John, Paul, George, and YALSA

Back in 1957, John Lennon started his first band, the Quarrymen, while across the pond a handful of librarians formed another group: the Young Adult Services Division (YASD). Lennon's foursome, of course, went on to become the most famous rock band in history, while YASD—although it never produced any top-40 hits—has gone on to have an impact on teens' lives for generations.

Like the Beatles, YASD went through a name change—today we know it as YALSA or the Young Adult Library Services Association—a major reorganization, and some bumps in the road. But its mission, “to advocate, promote, and strengthen” services to teens in libraries, remains unchanged. While YALSA's members didn't actually invent teen services, they've certainly made their organization synonymous with the whole idea.

If YALSA's work over 50 years had to be summed up in one word, it would be passion—a passion for ensuring that teens will find a place in the library. And that once they get there, they'll come across materials they'll find compelling, from great entertainment for a Saturday afternoon to a book that just might change their lives forever (thanks to YALSA's many lists and awards). And YALSA has kept pace with the times, bringing graphic novels, gaming, and social networking into library services. They even brought in teens as advisors and planners (what a concept!).

YALSA's ability to reinvent itself helps give the organization its edge—after all, how many divisions of the American Library Association (ALA) would partner with World Wrestling Entertainment? Maybe that's one of the reasons YALSA is the fastest growing division of ALA.

Which is why we decided to celebrate YALSA's silver anniversary with a timeline, mixing its accomplishments and key players with teen culture over the last 50 years. Does this anniversary mean that YALSA's middle-aged? Not on your life. For YALSA, 50 isn't the new 30, it's the new 15.

1957. The Young Adult Services Division (YASD) is created as a separate division within the American Library Association (ALA). Mildred Batchelder serves as first executive secretary to YASD and the Children's Library Association.

1957. Jane Scott McClure, who began her career at the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, is elected first president of YASD.

1957. Margaret Edwards, often called the Mother of Young Adult Librarians, wins the Grolier Award, created to honor “unusual contribution to the stimulation and guidance of reading by children and young people.”

1957. ALA publishes Elinor Walker's Book Bait: Detailed Notes on Adult Books Popular with Young People.

1959. The booklist Outstanding Fiction is created for college-bound students.

1960. YASD introduces teens to other cultures with the release of its Richer by Asia booklist. African Encounter follows in 1965.

1960. YASD sends delegates to the Golden Anniversary White House Conference on Children and Youth, along with copies of its publication Youth in a Changing World in Fiction and Fact.

1960. Thirteen African-American high school students enter Danville, Virginia's segregated main library, refusing to leave.

1960. ALA's Committee on Standards for Work with Young Adults publishes Young Adult Services in the Public Library.

1963. Knapp School Libraries Project, which set up model media centers throughout the country, is created with funds from the Knapp Foundation. The final report by Peggy Sullivan is published in 1968.

1964. YASD launches a list called Books for Slow High School Readers. Ten years later, its name is changed to Quick Picks.

1965. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is passed. Title II of the act provides funds for the purchase of library materials and textbooks.

1966. YASD holds its first preconference, “Two Blocks Apart,” at ALA's annual conference in New York City, sponsored by its Disadvantaged Committee.

1966. YASD produces Guidelines for Young Adult Services in Public Libraries.

1967. YASD cosponsors a preconference on “Intellectual Freedom and the Teenager” with ALA's Intellectual Freedom Committee at ALA's annual conference in San Francisco.

1968. Daniel Fader publishes Hooked on Books: Program and Proof.

1969. The Fair Garden and the Swarm of Beasts: The Library and the Young Adult by Margaret A. Edwards is released.

1971. YASD presents a preconference on “The Young Adult in the Media World,” focusing on audiovisual materials at ALA's annual conference in Dallas.

1972. Thomas Alford, director of Benton Harbor (MI) Public Library, becomes the first African American to serve as YASD's president.

1974. Young adults begin designing the cover of the annual Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA) list, which is distributed in many schools.

1974. Title IV of ESEA consolidates funding for public and private schools and dilutes support for school library purchases of materials and hardware.

1975. School Library Journal becomes a separate publication from Library Journal, the nation's oldest independent library publication.

1975. At YASD's “Book You” preconference at ALA Annual Conference, fifteen years of Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA) selections are analyzed to produce “Best of the Best: Still Alive in '75,” the first of many such exercises.

1975. YASD Committee revises all five booklists, Outstanding Fiction, Biography, Theater, Nonfiction, Poetry.

1975. Evie Wilson and Michael McCue, new YA librarians, attend YASD's preconference “Book You!” at ALA's annual conference in San Francisco, during which participants discuss the previous 15 years of selections for Best Books for Young Adults and create a list of 100 books that's called “Still Alive in '75.”

1977. YASD produces Directions for Library Service to Young Adults.

1978. “The Young Adult Perplex” column by Patty Campbell begins in Wilson Library Bulletin.

1978. Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) begins publication.

1983. A manual called Youth Participation in School Libraries is published by the National Commission on Resources for Youth.

1984. The first edition of Outstanding Books for the College Bound is released.

1985. Librarians bring teens to the BBYA meeting at ALA's midwinter meeting in Washington, DC, the first time young people provide direct input to committee members. The practice becomes an annual tradition three years later.

1986. You Are Not Alone!: Intellectual Freedom Issues and Library Services to Youth best describes the role of YASD's publishing—to reach out to YA librarians who want a professional partner in their daily lives.

1987. Top of the News is renamed Journal of Youth Services in Libraries (JOYS).

1988. The Margaret A. Edwards Award (previously called the Author Achievement Award) honors a living author or coauthor whose books have spoken to young adults over a period of time. The award is administered by YASD and sponsored by SLJ.

1988. JOYS becomes a refereed journal in an attempt to meld the pleasure of working with children and young adults with academic research.

1988. National Center for Education Statistics releases its first national survey of YA services in public libraries.

1989. YALSA's Intellectual Freedom Committee publishes Hit List: Frequently Challenged Books for Young Adults.

1990. YASD's preconference “Just Say Know: Meeting the Information Needs of Young Adults” is presented at ALA's annual conference in Chicago, where a group of students from Topeka West High School in Kansas energize the meeting with their passionate indictment of South Africa's apartheid.

1991. YASD changes its name to the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Many complain that the acronym—pronounced YAWL-suh—sounds “too backwards Southern.”

1993. ALA President Hardy Franklin announces the Excellence in Library Services to Young Adults project to recognize outstanding YA library programs.

1993. The preconference “Libraries 2000: Planning for Tomorrow's Young Adults Today” takes place in New Orleans during ALA's annual conference.

1993. Mike L. Printz, a Topeka, KS, school librarian and longtime YALSA member, wins the Grolier Award.

1994. Los Angeles Public Library opens TeenS'cape, the first public library space incorporating teen-specific design features.

1994. YALSA launches its first Web site.

1994. ALA publishes Excellence in Library Services to Young Adults, edited by Mary K. Chelton (below) and James M. Rosinia.

1996. The Library Services and Technology Act is signed into law, providing grants to improve library services through technology.

1997. YALSA presents a preconference on “Popular Reading: What Young Adults Really Read and Why” at ALA's annual conference in San Francisco.

1997. YALSA launches its Teen Hoopla Web site, as well as YALSA-BK, an online discussion group.

1998. Teen Read Week is launched. The third week in October is set aside to encourage students to read for the fun of it.

1998. YALSA creates the Alex awards for adult books for teens.

2000. The first Michael L. Printz Award goes to Walter Dean Myers's Monster (Myers pictured above with honor recipients Laurie Halse Anderson and Ellen Wittlinger).

2001. Congress amends the 1965 ESEA Act to include improving literacy through school library grants.

2001. YALSA's membership reaches 3,000—and jumps to 3,203 by year's end.

2001. The quarterly online newsletter “YAttitudes” is launched. JOYS officially folds.

2002. First Lady Laura Bush hosts the White House Conference on school libraries.

2002. YALSA's preconference on graphic novels is a huge hit at ALA's annual conference in Atlanta.

2002. YALSA launches the print journal YALS (Young AdultLibrary Services).

2003. Students select first annual list of Teens' Top Ten Books during Teen Read Week.

2003. “Young Adults Deserve the Best: Competencies for Librarians Serving Youth,” an updated set of standards for serving teens in libraries, is published.

2004. YALSA gives up its small division subsidy from ALA to stand on its own.

2005. YALSA creates mentoring program to pair experienced librarians with new ones.

2006. YALSA's first Electronic Gaming Night is attended by close to 100 enthusiastic teen librarians who hoofed it to Dance Dance Revolution.

2006. The Great Graphic Novel Selection Committee is formed.

2006. YALSA creates a MySpace profile and starts a blog.

2006. YALSA's membership hits 5,000 in January; by November it has swelled to 5,440—and continues to rise.

2007. Teen Tech Week launches nationwide.