OLA Conference 2018

After noting a lack of West Coast libraries among the libraries chosen nationally for the YALSA Teens' Top Ten panel, Sonja Somerville and a group of teens from Salem Public Library decided to put in an application to be part of the 2017-2018 panel. Their excitement at being accepted as one of 20 libraries nationwide also came with a measure of panic. It has been a wild ride as Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) pour into the library. More and more readers have been recruited in an effort to keep ahead of the demand. The best - and also most challenging - thing about this list is that all the reviewing, nominating, and voting is totally generated from teens. No adults allowed. In Part 1 of this session, Sonja and a panel of teen readers share tips, highlight pitfalls, and offer interesting observations in the hope of encouraging increased future participation from Oregon. In Part 2, they'll deliver a series of rapid-fire book talks for some of the most amazing selections they've discovered as part of this process.