YA librarians, save the date!! TLA's Young Adult Round Table and the 2009 Conference Program Committee will sponsor a very special opportunity for your teens at the 2009 TLA Annual Conference in Houston. Texas Teens 4 Libraries (TT4L) is an all-day event for teens, scheduled on Thursday, April 2. TT4L is designed to encourage the active participation of teens in TLA's annual conference, offering them the opportunity to attend programs, visit the Exhibit Hall, talk informally with YA authors, and interact with other Texas young adults who share their interest in reading, technology, and libraries.
Teens who attend TT4L must be sponsored by a TLA librarian who is attending the 2009 annual conference. As an incentive for attending, TLA has approved a reduced one-day registration fee for teens participating in TT4L. A special room will be set up for registered teens and their sponsoring librarians, and YA's will be able to meet there to plan their schedule, touch base with their sponsors, meet other teens, and regroup throughout the day. Teens will be able to visit the Exhibit Hall, as well as attend any regularly scheduled conference session on Thursday. YART volunteers will be stationed in the TT4L room all day to talk about programming and the Exhibit Hall and to assist teens with questions or concerns about the conference.
A special feature of TT4L is the chance for teens to visit informally with YA authors who are already presenting at the annual conference. What a great chance for teens and authors to share ideas with each other!
TT4L will also include the first-ever Texas Teens Booktalk 4 All, a session open to all conference attendees, which features teens booktalking their favorite new titles. Teens are also encouraged to submit video trailers to be shown as a part of the Texas Teens Booktalk 4 All session. Beth Yoke, the Executive Director of Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), will moderate this teen program which will include the chance for teens to share their candid views on reading, YA literature, and graphic novels with attending librarians. What a great way to hear about current YA titles from a teen's perspective!
A committee of librarians from across the state has been planning TT4L since late spring 2008. Members of YART's Texas Teens Read Advisory Committee (TTRAC) have also been involved in the planning process. The TT4L Planning Committee is chaired by 2009 Conference Program Committee members Susi Parks Grissom, 2008-2009 YART Past Chair and Dallas ISD school librarian, and WyLaina Hildreth, former member of TTRAC and currently Youth Librarian with the Denton Public Library.
YART members will receive more TT4L details over the next few months, including ways to find funding for your teens to attend the conference. For now, talk with your teens to encourage their attendance at this special TLA day for teens and their participation in the Texas Teens Booktalk 4 All session. Questions? Contact Susi Parks Grissom at susi.grissom@sbcglobal.net for more information about this great opportunity for Texas teens.
