About

This database provides access to all of YALSA's annual selected book and media lists, awards, and honorees. These resources are developed by library staff and educators to support the collection development and readers' advisory work of library staff.

These books and media have been selected for teens from 12 to 18 years of age, and span a broad range of reading and maturity levels. We encourage adults to take an active role in helping individual teens choose those books that are the best fit for them and their families.

Recently Added: Diverse titles as recommended by ALA!

• ALA has various diverse recommended reading lists and book awards and recently, we've added the past 5 years' worth of winning and recommended titles to the database. Added awards are:
  • Rise: A Feminist Book Project for Ages 0-18
  • Amelia Bloomer Book List
  • American Indian Library Association
  • Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association
  • Association of Jewish Libraries which handles the Sydney Taylor Book Award
  • Chinese American Librarians Association
  • Coretta Scott King Award
  • Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table which handles the Rainbow Book List, the Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children's and Young Adult Literature Award and Stonewall awards

How titles are selected

All the recommended reading in the Teen Book Finder Database and app is selected by YALSA committees.

• Suggest a title: to suggest a title for YALSA's committees to consider, choose an award or book list and click the nomination link. (Note: publishers and authors may not suggest a title, and a suggestion only becomes an official nomination when it is accepted and seconded by the committee.)
• Committee contacts: publishers interested in submitting books for consideration for a YALSA award or selected list can access committee member rosters online or contact Nichole O'Connor at noconnor@ala.org for assistance.

Use and reproduction of YALSA's awards and lists

YALSA's lists of recommended reading may be reproduced under "fair use" standards. As stated in Section 107 of The Copyright Act of 1976, factors to be considered shall include:

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole

Additional collection development and content curation resources

• Best of the Best: Download free bookmarks and other materials to promote teen reading.
• Teen Book Finder App: The app version of this Teen Book Finder database is available for free for both Android and Apple devices.
• The Hub: YALSA's blog that provides fresh content daily to support library staff work around collection development and content curation
• ALA TechSource and AASL's Best Websites for Teaching and Learning provide information about recommended apps and web sites
• The Collections & Content Curation page on YALSA's wiki provides links to additional teen-focused resources

Additional Resources

YALSA is part of the American Library Association, which develops additional recommended reading resources of interest to library staff, educators and afterschool providers who serve teens: 

• ALA administers the Schneider Family Book Award
• The Association for Library Service to Children administers book awards and creates lists of recommended reading for pre-school and elementary aged youth, which can be accessed on their web site:
  • Book and media awards for children
  • Notable Lists for Children
  • ALSC and REFORMA administer the Pura Belpre Award
• ALA's EMEIRT administers the Coretta Scott King Award
• ALA's GLBT Round Table administers the Rainbow List
• ALA's SRRT administers the Amelia Bloomer Book List

About YALSA

YALSA's mission 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. YALSA is a division of the American Library Association, a 501c3 organization that is headquartered in Chicago, IL. To learn more about YALSA, visit our main web site.

Contact Us

For questions or additional information about the database, please contact YALSA at yalsa@ala.org