ABSTRACT
As part of the continuum of total library service of the American Library Association, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is a specific division which mission is to advocate, promote, and strengthen service to young adults ages 12 through 18. The Young Adult Library Services Association celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007 with, still, a high energy that has drawn to it a wide variety of members: librarians, youth advocates, and publishers. These members participate through the division's many committees and other activities such as publishing, special initiatives, and continuing education activities. The five decades of its existence have been marked by profound alterations in attitudes toward young people in new kinds of media and technology as well as in changes in society. The division continues to note these changes and adds and subtracts where needed. It is a division proud of its abilities not only to keep up but to lead.
