Association for Library Service to Children facts for kids

2022 ALSC President's Program with President Lucia M. Gonzalez

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is a special group that is part of the American Library Association. It focuses on libraries and books for kids.

ALSC has more than 4,000 members. These members include people who work with children, experts in children's books, publishers, teachers, and other adults. The group has almost 60 active teams and projects. They work on things like programs for young people, creating helpful resources, and choosing and giving awards for great books and media for children.

ALSC also helps set the rules for how libraries should serve children. They do this by updating their "Competencies for Librarians Serving Children in Public Libraries." The latest rules, from 2015, highlight seven main areas. These include how to offer services, run programs, reach out to the community, build book collections, and manage library tasks.

What is Media Mentorship?

In 2015, ALSC agreed on an idea called "Media Mentorship in Libraries Serving Youth." This idea explains how librarians and other library staff can help young people and their families. It focuses on guiding them with digital media, like apps, websites, and videos. It's about helping kids use technology wisely and safely.

Awards for Books, Media, and People

ALSC gives out many important awards every January. They announce these awards at a special press conference during the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting.

Famous Book and Media Awards

• The Newbery Medal is named after John Newbery, a British bookseller from the 1700s. It is given each year to the author of the best American book for children.
• The Caldecott Medal is named after Randolph Caldecott, an English artist from the 1800s. This award goes to the artist who illustrates the best American picture book for children each year.
• The Batchelder Award honors Mildred L. Batchelder, an American librarian from the 1900s. This award celebrates children's books that have been translated into English. It encourages American publishers to bring great foreign language children's books to readers. This helps people around the world understand each other better.
• The Belpré Medal is named after Pura Belpré, a Puerto Rican librarian from the 1900s. It is given to a Latino or Latina writer and illustrator. Their work must show, support, and celebrate the Latino culture. This award started in 1996 and was given every other year. Since 2009, it has been given every year.
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  Andrew Carnegie, an American who helped many people
  The Carnegie Medal is named after Andrew Carnegie, an American who gave a lot of money to good causes in the 1800s. This award honors the person who produces the best video for children.
• The Children's Literature Lecture Award (formerly called the "May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture Award") was first named after May Hill Arbuthnot, an American teacher from the 1900s. It is given every year to an author, critic, librarian, historian, or teacher of children's literature. This person writes an important paper about children's books. They then give this paper as a lecture, and it is later printed in ALSC's magazine, Children and Libraries.
• The Geisel Award is named after Theodor Seuss Geisel, a famous American author from the 1900s. It is given each year to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the best American book for kids who are just learning to read.
• The Odyssey Award is named after Homer's ancient Greek poem, the Odyssey. ALSC works with the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) to give out this award. YALSA is another group within the ALA. The award is supported by Booklist magazine.
• The Sibert Medal is named after Robert F. Sibert, an American publisher from the 1900s. It honors the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most outstanding non-fiction book for children.
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  Laura Ingalls Wilder, an American author
  The Children's Literature Legacy Award was once called the Wilder Medal. It was named after Laura Ingalls Wilder, an American author from the 1900s, but the name changed in 2018. This award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made a big and lasting impact on children's literature over many years.

Important Lists of Children's Media

Besides the awards, ALSC also creates three important lists of great media titles each year:

• Notable Children's Books
• Notable Children's Recordings (like audiobooks or music)
• Notable Children's Digital Media (like apps or websites)

ALSC used to make a list called Notable Children's Videos, but they no longer do.

Grants and Partnerships

ALSC also works with other groups to offer grants. These include:

• Dollar General Literacy Foundation
• Disney

See Also

• Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)