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Re: American Indian Library Association's YOUTH LIT awards
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From: Kathleen Horning <horning_at_education.wisc.edu>
Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:06:44 -0600
I agree that it's unfortunate that one has to understand the governanc e of ALA to know why some awards get announced at the press conference a nd some don't, and why some are automatically included on the ALSC N otables list, and some not.
With regard to the latter: the Notables Committee member who was overh eard making the comment about "major awards" misspoke. It's only ALSC awards that are automatically added to the list, i.e. Newber y, Caldecott, Batchelder, Sibert, Belpre, and Geisel. This p ractice is rooted in history. Years ago, there were only two ALA chi ldren's book awards, Newbery and Caldecott, and they were selected by the same ALSC committee. The Newbery/Caldecott committee included a subcommittee that was charged with compiling a list of notable childre n's books that didn't win either award but that they wanted to call to the attention of librarians as outstanding. There are many ALSC members who would like to see the "automatic adds" practice stopped all together, especially given the number of awards sponsored by ALSC these days.
It's not up to ALSC to bring any other awards "into the fold." I f any of the affiliates, such as APALA or AILA, or ALA roundtables s uch as GLBT-RT or EMIERT, would like to ask ALSC to co-sponsor their a wards, they could certainly approach ALSC. This is exactly what REFO RMA did when they established the Pura Belpre Award 15 years ago; REFO RMA members worked tirelessly with ALSC for years to figure out terms an d processes both groups could agree on and to get the award off the grou nd. And they continue to do the sort of collaborative work that's required of a true partnership. It hasn't always been easy, but I would guess both entities would say it has been well worth all the adde d effort. However, I would not assume that APALA, AILA or GLBT-RT would prefer to have their awards administered by ALSC or any other ALA division. (Of these groups, I have been active on GLBT-RT book commi ttees and can tell you that when it comes to selecting books, we reall y value our autonomy. I would be interested to
see if my colleagues in APALA or AILA would agree.)
The Coretta Scott King Award is one of the oldest and most prestigious a wards in children's literature. It has its own rich history and gove rnance, and it one of ALA's best success stories. Anyone who do esn't consider it a major award doesn't know much about children's literature.
KT
On 01/26/12, Christine Taylor-Butler wrote: With the shift in population being what it is, I hope ALSC wil l consider being more supportive and inclusive by bringing some of those awards into the fold and according them with the same "front of the b us" status........C
Received on Fri 27 Jan 2012 09:06:44 AM CST
Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:06:44 -0600
I agree that it's unfortunate that one has to understand the governanc e of ALA to know why some awards get announced at the press conference a nd some don't, and why some are automatically included on the ALSC N otables list, and some not.
With regard to the latter: the Notables Committee member who was overh eard making the comment about "major awards" misspoke. It's only ALSC awards that are automatically added to the list, i.e. Newber y, Caldecott, Batchelder, Sibert, Belpre, and Geisel. This p ractice is rooted in history. Years ago, there were only two ALA chi ldren's book awards, Newbery and Caldecott, and they were selected by the same ALSC committee. The Newbery/Caldecott committee included a subcommittee that was charged with compiling a list of notable childre n's books that didn't win either award but that they wanted to call to the attention of librarians as outstanding. There are many ALSC members who would like to see the "automatic adds" practice stopped all together, especially given the number of awards sponsored by ALSC these days.
It's not up to ALSC to bring any other awards "into the fold." I f any of the affiliates, such as APALA or AILA, or ALA roundtables s uch as GLBT-RT or EMIERT, would like to ask ALSC to co-sponsor their a wards, they could certainly approach ALSC. This is exactly what REFO RMA did when they established the Pura Belpre Award 15 years ago; REFO RMA members worked tirelessly with ALSC for years to figure out terms an d processes both groups could agree on and to get the award off the grou nd. And they continue to do the sort of collaborative work that's required of a true partnership. It hasn't always been easy, but I would guess both entities would say it has been well worth all the adde d effort. However, I would not assume that APALA, AILA or GLBT-RT would prefer to have their awards administered by ALSC or any other ALA division. (Of these groups, I have been active on GLBT-RT book commi ttees and can tell you that when it comes to selecting books, we reall y value our autonomy. I would be interested to
see if my colleagues in APALA or AILA would agree.)
The Coretta Scott King Award is one of the oldest and most prestigious a wards in children's literature. It has its own rich history and gove rnance, and it one of ALA's best success stories. Anyone who do esn't consider it a major award doesn't know much about children's literature.
KT
On 01/26/12, Christine Taylor-Butler wrote: With the shift in population being what it is, I hope ALSC wil l consider being more supportive and inclusive by bringing some of those awards into the fold and according them with the same "front of the b us" status........C
Received on Fri 27 Jan 2012 09:06:44 AM CST
