ALA's Youth Divisions Head to D.C.

Leaders of the American Library Association's (ALA) youth divisions will descend on Washington, D.C., May 3–4 to urge legislators to continue federal library funding and to add language to the No Child Left Behind law about the importance of media specialists in schools.

As part of National Library Legislative Day, members of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), and the Association of Library Service to Children (ALSC) expect to meet with Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Ralph Regula (R-OH), Arlen Specter (R-PA), and other lawmakers. Discussions will also focus on the possibility of extending federal Head Start monies to public libraries, which often collaborate with the literacy program, said former ALSC president Cynthia Richey at ALA's midwinter meeting in Boston.

Some 13,230 members and exhibitors attended this year's meeting, held January 14–19, and there were many events related to children's services. A sold-out AASL preconference workshop, "Leading Through Collaboration," led by library consultant Betty Bankhead, helped participants identify surefire ways to gain the attention of teachers and administrators. Bankhead also outlined professional goals—such as joining a school's curriculum planning team and offering the best research practices—to help librarians become leaders in their schools.

AASL's Teaching for Learning Committee began preparations for a three-day fall seminar in 2006 on the teaching role of media specialists. Although details are still being finalized, workshops will focus on elementary, middle, and high schools and will be open to all school librarians, says AASL President Dawn Vaughn. The division plans to release a list of best practices for media specialists who teach reading in schools at ALA's annual conference in June.

ALSC's task force on school library cooperative projects was hard at work preparing for its upcoming presentations at ALA's annual and AASL's biennial conference in October. The focus will be on great collaborative ideas between public and school libraries on issues ranging from collections and homework help to children with special needs, Richey says. Also keep an eye out for an upcoming ALSC–sponsored "@ your library" campaign geared toward kids from pre–K to grade 12, which will offer a toolkit and sample programs.

ALSC also unveiled two new awards at the midwinter meeting: the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, which will be presented annually starting next year to both the author and illustrator of an outstanding book for beginning readers, and the $4,000 Maureen Hayes Award, which starting in 2006 will fund an author or illustrator visit to a public or school library in a low-income area.

Meanwhile, YALSA awarded the 2005 Margaret A. Edwards Award to Francesca Lia Block for her contributions to young adult readers. Block was cited for her Weetzie Bat books, which help teens understand the world in which they live.