Young Adult Library Services Association

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of libraries to better serve teens. YALSA administers several awards and sponsors an annual Young Adult Literature Symposium, Teen Read Week, the third week of each October, and Teen Tech Week, the second week of each March. YALSA currently has over 5,200 members. YALSA aims to expand and strengthen library services for teens through advocacy, research, professional development and events.

The organization that is now referred to as the Young Adult Library Services Association began on June 24, 1957 and was called the Young Adult Services Division following a reorganization of the American Library Association. This reorganization resulted in the Association of Young People’s Librarians being split into the Children’s Library Association and the Young Adult Services Division. A major responsibility of YASD was the evaluation and selection of materials for young adults, with the most active YASD committee being the book selection committee. YASD also advocated for library services for youth by sending delegates to both the 1960 and 1971 White House Conferences on Youth. By the 1970s YASD was growing stronger with its own office and staff and in 1979 it was given division representation on the ALA council. YASD's involvement in book selection also continued with genre specific book committees being formed in 1988. The name change to the Young Adult Services Association occurred in 1992, and brought greater notoriety to the organization, as well as a new image, logo and a new mission and vision statement. The re-branding of YASD as YALSA in the 1990s also brought with it an electronic and online presence, as well as new programs such as Teen Read Week. Additionally, YALSA began awarding the Printz and Alex Awards. YALSA has also been awarded the World Book Goal award twice by the ALA for its work serving young adults in public libraries. Starting in 1994 presidents of YALSA also began identifying themes that would reflect their terms of service, such as, "Youth Participation Revisited" and "Developing a National Leadership Agenda for Library Service to Young Adults. The official journal of YALSA is called Young Adult Library Services and it provides articles of current interest, book reviews, professional literature and serves as the official record of the organization.

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