91´«Ã½

CHICAGO — To commemorate the contributions from AASL, ALSC, and YALSA to the initiative, as well as the work and effort librarians put forth towards preparing children and youth for bright futures, Google will be sponsoring a Happy Hour Reception at the 2018 91´«Ã½ Annual Conference in New Orleans.

The reception will take place during 91´«Ã½’s 2018 Annual Conference in New Orleans on Saturday, June 23 from 6-8pm at , located at 600 Fulton Street. Light refreshments will be provided, and all are welcome.

is a project of the 91´«Ã½'s Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP). The Libraries Ready to Code initiative empowers library staff working with youth and families to design computational thinking activities for informal learning settings. The first two phases focused on research and higher education, while the current collaboration provides grants to libraries to design and implement coding programs for young people.

A selection committee including librarians from OITP and 91´«Ã½’s three youth divisions — the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), the Association of Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) – participated in reviewing the applications and selecting the grant recipients. YALSA administered the grant program.

For more information about Google and the Libraries Ready to Code project, visit Google at booth 4029 in the Exhibit Hall and visit . For more information on YALSA’s events or programs during Annual, visit the .

Google’s core mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Google creates products to increase access to opportunity, break down barriers and empower people through technology. To help reach these goals, Google works to inspire young people around the world not just to use technology, but to create it– ensuring that anyone can see themselves in technology they use. More information on Google’s computer science education efforts is available at .

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.