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Sibert Award
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From: Steven Engelfried <sengelfried>
Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2005 11:00:09 -0700 (PDT)
Norma Jean asked about the Sibert impact on library purchases, so here's one response: We're a medium sized library, and many of the Sibert titles are ones we would have purchased anyway, but we make sure we've covered the Medal and Honor books once they
're announced. Several have gone into our YA collection...the sheer lenght of some makes them daunting for kids (the average length of the Medal books so far = 180+ pages!). Also some are really written more for older readers, "Life and Death of Adolf H itler" for one, and definitely "Hole in My Life." What we don't do is buy extra copies because we think the Sibert publicity will increase demand. A Newbery Medal creates demand for lesser known titles like "A Single Shard" and increases it for already popular ones like "Despereaux." Even honor books like "Because of Winn-Dixie" and
"Joey Pigza Loses Control" increased in popularity after the award. I haven't seen that kind of affect from the Sibert yet. I have never had someone
ask for the Sibert Medal by name (except Children's Lit students) The award does call books to the attention of librarians, though, and I believe we're more likely to read and recommend the titles to individuals. Once we have a larger body of Sibert ti tles to work with, I can see more librarians doing displays, featuring them in booktalks, and promoting the award in other ways. Although I do think more variety in the winners (more younger titles, more science, less history) might make this easier. J ohnathan Hunt's article in the July/August Horn Book has some very interesting insights into reasons behind the Sibert Medal selections so far....
- Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library (OR)
sengelfried at yahoo.com
Norma Jean wrote: Beth and KT have raised an interesting question regarding the Sibert Award...does it have an impact? To a publisher, an impact means sales...does the award bring attention to books that librarians will then buy if they did not do so when the book(s) were originally published? The Newbery/Caldecott Awards have a significant impact on sales which is one of the many reasons the awards are valued by publishers. It is critical/crucial for every single librarian to realize what she/he does, or does not buy, has an enormous impact on what is/is not published. So...yes, it would be terrific to hear from editors about whether or not the Sibert Award impacts sales but as a former publisher, it would be wonderful, as well as helpful, to hear from librarians...the market... as well. Do you buy books that the win the Sibert Awards...why, or why not? One wishes the "why not" folk will not be shy/uncomfortable, and will respond...it would be a terrific learning curve for everyone be they writers, editors, other librarians, reviewers, past and current members of the committee, etc. In my experience, unless a publisher knows a librarian well, librarians tend to be polite when publishers ask hard questions but publishers know from their sales figures whether or not a certain kind of book is/is not selling and if one has tremendous faith in the genre or the book, one asks hard questions in an attempt to learn why the book(s) failed. To a publisher, terrific reviews and awards are welcomed and valued but ultimately, an editor is judged on the bottom line. So...does the Sibert Award impact purchasing decisions? Norma Jean
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Received on Mon 11 Jul 2005 01:00:09 PM CDT
Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2005 11:00:09 -0700 (PDT)
Norma Jean asked about the Sibert impact on library purchases, so here's one response: We're a medium sized library, and many of the Sibert titles are ones we would have purchased anyway, but we make sure we've covered the Medal and Honor books once they
're announced. Several have gone into our YA collection...the sheer lenght of some makes them daunting for kids (the average length of the Medal books so far = 180+ pages!). Also some are really written more for older readers, "Life and Death of Adolf H itler" for one, and definitely "Hole in My Life." What we don't do is buy extra copies because we think the Sibert publicity will increase demand. A Newbery Medal creates demand for lesser known titles like "A Single Shard" and increases it for already popular ones like "Despereaux." Even honor books like "Because of Winn-Dixie" and
"Joey Pigza Loses Control" increased in popularity after the award. I haven't seen that kind of affect from the Sibert yet. I have never had someone
ask for the Sibert Medal by name (except Children's Lit students) The award does call books to the attention of librarians, though, and I believe we're more likely to read and recommend the titles to individuals. Once we have a larger body of Sibert ti tles to work with, I can see more librarians doing displays, featuring them in booktalks, and promoting the award in other ways. Although I do think more variety in the winners (more younger titles, more science, less history) might make this easier. J ohnathan Hunt's article in the July/August Horn Book has some very interesting insights into reasons behind the Sibert Medal selections so far....
- Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library (OR)
sengelfried at yahoo.com
Norma Jean wrote: Beth and KT have raised an interesting question regarding the Sibert Award...does it have an impact? To a publisher, an impact means sales...does the award bring attention to books that librarians will then buy if they did not do so when the book(s) were originally published? The Newbery/Caldecott Awards have a significant impact on sales which is one of the many reasons the awards are valued by publishers. It is critical/crucial for every single librarian to realize what she/he does, or does not buy, has an enormous impact on what is/is not published. So...yes, it would be terrific to hear from editors about whether or not the Sibert Award impacts sales but as a former publisher, it would be wonderful, as well as helpful, to hear from librarians...the market... as well. Do you buy books that the win the Sibert Awards...why, or why not? One wishes the "why not" folk will not be shy/uncomfortable, and will respond...it would be a terrific learning curve for everyone be they writers, editors, other librarians, reviewers, past and current members of the committee, etc. In my experience, unless a publisher knows a librarian well, librarians tend to be polite when publishers ask hard questions but publishers know from their sales figures whether or not a certain kind of book is/is not selling and if one has tremendous faith in the genre or the book, one asks hard questions in an attempt to learn why the book(s) failed. To a publisher, terrific reviews and awards are welcomed and valued but ultimately, an editor is judged on the bottom line. So...does the Sibert Award impact purchasing decisions? Norma Jean
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Received on Mon 11 Jul 2005 01:00:09 PM CDT
