I presented at BAYA (Bay Area Young Adult Librarians) on May 22, on urban fiction for teens. It's so exciting to see a growing interest in and awareness of these books. They're controversial, true, with VERY mature content, but also an important way to reach reluctant readers. I'm also interested in which teen books we can suggest to the same audience -- as a middle school librarian, I'm not buying adult urban fiction, but I can get books by African-American and Latino authors with urban themes, if less graphic sex and language.Since I was revisiting the topic, I added to my street lit page and to the Library Success Wiki's urban fiction area. I revised my PowerPoint presentation and added teen books. I also made a list of urban fiction with Latino characters -- if you have suggestions for that list, which is fairly short, please send them my way. Also take a look at my list of recent (2007) urban fiction bestsellers and my handout for the presentation.I will be presenting on urban fiction at the California School Library Association conference in November, in Ontario, California, and am looking forward to sharing what I've learned on this topic with other school librarians. At the same conference, I will also present on library Web sites for teens.

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Here's an opportunity to show off your YA program and get $1,000 grant for the upcoming ALA conference:"Apply now for the 2007 Sagebrush Corporation Award For A Young AdultReading Or Literature Program!Are you a member of YALSA? Have you developed an outstanding reading and/or literature program that brought books and young adults together to foster a life-long love of reading? Come on, don?t be so shy! You know you have and you should get credit for it! The Sagebrush Corporation Award seeks to do just that! Every year, a grant from the Sagebrush Corporation provides $1000 to support the winner?s attendance at an upcoming ALA Annual Conference. So why not give it a try? You can get more information on the Award and the application form at:http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/awardsandgrants/sagebrush.pdfThe deadline for the Sagebrush Award is December 1, 2007."

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Like many other librarians, I'm very concerned about DOPA. Here's a summary of the bill, from the ALA Web site: "DOPA is short for the Deleting Online Predators Act, the name given to H.R. 5319, which requires schools and libraries to block access to a broad selection of web content including 'commercial Web sites that let users create Web pages or profiles or offer communication with other users via forums, chat rooms, e-mail or instant messaging.' The bill blocks users from accessing sites like MySpace from schools or libraries, as well as access to a wide array of other content and technologies such as instant messaging, online email, wikis, and blogs."DOPA passed in the House of Representatives on July 26, much to my dismay. It now goes to the Senate. I've already contacted my senators to let them know that I oppose DOPA, and also signed an online petition. While I understand the concern about the safety of children and teens, I think it would be far simpler more effective to teach them (and their parents) how to go online safely and to avoid giving out personal information. Simply prohibiting certain Web sites -- and many, many sites fall under the definition above -- is ridiculous.Beth Yoke, Executive Director of YALSA (Young Adult Services Association), testified against the bill -- you can read her statement here.If you'd like to take a stand, sign this petition and contact your senators. For more information, check this wiki.

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