For me, the bright spot of every winter happens after the Midwinter conference, when YALSA releases its list of Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults. This list is compiled by the Amazing Audiobooks Committee, which listens to many hundreds of hours of audiobooks and engages in spirited debates in order to select the very best titles for the list. This committee is composed of nine voting members and one incredible administrative assistant. In 2016, the committee will undergo some exciting changes, as it will be transitioning into a virtual committee. This means that committee members will not be required to meet during the Annual and Midwinter meetings but will instead conduct their business in an online environment. Hopefully, this change will make it possible for more people to participate in this dynamic group.
As the committee chair, I am often asked how our committee works. How do we receive titles? How do we share our votes and our reviews? How do we decide what titles are the very best?
As far as titles are concerned, we seek out and receive regular submissions of CDs, MP3s, and digital downloads from various audiobook publishing houses. We also actively seek out suggestions from our members and the public. In fact, if you’d like to suggest a title, please do! The form is here.
Our committee typically considers between 350 and 400 titles a year. That’s a lot of listening! In order to get through all of these titles, we ask that each member commit to an average of 2 hours a day of listening. In addition to listening, we also write reviews and discuss the merits of the titles with our fellow members. We maintain a robust set of spreadsheets, where we list our assignments, voting history, and nomination details. We share our evaluations on ALA Connect, where we are able to carry on discussions about the audios that we’re considering. We also have occasional online meetings and information sessions.
When we first receive a title, it is assigned to a single committee member. That first listener decides whether the title is good enough for further consideration. If it is, it is assigned to five more members. All nominated titles will be listened to by six committee members, all of whom will participate in the year-end discussions in order to decide whether that title is good enough for the final list.
Beyond these nuts-and-bolts details, one question remains--What is it really like to be a member? Debi Shultz and Charlene Hsu Gross, both new members to the committee, share their thoughts:
Charlene:
As a lifelong lover of audiobooks, I thought this committee would be fascinating to join. I have not been disappointed. I have learned so much about evaluating the production of an audiobook and discerning that almost undecipherable element of “amazing.” After many months of experience and gaining insight from other committee members’ evaluations, I gained some confidence and can now usually tell within the first 15 minutes if the title is going to be a yes, maybe, or no. I find that maybe votes are the hardest because there are lots of positive aspects to the production and content, but they might lack that obvious mark of a “yes!” This is when a second listener helps to confirm the pieces that make the decision to go forward with a title or to leave it behind.
I’m really looking forward to our final discussions in January when we work toward delivering a list that is the absolute best we can offer and celebrate the wonder of listening to good books for young adults.
Debi:
I have been a HUGE fan of audiobooks since the early 1980s when I drove 300 miles every weekend for a job in another state. Audiobooks kept me entertained, engaged and awake while they allowed me to keep up on some of my favorite authors and genres. Since then audiobooks have come a long way from simply being read-alouds to now becoming performances. Multiple voices, multiple narrators, music, and sound effects are fairly commonplace and serve to not only support the text but also often enhance the story.
Since becoming a member of the Amazing Audiobook committee I have been listening to a wide variety of YA genres. Books I wouldn’t read in print I find I will listen to (and enjoy) on audio. My listening habits now go beyond just when I’m driving and include listening while I get ready for work, as I do routine cleaning, when I’m knitting or sewing, and of course when I’m outside gardening. My work on the committee has also fine-tuned my ears. I now listen critically for uniqueness of voices, quality of speech, wet mouth sounds, p-pops, and audible breaths I had always considered myself a fan of audiobooks but since joining the Amazing Audiobook committee, my fan status has changed to that of an addict.
Sarah again:
I think that Debi says it best, and most of our members would heartily agree: “While my work with Amazing Audiobooks is intense and often time-consuming, I love being part of this group.” We hope that if you’re thinking about volunteering for YALSA, you consider joining us and helping to create the next list of crazy good audiobooks. If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
To learn more about participating on a YALSA committee, visit the FAQ on the web site. To learn about volunteer opportunities other than committee work, visit the Get Involved page on the web site.
Shortly after Midwinter, YALSA published its selected lists, signaling the end of one committee year and the beginning of another. Last year I served on AmazingAudiobooks, and as I take over as chair and gear up for a second year, I’m finding myself reflecting on last year and what I’ve learned.
I learned a lot about audiobooks. Over the course of the year, I listened to audiobooks in the car, at the gym, during lunch, while getting dressed in the morning, while making meals, while doing housework, and while sitting on the couch feeling like maybe I would never finish all of the listening that I needed to do (look at all of the titles we received last year!). But all of that listening helped me develop a more sophisticated sense of what makes a good or poor audiobook (you don’t always like something, even if it’s really good).
I learned a lot about how other people listen to audiobooks. We discussed titles online over the year, but the majority of our discussion happened during meetings at Annual and Midwinter. Everyone brings different experiences, backgrounds, and preferences to their listening, and it was interesting to hear what others heard that I didn’t or what was important to them (I don’t think I really appreciated the value of pacing until these discussions). This has helped me become better at listeners’ advisory and I feel much better equipped to put good audiobooks in the right hands.
I learned a lot about myself and how I work. I think Amazing Audios is a good first selection committee because you know how much time you need to spend listening every day. While you can’t speed read an audiobook the way you might a print book if you were on BFYA, you also don’t encounter titles that take you an unexpectedly
long time to get through. Knowing how many hours I needed to spend listening every day meant I became more organized with how I used my time and how I fit that listening in–and when to stop listening and do something else.
Now that I’m beginning my term as chair, I’m learning even more. A selection committee chair has all of the responsibilities of a committee member (meaning I’m still on the hook for lots and lots of listening!), but there are other responsibilities like communicating with publishers, communicating with committee members,
setting up the behind-the-scenes stuff like where our discussions take place and creating instructions for committee members to review their assigned titles (I like this especially because I like organizing), requesting meetings at Annual and Midwinter, calling for field nominations, reporting on our progress to the Board, creating a monthly list of nominated titles, and, eventually, finalizing our annotated list and turning it in. I’m sure there are a lot of other things I have yet to discover, too!
Being on Amazing Audiobooks has been a great experience. I’ve learned a lot about audiobooks, about myself, and about YALSA. I’ve grown as a listener, an organizer, and a librarian. I’m so thankful that I was given this opportunity, and I can’t wait to share our final list with you next year!
This fall, YALSA will be making appointments to the following selection committees and taskforces! Put your passion for young adult literature to work! If you have experience in evaluating and selecting young adult materials, as well as time to volunteer your skills, please consider serving on a YALSA selection committee. The committees and taskforces are:
- Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults
- Best Fiction for Young Adults
- Fabulous Films for Young Adults
- Great Graphic Novels for Teens
-
Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults
-
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
- Great Graphic Novels for Teens
-
Alex Award
- Morris Award
- Odyssey Award
- 2013 Midwinter Marketing & Local Arrangements Taskforce
- 2013 Midwinter Paper Presentation Planning Taskforce
- Readers’ Choice List Taskforce
How do I get on a committee or taskforce?
To serve on a committee or taskforce, you must be officially appointed by YALSA’s President-Elect, Jack Martin. YALSA is collecting volunteer forms from now through Sept. 30 for members who would like to serve on selection and award committees as well as taskforces that begin work on Feb. 1, 2012. If you are currently serving on a selection or award committee and you are eligible to and interested in serving for another term, you must fill out a volunteer form. This is the only way the President-Elect knows for certain that you’re interested in continuing on the committee. Also, please note that selection committee members are required to attend both Midwinter and Annual conferences. Please ensure that you can travel to both conferences before you volunteer.
What Do I Need to Know to Volunteer?
Before you volunteer to serve on a committee or taskforce, you’ll want to learn what the group does and what your responsibilities will be. YALSA has created a free webinar with information about what it’s like to serve on a selection or award committee. Be sure to take the time to view it. You can also contact the chair directly to let him/her know you’re interested in serving and to ask questions about what your involvement will entail. Names and contact information for all the committee chairs are available from the Governance link on YALSA’s website. From the Get Involved link on YALSA’s website you’ll also find information about each of the committees’ functions, size, etc. Lastly, be sure to read through YALSA’s Handbook, especially the sections that list responsibilities for committee members.
Where do I volunteer?
In order to be considered for a selection or award committee, you need to fill out a Selection Committee Volunteer Form by Sept. 30.
If you’d like to be considered for one of the task