I’m very honored to be part of this years President’s Program Planning Task Force for YALSA. As part of this program, we’re announcing this years Excellence in Library Services to Young Adults program which you can find out about below. If you’re a teen program who’s doing awesome things, I highly suggest you think about being part of this program. There’s a lot of great teen programs out there right now being put on by hard working librarians and this is your chance to share them with everyone!
From ALA.org:
YALSA will select up to twenty-five innovative teen programs from all types of libraries to feature at the 2013 ALA Annual Conference and to include in a sixth edition of Excellence in Library Service to Young Adults. Successful applications will focus on programs that address new teen needs or interests, or that address ongoing teen needs or interests in an innovative or unique way. The top five programs will receive cash awards of $1000 each. Up to twenty “best of the rest” programs will receive cash awards of $250. Each award will be presented to the applicant’s institution for use with future teen programs and/or for the applicant’s travel to the 2013 conference to participate in the YALSA President’s Program.
Eligibility
The program described in the application must be a library-sponsored event, inside or outside the library, which appeals to a group rather than an individual. A program can be informational, recreational, educational, or all three.
- The program described must have taken place in 2012 or be ongoing.
- The program must be targeted at teens within the 12 – 18 age range.
- All personal members of YALSA whose membership is current as of 12/17/12 are eligible to submit an application.
- Only one application per YALSA member may be submitted.
Criteria
Each application will be judged on the basis of the:
- Degree to which the program meets the needs of the teens in the community. (20 points)
- Originality of the program (creative, innovative, unique). (30 points)
- Degree to which the program reflects the ideals identified in YALSA’s national guidelines and competencies (at www.ala.org/yalsa/guidelines). (20 points)
- Overall quality of the program (well planned, promoted, organized, implemented, and evaluated). (20 points)
- Clarity of the application (10 points)
Instructions
1. The application must include a statement of support from the director of the public library, school principal, or the building-level administrator which is emailed to lsmith@ala.org.
2. Entries must be models of clarity and completeness.
3. The application must be submitted electronically via the online form at http://ow.ly/eKh40.
4. All online forms and statements of support must be received no later than midnight (eastern) Dec. 17, 2012.
5. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Announcement
The libraries selected with exemplary programs will be announced via press release the week of Feb. 4, 2013.
All of the selected programs will be invited to participate in YALSA’s President’s Program: Innovations in Teen Programming at the 2013 ALA Annual Conference. Prize money may be used to support travel and conference expenses.
All of the selected exemplary programs/services will be included in YALSA’s Excellence in Library Services to Young Adults, 6th edition, to be published in the fall of 2013.
Libraries receiving the cash awards will be recognized via press release and on the YALSA web site. A list of winning applicants will be included in the forthcoming book.
For questions contact: Letitia Smith, YALSA Membership Marketing Specialist, at lsmith@ala.org or 1.800.545.2433 x4390