Dear Members, This is my final post as ALSC Past-President—I know my term technically ended on June 30th, but I wanted to take a moment to say a few things now that I have cycled off of the Board. First, I want to acknowledge the challenges that the last few years have brought for both ALSC and YALSA. When I first began my term in 2023, I was not expecting anything out of the ordinary to take place, but as we all know, that was not in the cards. And that brings me to my second point. It takes a village to undertake such a gargantuan task: I also want to thank all of you, our members, and everyone who came out to the various member engagement opportunities at Annual and in the months leading up to it. This includes those who came tothe virtual Town Halls, the “huddle” in…
Author: Rob Bittner
From Plans to Actions – A Preview of the Next Year of Reunification
Happy June, everyone! This blog post will be the last post from the Reunification Working Group, which will be dissolved as of July 1 as the majority of us cycle out of our Board terms in both divisions. Please be sure that you aresigned up to receive regular emails and communications from ALSC so that you receive theReunification News and other updates as the work continues through other committees and task forcesover the next year.
The Final Sprint for the ALSC and YALSA Reunification
Happy May, all! It’s almost time for ALA Annual, and that means lots of things are happening, including the final sprint toward reunification. The close of ALA Annual marks the end of our reunification transition year, in many ways. In terms of governance and organizational structure, the unified division will be officially in place effective June 30, 2026, and the second year of transition work under a unified Board will begin.
Springing Toward a Bright Future Together
Happy Spring, everyone! Warmer weather seems to finally be on the way for many of us. And just like the sunshine and heat bring forth the flowers, so too is the reunification work blossoming into reality. This last week we saw the election of new Board members who will be laying the foundation for the newly reunified division. The ALSC Nominating Committee worked hard to engage with both ALSC and YALSA leadership to find candidates who can meet the needs of members working across children’s and teen services. And the results are in!
A New Opportunity for Children’s and Teen Services Collaboration
Hello all! The Youth Media Awards press conference recently took place in Chicago on January 26th, and it was a fantastic morning with a whole lot of amazing books being celebrated across numerous divisions, roundtables, and affiliates. If you weren’t able to attend, or if you haven’t yet had a chance to watch, check out the recording.
Revisiting the Reunification Town Hall
Dear Children’s and Teen Services Folks, You’re probably all becoming very familiar with the prefix “re” these days. We’re talking a lot within ALSC and YALSA about re-unification, re-organization, etc. This lovely prefix, as you likely know, represents the act of re-turning, re-visiting, or re-writing. The reunification of our two divisions re-presents a return to a time when we were previously united under one banner, but it also requires a re-envisioning of our work and how we will operate as a singular division within ALA. One of the overarching themes in all of these actions is member engagement. And it is with that in mind that we are going to re-visit the Town Hall that took place last Fall. The reunification is a massively complex undertaking, requiring an exceptional amount of time and dedication from staff, leadership, volunteers, and all of our members in both ALSC and YALSA. When we…
The Importance of Meaningful Rebranding
By now you have hopefully seen the news that ALSC and YALSA are reuniting as a single division, due to the ALA Council vote in June of 2025. Since that vote, ALSC and YALSA have been working together through a Reunification Working Group, which works with staff, the two division boards, and any other stakeholders, to ensure a smooth and effective transition leading up to the dissolution of YALSA and the the reunification of the two membership groups under a single division in September of 2026. In the time since the vote and the first official round of communications have gone out, we have been actively working with members to get feedback and listen to concerns. In the coming months, we will be trying our very best to address some concerns and myths that we have been hearing. This month’s focus is rebranding: Rebranding Myth #1 – ALSC doesn’t want…
The Biggest Thank You
Hello ALSC Members, ALA Annual has now come and gone, and I can’t believe how quickly it went! It’s equally unbelievable how quickly my term as President has gone. I am now officially the Immediate Past-President, and it’s a strange feeling, especially with so much still happening in the coming year. While I did start my June blog post noting that it was my last as President, I was given the opportunity to do one last post to wrap things up.