91´«Ã½

CHICAGO — The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½), selected Jenna Jaureguy and Vandy Pacetti-Tune as the recipients of stipends to attend 91´«Ã½’s annual National Library Legislative Day (NLLD), May 4-5, 2015 in Washington, D.C.

“We are extremely pleased to send Jenna and Vandy to Legislative Day for the opportunity to get the word out about all that library workers do to help teens succeed in school and prepare for college and careers,” said YALSA President Christopher Shoemaker. “Together with Jenna and Vandy, I look forward to connecting with policy makers to talk about the many ways that legislation such as the Library Services Technology Act has helped build the capacity of libraries to better serve teens.”

Pacetti-Tune is a school librarian in Kissimmee, Florida and board member of the Florida Association for Media in Education (FAME). She plans to bring information gained during Legislative Day back to her network of Florida school librarians. “I want to be an advocate and hope to support initiatives that provide all schools with libraries and certified library professionals,” said Pacetti-Tune. “I think attending will empower me to advocate for school libraries and enhance my understanding of library issues on the national level.”

Jaureguy is a school librarian at the Baton Rouge International School in Louisiana, a multilingual immersion curriculum and college prep school. She received her masters in library and information science at UCLA. “This will be my first time visiting DC and I am very excited about becoming an informed and proactive advocate for libraries,” said Jaureguy. “I plan on using this opportunity to help me articulate the importance of our library at the school and also connecting with other libraries and community organizations within Baton Rouge to enhance services for Baton Rouge International School students and families.”

YALSA’s Advocacy Travel Stipend of $1,000 will provide recipients with funds to defray the cost of event registration, travel expenses, hotel accommodations, meals and other travel expenses. Funds for the travel stipend are provided by the .

NLLD is a two-day advocacy event, during which hundreds of library supporters, leaders and patrons meet with their members of Congress to champion national library funding. Briefing Day features sessions on the issues affecting libraries in Congress. Attendees will hear from Congressional staff, legal experts, lobbyists, 91´«Ã½ staff and others. The following day participants meet with legislators and their staff. To learn more about NLLD, or to sign up to participate, visit . To learn more about YALSA’s advocacy efforts, visit .

For more than 50 years, YALSA has worked to build the capacity of libraries and library staff to engage, serve and empower teens. 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.