School and Public Library Staff who serve teens are welcome to join any of our ROYAL groups. Can't attend any of our existing groups? Contact us for more information on forming your own ROYAL group.

Who Should Attend:

• Collection Development Staff
• YA Librarians
• High School Media Specialists
• Library Staff who work with teens

Competencies Covered:

• Collection Development and Management
• Collections for Young Adults
  • Builds a collection designed to meet the needs and interes of young adults
  • Establishes and pursues strategies to stay informed about current and relevant resources to meet young adult's evolving needs
  • Facilitates young adults' requests for information and provides accurate and appropriate answers
  • Connects young adults and their families with resources that encourage reading

How it works:

Publishers send copies of their new titles to SWON, which are the distributed to our ROYAL groups.  These books are aimed at the target audience of YA readers, grades 7-12. At each meeting reviews of the last meeting's books are shared orally. Members then get to choose books to read and review for the next meeting.

The number of books provided to you is based on the number of reviewers registered for the meeting on our website and the number of books received from the publishers. Reviews are shared with the publishers and are a requirement of participation.

Members get to keep the books that they review. Many of the reviewers add the books to their library's collection, adding close to $1,000 worth of books to their shelves on a yearly basis. However, members are also welcome to keep the books for themselves, or distribute them in any way they choose.

Cost

• $50 per year for employees of Supporting Member Institutions*
  $100 per year for everyone else**
•  
• * FREE for employees of Supporting Member Institutions with $400,000 or below in total operating revenue
• ** $50 per year for members in our Ohio service area with $400,000 or below in total operating revenue

If you are a publisher and would like to be included in our review process, please contact the SWON Libraries office at (513) 751-4422 or email us.