91´«Ã½

CHICAGO — The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½), awarded Morgan Brickey, Community Outreach & Programing Librarian at the Arlington (Texas) Public Library the 2018 (MAE) Award for Best Literature Program for Teens.

“Our Creative Writing for Young Adults program was a creative writing workshop that connected teens with a local author,” described Brickey in her application. “The program did something that only public libraries can – it gave teens an opportunity to explore, in this case creatively write, what they wanted in a non-judgmental environment. Many teens chose to write about LGBTQ topics in a safe place that was not school or home where they may receive an adverse reaction. Their writing was taken seriously. The mentor encouraged teen participants to write without fear, judgement or censorship.”

The MAE Award provides $500 to the recipient and $500 to the recipient’s library and is sponsored by the .

The application form for the is available in the section of the YALSA website. Applications must be received by Dec. 1, 2018.

The MAE Award Jury members are: Chair Terrence E. Young; Anush Balayan, Monrovia (California) Public Library; Sabrina Carnesi, Old Dominion University, Newport News, VA; Betsy Fraser, Calgary Public Library, Alberta, Canada; and Kristen Milton, Dallas (Georgia) Public Library.

The mission of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is to support library staff in alleviating the challenges teens face, and in putting all teens ‒ especially those with the greatest needs ‒ on the path to successful and fulfilling lives. For more information about YALSA or to access national guidelines and other resources go to , or contact the YALSA office by phone, 800-545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail: yalsa@ala.org.