An Assignment

Most all writers I know have, or have had, a day job. I pursued a day job not in writing, but in something very related to the act of writing: librarianship. And while no, being a librarian isn’t all reading and books (we do programs and digital research, too!), that does make up a sizable chunk of what I do.

Being the librarian-writer that I am, I like to think I bring a certain level of expertise to readers advisory (that is, recommending books to readers, building collections and book lists and displays, etc.) in terms of not only age and reading level appropriateness, but honest-to-goodness literary quality. And so that is the track I’ve set my librarian career on: book quality.

One of the ways I do this is by reviewing for the publication School Library Journal– I let other librarians know what a book is about and whether I find it worthy of purchase and, if so, under what circumstances. It’s great and I love it.

And above reviewing and recommending books for purchase? Is lifting up those most excellent titles with awards. Ah yes, the library and publishing world is filled with book awards, some more accredited or prestigious than others (read: National Book Awards and American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards [with such honors as the Newbery, Caldecott, etc.]). Many states have their versions (often voted on by library patrons and students) of awards for different age groups, and Illinois is no different.

I’m most interested in the middle school and teenage category of patron and literature, so a few years ago I threw my hat in the ring to serve on the evaluation committee for Illinois’ Rebecca Caudill Young Reader’s Award specifically geared toward grades 4-8.

And just last week, I got the call. Or, in this case, the e mail.

That’s right! My application made it to the top of the stack and I was offer a three-year position on the evaluation committee. I am not only honored to have been offered a position on the committee -as the 20 finalists they committee decides will be used in many schools across the state for reading assignments and libraries for book recommendations- but I am so excited to gain this experience and see where this opportunity will take me next.

I’m sure I’ll write more (or as much as I am allowed!) on this as the process unravels, but for now all I can say is… happy reading!