People and Happenings: January-June 2017

The latest edition of VLA's People and Happenings has been posted! 

Have you recently received a promotion? Has your library system hired new staff? Is your building undergoing a renovation or are you adding a new location? Or do you want to celebrate your staff's hard work on a recent event? VLA wants to know!

Anyone in Virginia can share their library updates to be posted on our “People & Happenings” page. Send your news in by the 15th of each month. Please keep your news items brief and please do include any relevant photographs, such as headshots for people and in-progress shots of renovations and new buildings. Please send your items to [email protected].

New for #2017VLA: Lightning Talks!

The deadline for Lightning Talks at the 2017 VLA Annual Conference was September 1, 2017. Lightning Talks allow you to focus on a single idea or question that you have been considering, and would like to bring forward. The lighting talk format is completely flexible, but can be no longer than 7 minutes.

The selection process will be aided by online voting that will take place on VLA.org from September 11-15, 2017. Lightning talk presenters do not receive the presenter discount. Lightning Talk presenters who attend only to present their talk (and not attend the conference) are not required to register.

Banned Books Week 2017 -- it’s not too early to plan!

Planning your 2017 Banned (and challenged) Books Week events and displays? We’ve got news! The VLA Intellectual Freedom Committee, sponsor of the annual BBW display contest, announced that they will give awards for the best academic library display and the best public library display this year. So, get your thinking caps on, grab some markers and a whiteboard, and round up your team to craft your most creative events and displays for this year’s Banned Books Week (September 24-30, 2017)!

If you need inspiration, check out the ALA Banned Books Week site: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks. There are tons of ideas there! Also check out “Fifty Shades of Banned Books Week” -- a fantastic webinar sponsored last fall by the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom and hosted by the Assistant Director of OIF, Kristin Pekoll. You can watch it online here: http://ala.adobeconnect.com/p8uqkr969y8/

Make sure you document your Banned Books Week events so that you can send us your photos, press releases, and other PR materials once the contest is open. Winners will be announced at the annual conference in Norfolk in October!

Winners will get bragging rights (and a nice certificate) for the whole year -- good luck!

The VLA Intellectual Freedom Committee
Stand up for your right to read!

2019 Jefferson Cup Committee: Seeking Members

 Are you a history buff?  Do you enjoy reading new juvenile and young adult literature? Apply to be a member of the 2019 Jefferson Cup Award committee! We need one person from each of the six VLA regions.  Applicants must be willing to make the time commitment to read and discuss the books submitted for consideration, as well as attend physical and/or virtual meetings. Complete the application linked below and return it to Salena Sullivan, Jefferson Committee Chair, as soon as possible. Email your completed application to [email protected].

The Jefferson Cup honors two distinguished biography, historical fiction or American history books for children and young adults. Presented since 1983, the Jefferson Cup Committee’s goal is to promote reading about America’s past; to encourage the quality writing of United States history, biography and historical fiction for young people and to recognize authors in these disciplines. Read more and see previous winners here.

The Jefferson Cup Committee selects the winning titles. The committee has ten members: a chairperson and vice-chairperson (selected by the previous year’s committee), one person from each VLA region (total of six persons) selected by the current chair, the past chair of the previous year’s Jefferson Cup Committee and the outgoing chairperson of Youth Services Forum. All committee members must be members of VLA.Members may be employed by public libraries, schools or any type or bookstores; they may also be unemployed or retired.

You may nominate yourself or a colleague for consideration. Persons selected must be willing to commit a large amount of personal time to read and evaluate books; committee members may receive over 200 titles. Members will also have to attend daytime meetings (up to seven, held online). Persons who serve on the committee should be knowledgeable of literature for young people and have book evaluation experience. Jefferson Cup Committee members are expected to present programs at the annual VLA and, possibly, VAASL conferences, so a supervisor must sign this application, indicating he or she will allow the person to attend the conferences and will assist with the member’s expenses.

 2019 Jefferson Cup Committee Membership Application