NEWS For Immediate Release May 6, 2013

Contact: Laura Schulte-Cooper

CHICAGO - Ellen Riordan, chief of Planning, Programs and Partnerships, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, Md., has been elected vice president/president-elect of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). 

“I am honored to serve this great group of professionals,” Riordan said. “Children’s librarians are dedicated, committed people, and our work is so important. I look forward to working with our members in this new way and to supporting them to do even better things for their families and communities.”

Riordan received her MLS in 1983 from the University of Michigan and has been an ALSC member for 26 years. She currently serves on ALSC’s Advocacy and Legislation Committee and has served on numerous other committees, including Managing Children’s Services, Newbery, Distinguished Service Award and Caldecott. She also served on the ALSC Board of Directors, 2009-2012 and on ALA Council, as a Councilor at Large, 2006-2009.

In addition to ALSC/ALA activities, Riordan also is active in Baltimore’s education community. She currently serves on Baltimore City’s Head Start Governing Board and is chair of the School Readiness Work Group, part of the city of Baltimore’s Coalition for Grade Level Reading. She also served on the city’s Reach Out and Read Advisory Committee from 2001 to 2008. Riordan has received several awards from the Enoch Pratt Free Library, including the Piercy Leadership Award in 1993 and Supervisor of the Year in 2006.

Two members were elected to serve on the ALSC Board of Directors: Megan Schliesman, Cooperative Children’s Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin, Madison; and Gretchen Caserotti, Meridian (Idaho) Library District, ALSC’s first New-to-ALSC Board member. Diane Bailey Foote, Dominican University, River Forest, Ill., was elected ALSC Fiscal Officer.

The newly elected vice president, board members and fiscal officer will be seated to the ALSC Board of Directors in July 2013, at the close of the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.

Individuals elected to serve on the 2015 Newbery, Caldecott and Sibert Committees are:

2015 Caldecott: Lucia Acosta, Princeton (N.J.) Public Library; Bradley Debrick, Johnson County (Kan.) Library; Shilo Halfen Pearson, Chicago Public Library; Jonathan Hunt, Modesto (Calif.) City Schools; Barbara Klipper, Stamford, Conn.; Susan Kusel, Rodef Shalom Library, Falls Church, Va.; Amy Lilien-Harper, Ferguson Library, Stamford, Conn.; and Angela J. Reynolds, Annapolis Valley Regional Library, Bridgetown, NS, Canada.

2015 Newbery: Armin R. Arethna, Berkeley (Calif.) Public Library; Stephanie Bange, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio; Jennifer M. Brown, Shelf Awareness, New York; Lolly Gepson, Northbrook (Ill.) Public Library; Abby Johnson, New Albany-Floyd County (Ind.) Public Library; Stan Steiner, Boise (Idaho) State University; Janet Thompson, Chicago Public Library; and Lucinda Whitehurst, St. Christopher’s School, Richmond, Va.

2015 Sibert: Erlene Bishop Killeen, Stoughton (Wis.) Area School Dirstrict; Sam Bloom, Blue Ash Library, Cincinnati; Ann D. Carlson, Oak Park River Forest (Ill.) High School; Dona J. Helmer, College Gate Elementary School, Anchorage, Alaska; and Christopher Lassen, Astoria, N.Y.

Carolyn Brodie, current ALSC president, has appointed the following award committee chairs: Junko Yokota, Evanston, Ill., 2015 Caldecott Award Committee chair; Randall Enos, Ramapo Catskill Library System, Middletown, N.Y., 2015 Newbery Award Committee chair; and Deborah Taylor, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, Md., 2015 Sibert Award Committee chair. Starr LaTronica, current ALSC vice president/president-elect, will appoint the remaining members of these three committees, as well as members of ALSC’s other prestigious award committees this fall.

ALSC is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children.  With a network of more than 4,000 children’s and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC is committed to creating a better future for children through libraries.  To learn more about ALSC, visit their website at www.ala.org/alsc.

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