I'm such a joiner. Be my bellweather?

[deborah]

I wish there were a way to join ACRL and YALSA without joining ALA. I agree with all the brouhaha (eg. Jessamyn, Dorothea) that the ALA as a whole has been trying for years now to benefit libraries at the expense of librarians. I don't want to join the ALA -- it's my belief that you can't fundamentally help libraries as institutions unless you help librarians as well. Yet I need to network with people in my field, and while I can technically get by without joining ACRL (there's plenty of other organizations and opportunities to meet people while I'm working here), I don't know how else I can be involved with YA lit. I don't after all, work in the field, and almost all the real work in children's and YA librarianship are happens in ALSC and YALSA.

Well, at least now that I have a job I can afford to rejoin ChLA. That's something.

Comments

[cavlec.livejournal.com]

Is there a professional org for YA authors or publishers?

[deborah]

Children's author usually join SCBWI (The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). I think they end up big tenting the YA authors in there with them. But most of the major US awards are given by ALSC and YALSA (not Boston Globe-Horn Book or Phoenix, but most of the others), and those committees have a huge effect on the field. Being involved in them would be a wonderful thing.

If they'd even welcome my involvement. My scholarship in childlit is as an independent scholar, and I don't work with children right now (though I'm reviewing). But we must cultivate connections, no?

[in-parentheses.livejournal.com]

I just had to re-join ALA so I could re-join YALSA so I could apply to be on the committee for the Best Graphic Novels for YAs list. I had the same issues with it - it's expensive and doesn't necessarily support things I agree with. These people elected Gorman, for crying out loud! Yeah, yeah, work from the inside, don't move to Canada, blah blah. But it's still annoying.

On the other hand, I might get to be on a committee! Where they'll send me lots of free graphic novels to read!

[in-parentheses.livejournal.com]

I know this is an old thread, but there was a toss-off line in an article in this month's School Library Journal that I had to comment on. The article was "WV Scool Librarians May Get the Ax." (Isn't "axe" spelled with an "e"?) Apparently the superintendent of one district in WV wants to replace all librarians with parent volunteers, because "nearly all classrooms have computers where students can go online and get access to more resources than our library has." And besides, according to No Child Left Educated, librarians are support staff, so who cares, right?

Sorry, got distracted by being pissed off. Anyway, a sentence begins, "While the American Library Association doesn't keep statistics on library positions lost..." They DON'T?? What the hell do we pay them for, then? They're perfectly happy to invent statistics about the coming "librarian shortage," but they can't bother to keep track of positions lost? How on earth do they expect to advocate for retaining those positions if they don't even have data? AAAARRRGGHH! Our professional organization blows.

[deborah]

*boggles*

They don't?

Dear ALA,

We would much rather you organized to show schools what value librarians add to the curriculum -- including teaching how to use online resources, how to know what to trust, and when to turn to print -- than concentrated on filling the schools with trainee librarians who will never get jobs.

No love,

Me, who is sadly joining anyway for the same reasons in_parentheses is