Bits from Barb

YALSA's Great Books Giveaway Competition

Each year the YALSA office receives approximately 1,200 newly published books, videos, CDs, and audio cassettes; materials that have been targeted primarily towards young adults. Publishers and producers submit copies for selection committees to review and nominate. After committees select their annual lists, these materials need to be removed from the YALSA office to make room for the next year's publications.

YALSA and the cooperating publishers are therefore offering one year's worth of review materials as a contribution to a library in need through this application process. This is a formal competitive process and applications must be complete. Applicants must be personal members of YALSA as well as ALA. All applications must be received complete in the YALSA office no later than December 1. For further information, contact YALSA at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4387, or via e-mail at YALSA@ala.org.

New ALA publication on Serving Youth

The American Library Association announced the release of "Twenty-First-Century Kids, Twenty-First-Century Librarians," by Virginia A. Walter. Inspired by a new generation of librarians and children, Walter reconsiders the legacy passed on by the matriarchs of children's services and examines more recent trends and challenges growing out of changes in educational philosophy and information technology. With extensive experience in children's services as well as library instruction issues, Walter brings readers vital information on the current state of library services to children. This thoroughly researched book includes the current issues and trends of:

• Outcome-based planning
• Early literacy
• Homework centers in libraries
• Children's spaces

Depiction of Librarians in Children's Books

How libraries and librarians are depicted in children's books has been studied by Norman D. Stevens. She used WorldCat to create a bibliography of children's books that feature librarians or library related topics. Stevens says this is only a partial list and that it will be expanded in the future. The bibliography can be found at www.worldcat.org/profiles/normanstevens/lists/1038144. Nix's blog is at http://libraryhistorybuff.blogspot.com/2009/09/libraries-and-librarians-in-childrens.html.
—Larry Nix's Blog in American Libraries Direct, September 30. 2009

- System Youth Services Liaison Posting, Barbara Huntington, DLTCL