Young Adult Library Service Association (YALSA) is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA's Young Adult Services Symposium is scheduled to take place this year between the fourth and sixth of November in Baltimore, Maryland.
May 12, 2022, is the deadline for submitting proposals for presentations. These presentations can be PowerPoint presentations, panel discussions, or talks. The presentations should "embrace the year's theme" which is Rediscovering Our Charm: Supporting Teens and Each Other in Our Libraries. Each proposal needs to suggest enough material for an hour-long session.
YALSA, librarians, and YA authors in Baltimore—the home of Margaret A. Edwards—will come together to learn, share and honor her vision as courageous champions of young adults. In order to present at this event, hopefuls will need to demonstrate that their presentation will "explore new ways to uplift and support both ourselves and our teens through services and stories."
Those who are selected to participate will be notified by June 6th, 2022, and then will need to pay a $69 fee for registration. However, it is possible to receive a stipend for the cost of the attendance, plus travel expenses.
The opening ceremony will take place on Friday evening. There will be pre-conferences which start at 9 AM and 4 PM, teaching sessions taking place on the first day before the ceremony, a Book Blitz (book giveaways and meetings with authors), and a reception.
Last year, the conference information with writer Adriana White and Ashleigh Torres, a Youth Services Librarian at the El Dorado County Library. They discussed how to foster empathy and compassion in the library setting. An autistic librarian shared some details of her life while another librarian talked about how she started a mental health club at the library where she works.
Last year’s presentation offered tips on providing teens living below the poverty level with access to resources that will better their "social-emotional wellbeing." To this end, YALSA describes what was the content of the talk, "[t]he library is an escape from the stresses of everyday life and provides meaningful connections for teens while striving to provide excellent collections, programming, digital access, and other services to all teens.," The presenters were scheduled to be Beth Crist, Youth & Family Services Consultant of the Colorado State Library, and Dr. Jessica Dennison, Library Media Teacher of the Kettering Fairmont High School.
This year, there will be a workshop entitled “Design for Equity,” another on teen voice, and one on marketing. On Friday evening, there will be an opening ceremony followed by a reception at Renaissance Harbor Place.
The Symposium will take place on Saturday and Sunday and will spotlight Bethany C. Morrow, Chloe Gong, Cory Anderson, Gilly Segal, Gretchen McNeil, Jeff Zentner, Kekla Magoon, Kimberly Jones, Rachel Grifin, Romina Garber, Jennifer Mathieu, and Steve Sheinkin. These authors have bestselling books and have received National Book Awards and other recognition.
In addition to meetings with the authors, both Saturday and Sunday will give attendees valuable information during discussions, conferences, and workshops.
For more information on the symposium visit https://www.ala.org/yalsa/yasymposium. If there are questions about submitting a proposal contact Carla Jamison at cjamison@ala.org or 1.800.545.2433 ext. 5293.