Freshmen in the Stacks: Adopt-A-Library Program Selects Winners
The Freshman Fifteens, a group of first-time YA authors being published in 2015, recently initiated a project to grant two libraries working with teens with a full Freshman Fifteens library—one copy of each debut—along with Freshman Fifteens swag. The Freshmen in the Stacks Adopt-a-Library program was open from March 18 to April 24. Spurred by the program’s coordinator, YA author and school librarian Jenny Martin, Capstone also added $1,000 in Capstone reward points to sweeten the prize.
“Capstone is thrilled to support the Freshman Fifteens’ contest. Championing new authors early in their careers is something the whole library community believes in. We have always stood side by side with our partners in America’s school libraries so being involved with this project just seemed like a perfect fit for us,” said Eric Fitzgerald, Capstone VP of Library Sales.
Martin added about the winners, “Though it was extremely difficult to select our grand prize winners (well over a hundred libraries applied!), we were deeply moved by the [following] applications:
Denton Creek High School, Northwest ISD, Roanoke, TX and Maggie Norris, Library Media Specialist
Norris writes that her Denton Creek teens are “all adolescent males who, while attending school, are also receiving substance abuse counseling. These young men are all away from their families for a significant period of time, and many have turned to reading to help get them through this challenging time in their lives and to help them deal with the absence of their loved ones…These kids deserve to have opportunities to learn more about themselves, their world, and how making better choices can positively impact their lives, and books are the greatest vehicle to allow them to do this.”
Davidson Reading Room, Clark County Juvenile Detention Center, Springfield, OH and Shea Ann Herzog, Librarian
Herzog’s library is inside the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center. She writes that her teens are “at-risk youth who suffer from a range of issues including neglect, emotional trauma, physical abuse, and mental illness…Our students are gifted writers, poets, artists and performers and are in desperate need of guidance to nurture their gifts and focus on creating instead of destroying.”
Thirteen additional libraries were chosen as Book Club winners, each being adopted by a different, individual Freshman Fifteen author. These individually adopted libraries will receive a Book Club Prize Pack consisting of 10 copies of their author’s book, a free Skype visit, and swag. All of the libraries chosen have great need and they encompass a diverse cross section of urban and rural libraries. For more information on these winning libraries and coverage of the author visits, see Freshman Fifteens community service page.
2015 Teens’ Top Ten Nominees Announced
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) 2015 Teens’ Top Ten official nominees have been announced. Finalists include Adi Alsaid’s Let’s Got Lost (Harlequin Teen), Kendare Blake’s Mortal Gods (Tor Teen) and Marie Lu’s The Young Elites (Putnam, all 2014). Readers across the country, ages 12–18, can vote for their favorite titles online between August 15 and the end of Teen Read Week (October 18 – 24) at www.ala.org/yalsa/reads4teens; the winners will be announced the week after.
The 2015 International Latino Book Awards Finalists Revealed
The 2015 International Latino Book Awards are now the largest Latino cultural awards in the United States with 246 finalists this year. The awards celebrates books in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Finalists are from across the United States and from 18 countries outside the country. The awards will be presented on June 27 at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis as part of the American Library Association’s Annual Meeting. The event is produced by Latino Literacy Now, an organization co-founded by Edward James Olmos and Kirk Whisler, and co-presented by Las Comadres de las Americas and REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos. Finalists in the Best Young Adult Fiction Book – English category include I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosín (S. & S.), Poli: A Mexican Boy in Early Texas by Jay Neugeboren (Texas Tech University Pr.), Silver People: Voices from the Panama Canal by Margarita Engle (HMH), The Illuminated Forest by Edwin Fontánez (Exit Studio), The Living by Matt de la Peña (Delacorte), and The Secret Side of Empty by María E. Andreu (Running Press). Check out the full list of the finalists.
Celebrate the Publication of Nowhere But Here with a Giveaway
Katie McGarry’s new novel Nowhere But Here (Harlequin Teen, 2015) tells the story of Emily and Oz. Emily—the gorgeous and sheltered daughter of the Reign of Terror motorcycle club’s most respected member—is in town, and Oz is asked by Emily’s father to keep her safe from a rival club with a score to settle. Oz knows it’s his shot at his dream to join this prestigious club. What he doesn’t count on is that Emily just might turn that dream upside down. No one wants them to be together. But sometimes the right person is the one you least expect, and the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.
Three lucky winners will receive a copy of Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry for their collections. To enter, send an email with the subject line “KATIE MCGARRY SLJ GIVEAWAY” and your name and shipping address in the body of the e-mail. Entries must be received by midnight (PDT) on May 31, 2015. Winners will be selected in a random drawing and notified via email. One entry per person, please; prizes will only be shipped to U.S. addresses.
New Teen Space for Evergreen Park (IL) Library
Thanks to a $125,000 grant from the Illinois secretary of state’s office, which oversees public libraries statewide, and a matching $125,000 from the library, the teens at Evergreen Park Library are getting their own room in the library. “We’ve got the flooring in, and it’s been painted. It’s nice, bright and colorful. The walls are off-white, but there’s teal, green, and orange striping that’s been painted on the walls and floor,” library director Nicki Seidl shared with the Chicago Tribune. She hopes the room, which will be reserved for use by teens after school, will be available for use by May.
In the daytime, it will be used for other programs or activities,” Seidl said. “There’s going to be four tables with four chairs at each table in there. And the tables will be equipped to plug in your laptop computers and work off the Wi-Fi we have here.” Mary Black, an assistant teen librarian, said the space “is beautiful” and gives the teens a “place of their own.” The grant from the state was also used to build a new computer room in the library’s northwest corner and two small study rooms nearby.
Registration Now Open for YALSA’s 2015 YA Services Symposium
YALSA has opened registration for its Young Adult Services Symposium, which will take place at the Hilton in Portland, OR, Nov. 6–8, 2015. YALSA President Chris Shoemaker commented, “In years past, YALSA’s symposium focused specifically on young adult literature. However, from 2015 forward the event will encompass all aspects of teen services. We feel this is a better fit for the needs of our members and the library community at-large.” The 2015 theme is “Bringing it All Together: Connecting Libraries, Teens & Communities.” The preliminary program and registration page are now available.
Registration for the symposium includes an opening reception on Friday evening, educational sessions on Saturday and Sunday, access to two free webinars, refreshment breaks on Saturday and Sunday, a certificate of attendance and a symposium bag.
Middle School Is Awkward: Graphic Novel Preview from Yen Press
New schools are tough; gym class is hellish; and middle school is awkward — for everyone. Whether they are in the art club or the science club, every student struggles with the same basic problems: avoiding the mean kids, mustering the courage to step out of their comfort zone, and stomaching those awful school lunches, yuck.
Awkward is a heartwarming story about two polar opposites struggling to navigate and survive those tumultuous preteen years. Enjoy a free 16-page preview of the graphic novel by award-winning author Svetlana Chmakova on Tumblr and Facebook. Awkward will be available this July..
LC Donates Books to Alabama High School Still Recovering from Tornado
Four years after an EF-5 tornado destroyed Phil Campbell High School, the school’s library continues to receive donations from other schools and organizations. The latest donor? The Library of Congress. “Without those donations I would have a pretty bare library at this point, because we lost a lot of books in the tornado,” said school librarian Sissy Moore to WHNT News.
She’s been tasked with building the library’s inventory back up from almost nothing, ever since the disaster in 2011. Moore got a special delivery from Washington DC. Through Congressman Robert Aderholt’s office, Phil Campbell High School received dozens of books from the Library of Congress. “I use the Library of Congress a lot in my cataloging, and so when I got the information that they were going to send us some books I was just so excited,” shared Moore. Since the new school opened in September 2014, she said more than 1,500 books have been donated.
Get Caught Reading Comics
This year, Get Caught Reading, the month-long, nationwide campaign to encourage literacy and embrace reading for pleasure, is highlighting comic books. Launched in 1999 and supported by the Association of American Publishers (AAP), Get Caught Reading this year will unveil several new posters during the month of May featuring well-known comic book characters that are “caught reading.” The posters are free for librarians, teachers, and parents for use in classrooms, libraries and other locations, and can be ordered online beginning May 2.
“The freedom to read is an ongoing challenge for our industry, with many seeking to censor thoughts and ideas that they don’t agree with. Comic books and graphic novels are especially likely to be challenged or even banned. We’re pleased to participate in this campaign that raises awareness of the role comic books have in our culture and supports the pleasure of reading,” said Comic Book Legal Defense Fund executive director Charles Brownstein.