Fall 2007 - YALSA - American Library Association

YALSA Member Memories
had once stayed, but that was during the
Deauville’s better days) in Miami. My
supervisor, Linda Waddle, had already faced
those obstacles, and dealt with the hotel
catering manager, who had explained to her
that “he really wasn’t good with details.” In
the same hotel, we had the Best of the Best
going on, and instead of a conference room
with tables and chairs, the various groups
had to claim their respective areas in an
auditorium and converse uphill and downhill
with their group members. When the
top 100 titles were chosen, we held a luncheon
there, with Michael Cart and Walter
Dean Myers, I believe, as speakers. But first,
the Deauville housekeeping decided that
the room reserved for the luncheon needed
some touch-up painting—the very day of
the luncheon! We waited and waited for
housekeeping to clean up the paint chips,
and finally we could wait no longer, so Pam
Spencer Holley wielded the carpet sweeper
and did it herself! Our hero! Thank heavens
the Edwards Award Luncheon was in a
very nice place.
Since so much of the YALSA activity
was taking place at the Deauville,
Conference Services did Linda and me the
favor of putting us up there. So while I was
dealing with the program oddities, I also
had a bit of a room mystery. I kept finding
white powder on my bedspread. At first I
thought it was cigarette ash, and that the
maid was very careless while smoking and
cleaning my room. Then I began thinking
that there was an awful lot of cigarette
ash. I had to solve this mystery, and since
I hadn’t read Philip Pullman yet, Dark
Materials didn’t occur to me; I was sure
there was an earthly explanation. I didn’t
consider cocaine either, as someone would
had to have thrown about a million dollars
of the stuff around the room while I was
staying there. (Besides, I would certainly
have been enjoying Conference a lot more.)
I looked up and noticed that the ceiling
was the same color as the white power. I
climbed on the bed and poked the ceiling
and bits of the stuff flew off and landed
on the bed. Mystery solved, and I immediately
asked for a different room. My
theory remains that the Deauville folks
took a shortcut during cleanup after the
last hurricane and didn’t bother replacing
the water-damaged ceiling on the top floor;
they just painted over it. Hence, it was just
flaking off on all the lucky people staying
on the top floor.—Esther Murphy, former
administrative assistant for YALSA
My first YALSA committee assignment
was to the Youth Participation committee
in 1996, with Carolyn Caywood as chair.
It was a great experience, and was followed
up with an even better experience the next
year on Outstanding Books for the College
Bound, where I met some of the people
who became my mentors and friends in
YALSA: Audra Caplan, Frances Bradburn,
Adela Peskorz, Leslie Westbrook, Sara
Ryan, and others. Probably my greatest
YALSA moment was being elected to and
serving on the 2004 Printz committee,
which selected Angela Johnson’s The First
Part Last as the winner. I was honored
to work with Pam Spencer Holley, Deb
Taylor, Charli Osborne, Carrie Kienzle,
Juanita Foster, Ruth Allen, Betty Lazarus,
Sarah Dentan, and Stephanie Zvirin.
There is nothing like an award committee
for bonding people together! I was
then honored to be elected to the YALSA
board, which was a wonderful experience.
I learned so much about what goes on in
YALSA, and developed a new appreciation
for all the work that the members do.
YALSA is truly my home in ALA, and in
the profession.—Sarah Flowers, Deputy
County Librarian, Santa Clara County
(Calif.) Library
While it is hard to choose just one, many
of my favorite YALSA memories are surely
from my two years on the PPYA [Popular
Paperbacks for Young Adults] committee.
I had the great fortune of working with
and learning from knowledgeable and
dynamic chairs, Sally Leahey and Walter
Mayes. The many fantastic committee
members I got to know while “shaping” our
lists (Walter—I still use that great phrase,
thank you!)—Diane, Robin, Janet, Allan,
Elizabeth, Michele, Alison, Melissa, Kevin,
Caryn, Carlie, and Marin—made this a
unique and truly amazing experience. I’m
very proud of the lists we created, but have
a special place in my heart for both Books
That Won’t Make You Blush (yeah, Allan!)
and What Ails You? (yes guys, I still have
lots of Purell).—Paula Brehm-Heeger, Teen
Coordinator, Public Library of Cincinnati
and Hamilton County
Wow! So many memories! I remember
being asked to serve on the Teen Read
Week Work Group. I remember very
clearly receiving the e-mail asking whether
or not I would like to have my name
placed on the ballot for the Printz committee.
I had to read that notice twice
because I could not believe that it was for
me. “They asked me to allow my name on
the Printz ballot!” I shouted. “I teach first
grade. I am not a teen librarian.” What
an honor. Of course, this was immediately
followed by months of believing
that I would never be elected. And then
the e-mail that told me I was elected!
Speaking to the winning authors is nothing
short of spectacular. Woohoo! Then
BBYA! Serving on BBYA is probably
harder work than any other committee
I’ve ever been on in this life and all former
lives. Averaging a book a day will challenge
anyone! I have a very special spot
in my heart for all of the lists I’ve helped
create, including the two Best of the Best
groups I’ve joined. I print them out and
save them in a file for eventual scrapbooking.
These lists go into my school district,
and so do the books. Teens read these
books, and these books change lives. I hear
about this from real live teens that live in
my neighborhood. Awesome!
Fall 2007 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 37