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Caldecott terms and criteria
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From: Eliza T. Dresang <edresang>
Date: Fri, 05 Dec 2003 13:09:20 -0500
Mordicai,
To add a bit to what Katy Horning just said ( I'm chairing the Newbery rather than the Caldecott Committee this year, but the procedures are identical (and I've been on the Caldecott previously), so I can respond to your question and assure you that Katy's response is accurate.
You asked specifically how books get eliminated. To answer that, I'll back up to how they get discussed in the first place.
HOW BOOKS GET DISCUSSED:
(1) Books have to be suggested by a member of the 15 person committee sometime during the year or by an ALSC member. The chair sets the exact procedure (for my committee it has been the first Mon of each month). All suggested books but no other ones are discussed at ALA midwinter. The number can vary widely, depending on the year and the committee.
(2) In October and December each of the 15 committee members identify their top books (3 distinct titles each time) and write justifications of those that are shared with other committee members. Committee members' may nominate the same books as other committee members (so you cannot say 6 x 15 equals the number of nominated titles), but each member has to have 6 individual titles. This helps the committee focus on those titles that are getting the most attention but does not eliminate the other suggested titles.
(3) Nothing can be added to the list after Dec 31. No new titles can be brought up at the ALA meeting.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE ALA MIDWINTER MEETING WHEN THE BOOKS ARE CHOSEN:
(1) The chair, with input from the committee, establishes the order of discussion. The chair, with agreement from the committee, also devises a means for books that have minimal support to be eliminated by consensus quickly to allow time for in depth discussion of titles that have considerable support. But any member can request discussion of any book on the list or request its elimination (which can be done by consensus rather than vote)
(20 Next is the balloting procedure that Katy described.
(3) The committee may name as many or as few honor books as it chooses, or none, keeping in mind that the books should be truly distinguished, not merely general contenders. Honor Books may only be chosen from among those that appeared on the final medal-winning ballot. When Honor Books are announced to the public, they are announced in alphabetical order, by author, so as to accord equal honor to all books.
______________
That's it -- it is really a brilliant mathematical forcing of consensus that assures. As you can see there is no 'set' number of ballots -- could be one, could be several. And mock elections usually don't have the patience for re?lloting.
One more thing, how many ballots any given committee takes or what books were nominated or suggested (or even how many) is confidential.
Hope this (additionally) answers your question.
Eliza Dresang, Chair 2004 Newbery Award Committee
At 11:41 AM 12/5/2003 00, MordicaiGerstein at aol.com wrote:
_________________________________________________________ Eliza T. Dresang, Professor School of Information Studies/ Florida State University Tallahassee, Florida 32306!00 e-mail: edresang at mailer.fsu.edu Phone: 850 644 5877 (w) FAX: 850 644 9763 (w)
Received on Fri 05 Dec 2003 12:09:20 PM CST
Date: Fri, 05 Dec 2003 13:09:20 -0500
Mordicai,
To add a bit to what Katy Horning just said ( I'm chairing the Newbery rather than the Caldecott Committee this year, but the procedures are identical (and I've been on the Caldecott previously), so I can respond to your question and assure you that Katy's response is accurate.
You asked specifically how books get eliminated. To answer that, I'll back up to how they get discussed in the first place.
HOW BOOKS GET DISCUSSED:
(1) Books have to be suggested by a member of the 15 person committee sometime during the year or by an ALSC member. The chair sets the exact procedure (for my committee it has been the first Mon of each month). All suggested books but no other ones are discussed at ALA midwinter. The number can vary widely, depending on the year and the committee.
(2) In October and December each of the 15 committee members identify their top books (3 distinct titles each time) and write justifications of those that are shared with other committee members. Committee members' may nominate the same books as other committee members (so you cannot say 6 x 15 equals the number of nominated titles), but each member has to have 6 individual titles. This helps the committee focus on those titles that are getting the most attention but does not eliminate the other suggested titles.
(3) Nothing can be added to the list after Dec 31. No new titles can be brought up at the ALA meeting.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE ALA MIDWINTER MEETING WHEN THE BOOKS ARE CHOSEN:
(1) The chair, with input from the committee, establishes the order of discussion. The chair, with agreement from the committee, also devises a means for books that have minimal support to be eliminated by consensus quickly to allow time for in depth discussion of titles that have considerable support. But any member can request discussion of any book on the list or request its elimination (which can be done by consensus rather than vote)
(20 Next is the balloting procedure that Katy described.
(3) The committee may name as many or as few honor books as it chooses, or none, keeping in mind that the books should be truly distinguished, not merely general contenders. Honor Books may only be chosen from among those that appeared on the final medal-winning ballot. When Honor Books are announced to the public, they are announced in alphabetical order, by author, so as to accord equal honor to all books.
______________
That's it -- it is really a brilliant mathematical forcing of consensus that assures. As you can see there is no 'set' number of ballots -- could be one, could be several. And mock elections usually don't have the patience for re?lloting.
One more thing, how many ballots any given committee takes or what books were nominated or suggested (or even how many) is confidential.
Hope this (additionally) answers your question.
Eliza Dresang, Chair 2004 Newbery Award Committee
At 11:41 AM 12/5/2003 00, MordicaiGerstein at aol.com wrote:
_________________________________________________________ Eliza T. Dresang, Professor School of Information Studies/ Florida State University Tallahassee, Florida 32306!00 e-mail: edresang at mailer.fsu.edu Phone: 850 644 5877 (w) FAX: 850 644 9763 (w)
Received on Fri 05 Dec 2003 12:09:20 PM CST
