The phone calls that are made to the winners of the ALA Youth Media Awards are so exciting. Having been part of the process, it's hard to convey the emotions you feel when you're speaking with and listening to the award and honor winners so early in the morning, when they can hardly believe what's happening. Hooray for AL Focus for listening in on this year's calls and sharing them with us all.

Originally published at LibrariAnne.

There's been a lot of talk lately about what the Newbery Award means and the many and various things people think it should be. I'm familiar with the old chorus of "if it has a medal on it, I'll never read it," but I've mostly heard it out of the mouths of librarians, not from young readers, and I think it's a way for librarians to justify that they don't like or haven't read most of the award-winning books. Not every reader will like every book, and that goes for librarians, too. Don't be a hater: nothing says you have to personally recommend every winner. Aren't we librarians supposed to be all about the freedom of expression?

Personally, I think the Newbery slaggers miss the point. The award is for the most distinguished work of American literature for children. It's not for the most popular, or the most heart-warming, or the most likely to appeal to reluctant readers. It's also chosen not by employees or officials of the American Library Association, but by a group of volunteers. These volunteers are different every year and have a variety of professional day-jobs with which they must balance the tremendous responsibility they've agreed to as a member of the Newbery committee. I have not participated on this committee but I have been on the Caldecott, which functions in a very similar way. In my experience, the make-up of the committee, the manner in which the chair facilitates and/or participates in the discussions, the way committee members interact, the variety and timing of books published in that particular year...there are a myriad of factors that all contribute to the decision any committee comes to. Being elected or appointed to the committee is such a gigantic honor that members take their responsibility extremely seriously. I believe that the committees do their best to select the most distinguished book. There will always be haters but for me that doesn't take away from the awesomeness of the award. Some folks seem to agree, including author Erica Perl. Anti-award-ians, you're welcome to your opinions, but I think you've got it wrong.

Originally published at LibrariAnne.