Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Discovering Children's And Young Adult Literature: Listservs

Last week, I posted about how new readers of children's and young adult books can find out about print reviews. This week, let's talk about listservs.

Blogs and websites are not the only place people talk about children's and young adult literature. There are also listservs; electronic mailing lists that you subscribe to. Each listserv (also called a discussion list) has its own policies. Often there is conversation there that is not duplicated elsewhere. For each of these, I'll use the description the listserv itself provides.

My short list:

Child-lit. "Child_Lit is an unmoderated discussion group convened for the express purpose of examining the theory and criticism of literature for children and young adults. The list exists for anyone interested in discussing aspects of these broad fields, including authorship, illustration, publication, promotion, readership, reception, criticism and literature's changing social functions and implications. child_lit is specifically conceived to foster the sharing of ideas by researchers engaged in original scholarship. The 'purpose' per se is to be occasionally revisited and possibly revised to meet the evolving needs of the discussion group, but discussants are instructed to keep the prevailing version of the purpose in mind when posting discussion topics. Topics off the point are discouraged." I've learned a lot lurking at this listserv, but take the "research" part seriously. This is where the academics hang out -- but there are also non-Ph D'ers, too!

Yalsa-Bk. One of the many listservs offered by ALA (American Library Association) and its divisions. "This open list for book discussion invites subscribers to discuss specific titles, as well as other issues concerning young adult reading and young adult literature. Subscribers will also learn what has been nominated for Best Books for Young Adults, Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults and Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers and be able to discuss those books. Young adults, especially those who belong to book discussion groups, are also welcome to subscribe and to discuss books they are reading." Check out YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association)'s other discussion lists. And the listservs available via ALSC (Association for Library Services for Children).

adbooks. "Adbooks is a group of people of all ages. Our purpose is to discuss books written for adolescents, or young adults (YA). Our members include teachers, parents, librarians, students, writers, and others. In addition to informally swapping recommendations and discussing topics related to books, reading, and teaching, we read and discuss selected books together, and sponsor an annual book award, the JHunt. Our atmosphere is warm, supportive, inclusive, and stimulating. We welcome new members of all ages and backgrounds." In a nutshell, a great online discussion of YA books. There is a monthly schedule of specific titles, but members can, and do, talk about a variety of books. Plus, there is the annual book award, JHunt, which is tons of fun.

CCBC-Net. "CCBC-Net is a listserv encouraging awareness and discussion of ideas and issues critical to literature for children and young adults. CCBC-Net members explore a wide range of topics in contemporary literature for youth, including multicultural literature, translated books, outstanding, and award-winning books, equity themes and topics, the book arts and book publishing, and more." There is a new topic each month.

If you've think I've left out a must-join listserv about children's or young adult books, please let me know. Also, if you want to add something about these lists, please do!

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

4 comments:

Misrule said...

There's an Australian YA listserve, Liz:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/a_ya/

It's not as active as we'd like, but we spark up from time to time! And the discussion is not exclusively about Australian YA, but that's kinda the focus.

melissa @ 1lbr said...

I've been a "stalker" on YALSA-BK for a while now - I love some of the discussions on there!

Jennifer said...

GNLIB, Graphic Novels in Libraries, is a great place if you're interested in gns or trying to improve your knowledge. Not solely about children's lit, also includes adult gns. http://www.angelfire.com/comics/gnlib/

Ryan Potter said...

I never knew about Adbooks. Thanks. Can't wait to check them out!