Major Motions Annual 2004

Adopted a measure to send the YALSA President, or a representative, to Legislative Day on an annual basis, and directed staff to make every effort to provide a minimum stipend for the YALSA participant.

Accepted almost all of the YALSA-BK procedures suggested by the Discussion List Ad Hoc Committee, with the exception that the decision to remove a party from a list should be the Executive Committee’s, not staff’s. The procedures follow:

Only subscribers to YALSA-BK or YALSA staff may post on the list
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Announcements of conferences, workshops, new publications, and position openings appropriate to the topic of the list are allowed.
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Unless a message is sent by the chair of a YALSA Committee containing information for the public about committee business, list members must not send postings that suggest the message is being sent with the approval or under the auspices of a particular YALSA Committee.
All postings must be free of copyright restrictions that limit distribution. For example, posting a significant amount of a copyrighted work verbatim requires the permission of the copyright holder. To verify that such permission was obtained, all postings of this nature must include a statement that this is the case.
YALSA staff has the right to remove members of the list who fail to participate as required by the policies stated in this document.

The following guidelines are offered as advice on how to best participate in this discussion list in a manner that will both contribute to the experience of all readers and also reflect well on you.

Say something substantial. Simply saying "I agree" (in so many words) or "I disagree" (in so many words) does not meet this guideline. Specific technical questions are, however, quite appropriate, as are brief answers to such questions.
Say something new. Mere redundancy will not convince an opponent of their error. Explaining the same argument differently in an attempt to make them see the light has not been proven to be an effective strategy.
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Membership of each mailing list will be determined on a case-by-case basis and is based on the purpose of each list.

Closed Lists - Mailing lists created for YALSA Committees, Roundtables, and Task Forces, and other special working groups will be open only to members of those groups and individuals that the group and/or the YALSA Office deem appropriate. Membership of these closed lists will reflect the current makeup of the particular group and will go on only as long as is needed by the group or as long as the group exists.

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In order to keep membership of each mailing list aware of list etiquette and posting requirements four times a year (in January, April, July, October) YALSA will send out a reminder posting of list policies. YALSA staff will also monitor each of the open lists to guarantee list policies are upheld. When problems arise YALSA will send reminder e-mail about the policies to the list and a reminder to the person (or persons) not following the mailing list’s policies and guidelines.

If a list member continues to disregard list policies the YALSA Executive Committee has the authority to remove that person from the list. An e-mail should be sent to the person being removed explaining why the removal was initiated.

YALSA staff members may determine the need for a new electronic mailing list using the following criteria:

Voted to pursue four specific suggestions for the use of the William C. Morris Endowment and to establish a task force to pursue a name, focus and structure for a permanent committee to oversee use of the funds.

The Committee also suggested that the YALSA Board re-examine its use of the funds every five years.

Voted down the proposal to administer the Amelia Walden Award for ALA, based on the criteria outlined in her will, with the award amount of $5000.

Voted to hold an SUS Institute at Midwinter in Boston and to look at effective cost-saving methods and measures.

Directed the YALSA councilor to vote her conscience as to whether to support the Intellectual Freedom policy revision.

Voted to accept the Organization and Bylaws Committee report and establish a Regional Institute Task Force with the following charge: “To select a training topic and to develop content and curriculum for a YALSA Regional Institute. A report and proposed curriculum will be presented to the YALSA Board at Midwinter 2005. Size: 5 members.”

Accepted the final slate of programs for Annual 2005 as presented by the Chair of the Program Clearinghouse Committee.

Voted to allow teens to select the annual Teen Read Week theme through the process of voting on the web site, as suggested by the Teen Read Week Committee. The TRW Committee would suggest several themes for the vote.

Whereas Sheila Anderson has served for three productive years on the Young Adult Library Services Association Board, and

Whereas during that time Sheila has never failed to volunteer for a project or task force, and

Whereas Sheila has shown unfailing passion and dedication to providing excellent service to teens wherever she has worked, from Allen County to Dover, Delaware and parts between, and

Whereas Sheila has written numerous articles and edited books on all aspects of young adult services, and

Whereas Sheila has served as a dedicated member and fearless chair of the Professional Development Committee, and

Whereas Sheila has never shied away from controversy or irreverence and has alluded to various fellow YA directors and comrades as “the Seven Dwarfs,” and

Therefore be it resolved that the YALSA Board commend Sheila for all of her hard work and dedication, and will sorely miss her outrageous sense of humor and unpredictable and imaginative social directress skills.

Resolution for Amy Alessio

Whereas Amy Alessio has served on the YALSA Board of Directors for three years, and

Whereas as a Chicago-area resident, she has provided assistance and counsel to the YALSA office, and

Whereas Amy is a contributing writer for YALSA and ALA publications promoting young adult services to the profession at large, and

Whereas Amy has served the Association with dedication as a Serving the Underserved trainer and advocate, training hundreds of library employees, and

Whereas Amy’s beliefs and values in regard to teen library services have led to YALSA’s strong organizational conviction to “do the right thing,” and,

Whereas she has approached her duties and responsibilities as a Board member with a strong focus on teenagers and the librarians who serve them, and

Whereas Amy, the proud and selfless mother that she is, was willing to share her new son Josh with the world via an ALA bookmark, and

Whereas her criminal justice background in dealing with offenders gave her the experience she needed to work with the YALSA Board and other such miscreants.

Therefore, be it resolved, that the Board of Directors of the Young Adult Library Services Association acknowledge the tremendous service and contributions Amy Alessio has provided to the Association, and

Be it further resolved that the Board of Directors of the Young Adult Library Services Association gratefully thank Amy for her contributions and look forward to her continued involvement as a YALSA member.

Resolution for Caryn Sipos

Whereas Caryn Sipos has been an outstanding member of the Young Adult Library Services Association Board for seven years, and

Whereas Caryn devotes enormous energy to advocating equity of access and diversity through YALSA programs and initiatives, and

Whereas Caryn persuaded the ALA President to mention the Michael L. Printz Award on national television along with other ALA awards, whose names escape us for the moment, and

Whereas Caryn has never shied away from controversy and demonstrated that by having two teens who were not allowed to present for another division escort her into the start of her presidential year, and

Whereas Caryn has served as an exemplary and tireless voice for young adults, and

Whereas Caryn showed her great personal strength by faithfully serving YALSA through a period of personal loss,

Therefore be it resolved that the YALSA Board offer their heartfelt gratitude and admiration to Caryn Sipos for a difficult job very well done.

Resolution for William C. (Bill) Morris

Whereas, the Young Adult Library Services Association lost a devoted and deeply committed friend with the death, on September 29, 2003, of William C. (Bill) Morris, Vice President and Director of Library Promotion for publisher HarperCollins, and

Whereas Bill Morris was, for nearly half a century, a stalwart advocate of young adults, their literature, and the library services developed for them, and

Whereas, Bill Morris was the inventor of modern marketing of books for young readers, whose forty-eight-year association with Harper -- known variously as Harper Brothers, Harper & Row and HarperCollins -- was more than a career: it was a calling, distinguished by a passionate commitment to excellence in books, an encyclopedic knowledge of literature, and a brilliant capacity for bringing together books, authors, and librarians (and if they were Harper books and authors, so much the better!), and

Whereas Bill Morris's commitment to excellence extended beyond books to embrace music (mostly by Mozart), neckwear (largely by Liberty), vodka (always by Absolut) and the art of hosting ALA entertainments that were distinguished not only by their understated excellence but also by their manifestation of his genuine fondness for the librarians whom he invited and greeted, personally, at the door, and

Whereas, in his self-effacing but ineffable sense of personal style, in his love of literature and all the humane arts, in his devotion to his adopted city, New York, and in his caring commitment to culture, Bill Morris was called "the last civilized man," and,

Whereas Bill's commitment to young adults, literature and libraries survives in the generous testamentary provision he made for YALSA and its future work,

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Young Adult Library Services Association B its members, officers, and staff -- express and record boundless gratitude to William C. Morris, who was vastly more than the "mere middleman" he modestly dubbed himself; he was a Young Adult Library Services Association original, an arbiter of excellence in both style and substance, an influential advocate for youth, for literature, and for libraries, a publishing institution, and a man of such signal achievements that they -- like the man himself -- have become legendary. More than most, his life made a difference and that is his living -- and enduring -- legacy.

Resolution for Cathi Dunn MacRae

Whereas Cathi Dunn MacRae, as a member of the Young Adult Library Services Association, has taken the concept of Youth Participation to a new dimension by promoting a partnership with more than twenty publishers to place galleys of young adult books in the hands of teens, and;

Whereas Cathi Dunn MacRae has spent more than a decade developing the idea of an annual national teen-generated “Top Ten” booklist, and;

Whereas Cathi Dunn MacRae served as the original Project Coordinator for the Teens’ Top Ten Project, which led to the first “teens only” booklist during Teen Read Week 2003, and;

Whereas, in that capacity, Cathi Dunn MacRae provided teen group advisors and teens themselves with guidelines for reviewing and evaluating books, and;

Whereas Cathi Dunn MacRae created and managed a discussion list involving over twenty publishers and fifteen teen groups to seamlessly place the aforementioned galleys in the hands of teens, and;

Whereas Cathi Dunn MacRae has diligently worked with YALSA’s YA Galley Committee and the YALSA office to provide operational guidelines to enable the YA Galley/Teen’s Top Ten project to move forward, and;

Whereas Cathi Dunn MacRae has launched the YA Galley/TTT project to be an ongoing component of Teen Read Week,

Therefore be it resolved that the YALSA Board commend Cathi Dunn MacRae for her creativity, her dedication to Youth Participation and for the fostering of a YALSA project which allows teens themselves to proudly create their own “Top” books list on an annual basis.