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Welcome, readers from the School Library Journal!
SLJ's enewsletter, Extra Helping, came out today and included the article YALSA Axes Venerable BBYA List. Yours truly was quoted; but alas, my photo was not included. But given the cover controversy, I'm sure readers are tired of my face!
Anyway, go, read, share your opinion.
To see more of my thoughts, you can read my January post on BBYA.
Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.
© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
If you have questions about the changes coming to YALSA’s selected lists, this new FAQ is for you. You’ll find answers to the questions that are most commonly asked of YALSA staff and Board members including:
- Why were the changes made?
- What is Best of the Best for Young Adults?
- Will nominations for the Excellence in Young Adult Fiction and Alex Awards be published?
- Will teens be involved in the Best Fiction for Young Adults selection process?
- What will the evaluation process be for the new selected list policies and procedures?
- And more
Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions not addressed in the FAQ. And, if you would like to read the selected list proposals approved by the Board at their Midwinter meetings (items #14 & #15), you can access them on the YALSA web site.
I'm confused as the next person over exactly what is happening with BBYA or what it means. And I went to the Board Meetings! Which, by the way, any YALSA member can do. You pay your dues, you can go to open meetings and read the documents.
Instead of fine tuning the BBYA process, as some YALSA members wanted, the Board voted for a bigger overhaul of BBYA. See YALSA Blog (here and here) and the linked documents for the exact details.
I'm a bit hesitant to recap exactly what this overhaul means or will look like, because (as you can see at the Bookends Blog and the YALSA Blog, linked above) there is the risk of misunderstanding. With any misstatement or difference in interpretation being called "misinformation" (a term I read to mean deliberatly misinforming, but others say no, it simply means mistake) one has to be very careful in this minefield. I've had people say questions are welcome; and people wonder why questions are being asked and why such a big deal is being made of this. And stories get a life of their own, and rumors, etcetera etcetera.
I'm confused about how the BBYA changes will work and what these new procedures will look like. Lists and awards seem to be treated the same way; I'm not sure how the various committees will or won't work together; I'm not sure what this will look like. I'm not the only one. Marc Aronson has raised some good points about how these changes may work (here and here). I didn't even think about how these changes meant no youth input into non-fiction books!
Anyway.
Right now, agree or disagree, understand or don't understand, the changes to BBYA are made.
What to do now?
Pay attention to what changes will be made. I have no idea how this will work, but I suggest reading the YALSA blog and YALSA website to read the various committee policies and procedures to see when changes appear on the YALSA website. It's like the back of the box in games, you know? We really cannot say how the game is played unless we read the back of the box. Right now, those rules are being rewritten so it's sort of sit and wait.
Nominate in each category you think applies. While I'm not sure how publishers will handle this in terms of submitting books for consideration, for individuals nominating titles, don't second guess yourself. Not sure if its graphic novel or non-fiction? Nominate both rather than have it slip through the cracks.
Speak up. In the Board documents and at the Board meetings, the Board made the point that it was listening to membership. I know, I know; those who don't agree with what happened don't think they were listened to. Remember -- listening does not mean agreement. The Board had people telling them they used the BBYA list just as it is and people who said not so much and the Board made a decision about who to agree with in making changes. Whether or not the Board agreed or disagreed with your opinion, opinions matter. So keep on speaking up. Honestly, I'm not sure the best place to speak. YALSA Blog? YALSA Bk listserve? Blogs?
So, in sum -- well. There's not much to sum up. Changes were made. Policies and procedures have to be rewritten to reflect those changes. Pay attention to what your organization is doing, speak up, read documents, attend meetings.
Oh, one last thing. At the end of a year, this will be evaluated. I don't have the exact wording that the Board used (evaluated, examined, etc.) And I'm not sure what will be ev
By: Beth,
on 1/17/2010
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YALSA - Young Adult Library Services Association
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The YALSA Board had a very full agenda yesterday for their first meeting of Midwinter and several important decisions were made, including:
- Approval of the Selected Lists Proposal. The approval of this proposal means that YALSA’s Best Books for Young Adults List is now Best Fiction for Young Adults. Also, the Alex Awards will be expanded. The Committee working on the Alex Award will continue to select 10 Award winners, and will also publish a longer list of titles that the group considers the best adult books of interest to teens published during the past year. All of the top ten titles selected by YALSA’s selection list committees, including Best Fiction for Young Adults, Great Graphic Novels, Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, Amazing Audiobooks, Fabulous Films, and the Alex Award will be compiled annually into a Best of the Best for Young Adults list published by YALSA. The changes voted on by the Board related to YALSA’s selected lists is in direct response to feedback from members regarding the use and creation of these lists. The Board spent many hours working on creating a proposal that supported the needs of the majority of YALSA’s members. The full proposal is available on the YALSA web site.
The Board also voted on several actions in order to begin implementing the changes to YALSA’s selected lists. Chairs to those committees affected will be contacted by their Board Liaison to go over the details of the new and/or expanded work of the group. The Organization and Bylaws Committee will work on updating the charges of selected list committees where needed. And, the Board also voted that after one year of the revised and expanded lists, they will evaluate the success of the changes and make any necessary adjustments.
The Board also directed the Organization and Bylaws Committee to continue their work related to creating consistency, where possible, in the policies and procedures of YALSA’s selected lists committees. Information on these changes are also available on the YALSA web site.
- Over the past several months, the YALSA Board put many hours of work in on a proposal related to virtual membership on YALSA’s committees. At yesterday’s meeting, Board members approved a proposal so that all process committees (except for the Executive, Organization and Bylaws, Strategic Planning, Preconference, and President’s Program Committees) will transition to 100% virtual status. The committees that are not transitioning in this way are not making the transition because there are specific reasons that either the chair and/or members need to be at Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference.
While committees will become 100% virtual, if members think it necessary to meet face-to-face at Midwinter or Annual they will be able to arrange for that. The full proposal is available on the YALSA web site and was developed in response to changes in ALA’s virtual committee membership policies and YALSA member needs. With more committees allowing for more virtual members, those YALSA members who can not attend face-to-face events can now participate in the Association in this way.
- In early fall of 2010, the YALSA Board brainstormed ways that the Association could
I know I've been under a rock for the past six week, but I had no idea there were discussions about eliminating the Best Books For Young Adults List. Argh!
Liz B. explains what's going on and gives her excellent opinion.
A quick bit of noodling came up with the responses of Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan.
They said what I am thinking, only in a more articulate way. Plus, I'm an author with a vested interest in the process. They are Super Librarians and have both served on the committee.
What do you think?
Sorry this will be quick & short & not finely edited.
YALSA's Board is meeting at Annual; do I usually read the Board documents, unless they are highlighted somewhere thru a message to YALSA BK or the YALSA Blog? No. So when Jen Hubert began reading them yesterday, as I was packing, and shared the information that YALSA Board was entertaining a proposal to eliminate BBYA, I thought she was kidding.
Right after this proposal (so apparently linked to it) is a proposal to instead have a "Readers Choice" when anyone can vote on a short list and then all members can use that short list to vote on a top 5 per category, and that is the New BBYA: Reader's Choice.
I had heard & supported the idea that BBYA needed tinkering -- say, remove GNs from BBYA because there is now a GN list. Or open BBYA up to allow virtual attendance by committee members for Midwinter. I had no idea it was to: "implement a phase out of the Best Books for Young Adult Committee and list"
Source: (you need to be a YALSA member to access): Modernizing Selected List Portfolio (and cheers to Jen, who found this despite the title not saying BBYA and BBYA being the only list being "modernized")
Instead, we get a Reader's Choice award, which is not about opening up committee slots for virtual members but about organizing a popular vote with anyone voting to create a short list, then YALSA members voting for a top 5. (I'll let the math/statistics among you realize that smaller, quieter books and small publishers won't have a chance in this type of arrangement).
I say "instead of" because Readers Choice List, while not mentioned in Modernizing, follows that proposal immediately on the agenda.
I plan to rearrange my schedule and other commitments to attend these meetings. Please comment here to let YALSA know what you think, or blog about it, or Tweet it.
Oh, reasons for getting rid of BBYA:
-- there is overlap with other lists, like adult, nonfiction and GN. (my reply: then narrow BBYA to fiction).
-- number of books published for YA has increased (query: how many books does ALSC's Notables read?)
--membership wants greater participation in list selection. (my reply: then open up the list selection to virtual members! don't remove a list, therefore limiting members' options, and replace it with a participation that will mean little is "I voted for Readers Choice" going on a resume?).
-- BBYA is not useful. (my reply: It's useful to me!!! For collection development, creating booktalks, booklists, etc.)
-- workload issues amongst Committee members. (my reply: see above, for narrowing the scope).
As for Readers Choice; I'm packing. Could I support this in addition to BBYA? Yes. But instead of? I don't have enough time to discuss it. Just: NO.
Edited to add: Alex Flinn does a great job of both explaining the importance of BBYA & the flaws in using Readers Choice as a substitute.
Cindy Dobrez & Lynn Rutan at Bookends share their opinion.
I WILL HAVE LIMITED ABILITY TO EDIT THIS DURING ANNUAL. So PLEASE if you post something about this, include your link in the comments because I will not be able to edit this post for much longer.
© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Not to be confused with my own sidebar Best Books.
The full list is at the ALA site.
Here are the books from the list that I have read and reviewed. It is NOT the full list; for that, you need to go to the above link. If there's an asterisk, it was on my personal Best Book list. ... indicates where I omitted titles.
Fiction
Almond, David. Clay. *
Anderson, M.T. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party. *
...
Cohn, Rachel and Levithan, David. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. *
Cornish, D.M. Monster Blood Tattoo: Foundling. Read it; will be loved by those who like high fantasy. Great alternate world, awesome maps, a glossary, and an interesting plot; but, not reviewed because I thought the main character too young.
Dessen, Sarah. Just Listen.
...
Gantos, Jack. The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs. *
Giles, Gail. What Happened to Cass McBride?
...
Green, John. An Abundance of Katherines.
Hartnett, Sonya. Surrender. *
...
Jansen, Hanna. Over a Thousand Hills I Walk With You. Read it; very powerful; emotionally draining. Rough draft sitting in my to be finalized pile, once I have the nerve.
...
Larson, Kirby. Hattie Big Sky. * Adored it. Draft review waiting to be finalized.
Lat. Kampung Boy. *
...
Miller, Kirsten. Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City. *
...
Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. Dairy Queen. (the paperback has a much better cover.)
...
Portman, Frank. King Dork. *
...
Reinhardt, Dana. A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life. *
...
Stassen, Jean-Philippe. Deogratias, a Tale of Rwanda. * Heartbreaking, almost unbearable. Genius. Sitting in my drafts pile.
Sturtevant, Katherine. A True and Faithful Narrative. Liked the look at the craft, art, and business of writing; liked how the narrator struggled to be true to her self and her times. Didn't review because I felt at times the narrator was too modern; and that it was more about modern times than the time it was set.
...
Turner, Megan Whalen. The King of Attolia. *
...
Werlin, Nancy. The Rules of Survival. An honest & straightforward look at the damage done by emotional abuse and a selfish, self-centered, self absorbed mother (who I'm sure was that way as a teen and never grew up.). Review in draft pile. (See, I haven't been exaggerating my backlog!)
...
Wooding, Chris. Storm Thief.
...
Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. No excuses; just part of the backlog. I read it, enjoyed it, believe it's the type of story that could only work as a graphic novel.
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief.*
Non-Fiction
...
Engle, Margarita and Qualls, Sean. The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano.
...
Jacobson, Sid and Colon, Ernie. The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation. Read it, found it very well done & a great way to present the information. It's in my draft pile.
...
***************************
Questions? Comments? Mistakes? Let me know in the comments!
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Sigh. It's all too unsettled to make most librarian-types feel comfortable. Many of us do like a certain amount of structure! Or at least knowing the rules!
The YALSA Board meeting recap says "the Board also voted that after one year of the revised and expanded lists, they will evaluate the success of the changes and make any necessary adjustments," which really doesn't clarify anything. But, the Board is doing the evaluating? That doesn't sound very impartial. Will the BFYA, or whatever the new acronym is, also be given a voice? YALSA members, because this change supposedly is due in part to members saying the old BBYA list wasn't that helpful? Evaluating based on what criteria? And so on.
Obviously, I also feel unsettled by this, partly because I'm disappointed with the Board's decision, but mostly because all the vagueness and questions surrounding the changes gives me the impression (which no one else may share) that things were rushed and not well thought out.
Ann, knowing what the rules are would help!
Trisha, I'm also not sure of what "success" is because I'm not sure, based on the wording, whether success is a lesser workload for the BBYA/BFYA committee or increased number of librarians using all the lists. And, to tie back to what Ann said, something definite would help that because we like to see it in writing.