ALA Question

Are you going to ALA? Are you a member of YALSA?

If so, please email me! It's lizzy.burns at gmail.com

You Ought To Be In Pictures

I didn't bring my camera to ALA,

But Fuse did! And here's the link to the photo of myself, along with Melissa Rabey (who blogs at Pop) and Carlie Webber (blogs at Pop and here, and is running for the Printz committee).

Sophie Brookover, founder of Pop Goes the Library and my coauthor for our upcoming book, also brought her camera. At least in this one, I have makeup and slightly better hair.

Carlie's is the only shirt where you can clearly see our Official ALA Midwinter T: Team Rowling. Interestingly enough, we did not encounter any "Team Pullman" so there was no rumble to the soundtrack of West Side Story.



Or perhaps

No Jensen & Jared for you!

Sadly, the Pop-tastic idea to get the pretty, pretty boys from Supernatural on an ALA Poster has ended. ALA did what they could, but, alas, it wasn't meant to be.

ALA Elections

Please, renew your ALA memberships, including your YALSA memberships, because if you don't, they you cannot vote. And remember: you do not have to be a librarian to be a member.

The slate of people running for all offices and committees is up at the YALSA Blog.

Last year, you may recall I was a Printz candidate, and won! Which means starting soon I will be reading my little heart out (my reading is for 08 titles for the 09 Printz.) Which probably explains why I've taken a bit of a book break these past few weeks.

Anyhow, enough me. Check out the Printz slate: Carlie Webber is running!!! (Yes, they use her full first name, Carlisle, and have not corrected the typo on her last name. Sigh.)

Carlie is a contributor at Pop Goes the Library, originator of the awesome idea of the Supernatural stars on a READ Poster. She is also the Teen Coordinator for BCCLS (Bergen County Cooperative Library System), which runs a mock Printz every year. More info on Carlie can be found at her blog.

For Tea Cozy readers, here are the important things to know:

Carlie is the source of the most awesome "the plural of anecdotes is not evidence."

Carlie is a book goddess. She knows her stuff, and is very good at recognizing quality stuff.

Carlie is going to be a guest blogger here! I know! I've been trying to figure out how to get more reviews up, especially as my time is getting limited with other commitments, so Carlie said she'd help Tea Cozy out!

So, make sure your YALSA membership is up to date so when elections open, you can say "yes" to Carlie (you get to vote for 4 people, 8 are running.)

UPDATE: Jared & Jensen & READ

Here's the Update on Carlie's campaign for the Supernatural stars to be on an ALA READ poster:

Rachel Johnson from ALA Graphics left this comment on the original Carlie post at Pop Goes the Library:

"Thanks for taking such a big interest in ALA's celebrity READ posters and contacting me to nominate Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles to appear on one. I agree they make a great choice. I'm happy to say that I will be soliciting their participation very soon. I can't promise they'll say yes, but stay tuned...Thank you."

So, now we just have to figure out how to get Jared & Jensen to say "yes". To being on the poster, of course! Get your mind out of the gutter.

READ Poster and Pretty, Pretty Boys

Carlie has the most excellent idea of the week: Getting Supernatural's Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles (aka Sam and Dean Winchester aka pretty, pretty boys) on an ALA READ Poster.

In a nutshell, the reason is pretty obvious. Beyond the pretty, pretty. Sam and Dean routinely do research, using databases, historical records and libraries to figure out how to solve the supernatural mystery of the week.

So, go over to Pop Goes the Library for information on how to contact ALA to voice your support for the Winchester boys on a READ poster.

Printz

Carlie W. and I just got back from the Printz speeches & reception.

MT Anderson: Great speech; more later, but he said some great things about historical fiction & how we view the past.

John Green: John Green John Green John Green John Green John Green John Green John Green. Oh, and hi Hank.

Sonya Hartnett: way funnier than you would expect from her books -- but I knew she had a great sense of humor from her SBBT interviews.

Markus Zusak: Carlie showed him pics of her cat, Henry. Henry is the cutest cat ever; and was sleeping next to a copy of The Book Thief, upping the cuteness factor.

Gene Luen Yang: Made of awesome.

ALA DC

Are you going to the ALA Annual Conference in DC in June? I will be going, but I haven't registered yet. If you're going and interested in getting together for dinner or lunch, let me know; also, are you going to any of the "extras", either preconferences or awards? I'm trying to figure where to stay & what to include in my budget. And, you know, wondering what the cool kids are doing.

Thanks!

YALSA Elections (with a personal note)

ALA and YALSA elections are coming up; in order to vote for the YALSA part you must be a member of ALA and YALSA by January 31, 2007.

The election opens March 15 and closes April 24.

Go over to the YALSA blog to see the full slate of candidates for different positions.

Please note the candidates for the 2009 Michael L. Printz Award Committee:

Elizabeth Burns (yes, this is me!)
Donna Cook
Stacy Creel-Chavez
Alison Hendon
Celia Holm
Ellen Loughran
Karyn Silverman
J. Marin Younker

Eight candidates are running for four positions. The full policies and procedures for the Printz are here.

Cross posted at Pop Goes the Library.

ALA Midwinter

It's just around the corner, ALA's Midwinter Meeting in Seattle.

If you're interested in getting together for dinner, let me know. Either drop a line in the comments of email me at lizzy.burns at gmail.com so we can coordinate what night works best. I think Saturday is the only night that wouldn't be good for me.

Also, I have never been to Seattle and know nothing; if you are going and have a restaurant suggestion, please share! Close to the Convention Center probably makes the most sense.

And if you are not going but have a recommendation for those of us who will be there, please share!

When I posted about this back in September I got a few "yeses" but didn't do a good job with following up then. Deadline is coming so I'm finally getting my act together!

Middle School Books v High School Books

Mitali's Fire Escape asks, "Is a Sixth Grader a Young Adult?" Specifically, she raises questions about middle school books (ages 10 to 14) competing with high school aged books, especially when it comes to ALA awards.

Go on over and leave your opinion; Mitali mentions mostly YALSA books; those of you who are involved with ALSC, do you think that those awards cover the 10 to 14 group? Or are the 10 to 14 year old readers and books in a "monkey in the middle" situation, too old for the J section and not old enough for most of the YA books out there?