New Blog Launch: "Teen Services Underground" "Teen Services Underground," launched in early January 2015, is made up of a coalition of librarians from across the country who are all involved in teen services in some way, shape, or form. Their mission is “to support, promote, advocate, and build a community space to highlight the importance of teen services in minding the gap.” And they have started out with a bang, including posts “RA 101: Talking to Teens About Books” and “8 Books That Will Mess with Your Head!” Add this blog to your quiver for inspiration, book suggestions, and support for teen services. Books for a Brighter Tomorrow Annie and Sony Pictures, in collaboration with the National Education Association (NEA), is offering Books for a Brighter Tomorrow, a national grants program for educators interested in putting more diversity on shelves in classrooms and school libraries. Grants of $1,000 are available to public schools that serve economically disadvantaged students in order to enrich book collections with diverse children’s literature and offer titles that give kids and their families a chance to discover themselves—and their life experiences—in stories. Deadline for completed applications is January 31. Review Copies of The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace Available Robert Peace grew up poor, the son of a hardworking mother and drug dealing father. In spite of many obstacles, Peace graduated from Yale University with a major in molecular biophysics and biochemistry. He was found murdered several years later under unsavory circumstances. You can bet this 2014 book will be showing up on Library Services for Youth Custody’s In the Margins book award nomination list. Recipients of 2014 Margaret A. Edwards Collection Development Grant Recipients of the Young Adult Library Services Association’s (YALSA) Margaret A. Edwards Collection Development Grant have been announced. Seven winners and one runner-up were chosen. The recipients are as follows with the runner-up denoted with an asterisk:

• Brandt Ensor; East Berlin Community Library (Pennsylvania)
• Jean Forness; Williamsville Public Library & Museum (Illinois)
• Graig Henshaw; Littlestown Area School District (Pennsylvania)
• Carolann MacMaster; Auburn Public Library (Massachusetts)
• Emma McCandless; Griswold Public School (Connecticut)*
• Brooke Nelson; East Peoria High School (Illinois)
• Emily Otis; Anaheim Public Library (California)
• LaRaie Zimm; Stickney-Forest View Public Library (Illinois)

The Margaret A. Edwards Collection Development Grant awards $5,000 to a school or public library to use towards improving or expanding its teen collection, to bring it more in line with the principles set forth in YALSA’s report, “The Future of Library Services for and with Teens: a Call to Action." The runner-up will receive $3000 to use towards improving or expanding its teen collection. The grant is funded by the Margaret A. Edwards Trust. Edwards was a well-known and innovative young adult services librarian at Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Md., for more than 30 years.