Become a Friend of YALSA

Our Mission | How to Donate | How Funds are Used | More Information | Previous Friends of YALSA

Our Mission

Friends of YALSA was created in 2005 to ensure excellence in the Association's traditional programs and services to library workers serving teens and to support growth in new directions as our profession meets the exciting challenges of the 21st century.

Each year, FOY funds are used to support over $16,000 in member scholarships, grants and stipends, including a Spectrum Scholarship and Emerging Leader. When additional FOY funds become available, YALSA's Board also directs FOY funds to support the following areas:

Advocacy: educating members, library workers, the general public and policy makers about the importance of providing excellent library services to teens, and the critical role that library workers and libraries play in helping teens develop key literacy skills and a lifelong appreciation of reading.
Continuous Learning: creating opportunities for all members and library workers to grow through grants, providing scholarships to those in need and offering distance learning and institutes.
Planning for the Future:helping to attract new members and retain existing ones, creating public awareness campaigns, planning and carrying out new initiatives to pursue excellence in library service to young adults, and more.
Research: guiding and promoting research in the field of young adult librarianship through grants, publications, and other means to ensure that the field of librarianship has the necessary knowledge to meet the needs of teens.
Teen Literacies: sponsoring literacy initiatives such as Teen Read Week, YALSA’s booklists and book awards, and guaranteeing YALSA's place in the forefront of our nation's adolescent literacies campaigns.

How to Donate

Make your tax-deductible donation in either of the following ways:

Donate by credit card at the ALA Development Office's secure website. (Fill in the amount you would like to donate in the YALSA box of the "ALA Divisions and Offices" section).
Send a contribution by mail, using the printable mail-in form (PDF). Complete the form and mail it back with your donation to: Friends of YALSA, 225 N Michigan Ave, Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60601.
Set up a recurring donation via the Network for Good's secure website. (In the "Designation" box, type "YALSA").

How Funds Are Used

The Friends of YALSA supports $15,000+ worth of member grants, awards and scholarships each year, which support efforts such as:

sponsoring Spectrum Scholars
sponsoring Emerging Leaders
sending YALSA members to ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition

For More Information

For more information about Friends of YALSA, contact the YALSA office at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4390, or via email at yalsa@ala.org.