ALA Elections: Sample Ballots are Out!

I've been a member of ALA, YALSA and AASL since graduate school (2008).  I have kept up my membership for a variety of reasons including discounted conference registrations, newsletters and other publications, and opportunities to become involved in the larger national network of libraries and librarians.  Being a member of AASL enabled me to be sponsored as an ALA Emerging Leader in 2011.  Being a member of YALSA has allowed me to volunteer on several committees, including chairing the inaugural Books for Teens committee and serving on this year's Best Fiction for Young Adults committee.

You may be wondering what my involvement in ALA and its divisions has to do with the fact that the sample ballots are out.  If you take a peek at the YALSA ballot and look under Edwards Award Committee, you'll see why.  I'm on the ballot!

Elections don't happen until mid-March, but I figured that since the sample ballots are out, it wouldn't hurt to share with folks that I am running for a spot on the Margaret A. Edwards Award committee.  The committee is charged with recognizing "an author's work in helping adolescents become aware of themselves and addressing questions about their role and importance in relationships, society, and in the world" (www.ala.org/yalsa/edwards).  The 2013 winner is Tamora Pierce for her Song of the Lioness quartet and Protector of the Small quartet.  Previous winners include such recognizable names as S.E. Hinton, Robert Cormier, Judy Blume, Jacqueline Woodson, Lois Lowry, Jim Murphy (yes, you can win for nonfiction too!) and Sir Terry Pratchett (among many other esteemed authors).

Anyway, I'm running to serve on the committee that selects someone to honor.  And if you're in YALSA, I'd really like your vote.  My friend and colleague Sophie Brookover is also running.  And she's awesome.  You can vote for both of us, since you can vote for up to three people.  Don't worry, I'll remind you of all of this closer to the election!

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