
  • September 1, 2026 – Reunification effective  

Membership and Dues

My YALSA membership is up for renewal before September 1, 2026. What are my options?

During these final months leading up to reunification, we have heard a number of questions arise related to membership renewal. And, adding a bit of confusion--the messaging on the shopping cart interface used for the ALA membership/renewal process does not currently reference the ALSC/YALSA reunification. To help provide more clarity, the following renewal options may be considered:

  • YALSA members who are due to renew between now and August 31 may choose to renew their YALSA membership or join ALSC.
  • Members holding both YALSA and ALSC memberships may choose to renew one or both; either option provides access to needed resources.

All YALSA memberships, as of September 1, 2026, will transfer to ALSC memberships. (Note that although memberships will be under the ALSC brand for the next year or so, this is only until such time as the division rebranding process is complete and a new name is rolled out as approved by members).

Division membership rates are as follows:

ALSC annual membership
Individual Type I -  $55
Individual Type II  -  $38
Student - $22

YALSA annual membership
Individual Type I -  $62
Individual Type II  -  $27
Student - $27

What will happen to my YALSA membership after dissolution? 

After the dissolution of YALSA on August 31, 2026, any active YALSA memberships will automatically convert to an ALSC membership. When it is time to renew your membership, you will renew as a member of the newly reunified division.  

Will I receive any rebate or proration on my YALSA membership if I renew or become a YALSA member after September 1, 2025? 

ALA will not be providing prorated memberships or rebates for YALSA memberships, even if the timeframe in which you become a member of YALSA or renew YALSA membership is less than the typical one-year cycle. 

What will happen if I am a member of both ALSC and YALSA?  

After the dissolution of YALSA on August 31, 2026, your ALSC membership will remain active – however, your YALSA membership will cease to exist.  

We are still determining what this will mean in terms of access to past member-only YALSA materials and other resources. As mentioned above, ALA will not be providing prorated memberships or rebates for YALSA memberships, even if the timeframe in which you become a member of YALSA or renew YALSA membership is less than the typical one-year cycle. 

Will membership dues change for the reunified division? 

Membership dues will be reviewed by the ALSC and YALSA boards during the transition year. 

YALSA Programs, Awards, and Committees

What will the committee structure look like?

The general breakdown will be:

  • Book & Media Award Committees
  • Process/Strategic Committees
  • Sections and Interest Groups (format and implementation under consideration)

More specifically, the work of most existing committees will continue in some form, through merging existing committees or the creation of a new committee. Reunification has required us to assess committees for similarities and overlap in scope. The ALSC Organizational Effectiveness (OE) and YALSA Organization and Bylaws (O&B) committees have worked together, reflecting on their individual work and determining the best course for bringing the two groups together into one cohesive committee in structure and charge.

The work of these two organizational committees became a model for other ALSC and YALSA committees with similar charges and/or related interests. Numerous committees met in February and early March to discuss possibilities for newly configured, inclusive committees, sections, and interest groups. In March, committees completed a survey for O&B and OE, who are compiling and reviewing the results.  By June 2026, OE & O&B will submit updated committee/member group charges, compositions, and names to the Board for consideration.

How are you ensuring that the new board and committees represent the expanded service range (0-18 years)?

The new, 2026-2029 officers announced this month were elected from a slate selected by the ALSC Nominating committee in collaboration with YALSA leadership. The slate included candidates who are joint members of ALSC and YALSA, as well as candidates from YALSA membership who were recommended by YALSA leadership. The 2026-2027 vice president/president-elect is a joint member of ALSC and YALSA.

While specific committee placements are never guaranteed, the ALSC appointing officer is committed to working with volunteers to find appropriate, desirable spots for as many as possible.

We encourage members to consider submitting a volunteer application to join a process committee and contribute to the inaugural reunification year.

YALSA-only members: Please submit a YALSA volunteer application. It will be forwarded to the ALSC appointments team for consideration. Every effort will be made to match you with a comparable committee post-reunification.

ALSC volunteer form
YALSA volunteer form

Is TeenTober happening in 2025?

Development of new materials and dedicated efforts to promote TeenTober are on hold as ALSC and YALSA determine priority projects to move forward as part of the reunification. An existing toolkit for TeenTober, graphics, and merchandise are available for those who wish to highlight opportunities to engage teens and to advocate for and raise awareness of the importance of year-round teen services in libraries - check out the dedicated TeenTober page for more information.

Please check back in late summer 2026 for more information on TeenTober.  

How will the reunification affect YALSA Awards?

YALSA awards and award committees will continue to operate as they do now.

What is happening with the YMAs?

The Youth Media Awards (YMA’s) will be held in person on January 26, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. CST in Chicago, IL at the Hilton Chicago. Registration to attend the in-person announcements will be required and made available in December 2025. The announcements will also be livestreamed for those who are unable to attend in person.  

Through August 31, 2026 ALSC and YALSA awards will continue to operate out of their respective independent divisions. As of September 1, 2027, all awards will operate out of the newly reunified division.  

All programming for both ALSC and YALSA is being examined during this transition year. The awards are an integral part of both divisions and ALA. We anticipate that many of the awards will continue to be conferred going forward. 

How reunification will affect policies and procedures for awards, including whether in-person attendance will be required for deliberation, will be determined prior to the start of 2028 awards work. 

If you have been appointed to a 2027 awards committee and have questions about how reunification will affect your work, please contact your committee chair.

What will happen with the division journals?

In line with reunification, a new quarterly journal will launch in Spring 2028, focusing on the professional development needs and interests of library workers serving patrons ages 0 to 18 and their families.

ALSC and YALSA’s existing journals—Children and Libraries (CAL), Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults (JRLYA), and Young Adult Library Services (YALS)—will all be retired.

The final issue of CAL will be Winter 2026 (V24, n4), released in December 2026. The final issue of JRLYA will be published by August 31, 2026.

In 2027, as the new publication is being developed, stand-alone articles and columns will be delivered to members intermittently to fill the gap.

Archived issues of CAL will continue to be available online at Open Journal Systems. Archived issues of JRLYA and YALS currently are available on the YALSA website and ALA’s Institutional Repository (IR). The ultimate goal is to move all archived issues of the three journals to the ALAIR.

What is happening to YALSA's Committees?

Through the 2025-2026 committee term, ALSC and YALSA committees will continue to operate under their respective divisions. Much of the committee work will be focused on developing content for existing outlets (blog posts, journal articles, webinars) and contributing input on reunification efforts. Additionally, during this time, ALSC and YALSA staff, member leaders, and the Reunification Working Group are considering opportunities to reorganize ALSC and YALSA committees, including sunsetting committees that no longer meet the needs of the newly reunified division and combining committees that serve similar purposes. More information will be available in the upcoming months. 

I am a YALSA member. Will I be able to vote in the upcoming elections for the new board?

Because YALSA is dissolving, there will be no election for YALSA in 2026. ALSC will hold elections for the upcoming committee / service year. Any YALSA member wanting to vote in the upcoming elections for division leaders will need to also become an ALSC member, if they do not already hold joint membership.

The ALSC and YALSA Nominating Committees have worked in tandem to develop a slate that includes members who may run for office with ALSC (ALSC members) but who also have a YALSA membership and a commitment to teen services. 

I've heard about work surrounding ALA Forward - what is it?

As you may have heard, ALA is embarking on a new strategic initiative – ALA Forward – to ensure the sustainability of the organization. ALSC and YALSA reunification is part of this work, as well as a wider assessment of all ALA programs and products, and the organizational structure within ALA. ALA will provide updates on ALA Forward work, as they become available. 

How can I be Involved and submit my feedback? 

We know that this news is a lot to take in and we understand this may come as a surprise. Please be assured that ALA leadership and your division leadership are cognizant of the benefits and challenges of this new relationship, and we are all committed to ensuring the priorities of both divisions are upheld.  

Additional steps for reunification will include opportunities during the transition year for members to give feedback via a member survey, during membership meetings at ALA Annual Conferences in 2025 and 2026, virtual community forums, and virtual focus groups. 

The full year transition through 2025-2026 is built in to address the deliberate efforts to seek member input and to expand the work within ALSC in a way that is least disruptive to existing programming, activities, and staff capacity. ALA is committed to supporting the transition work by providing additional staff support from across other ALA units, including the Membership, Finance & Accounting, IT, and Communications offices.