Dear CASL members,
We are currently accepting applications from school or public librarians, as well as reading teachers who are interested serving on a 2015 Nutmeg Selection Committees. Please forward this email to anyone who fits the criteria and who might be interested.
The application is now online and can be accessed via The Nutmeg Book Award website http://nutmegaward.org/ or directly at http://ow.ly/ez5Bx
Student applications should be available next week. Information will be posted on the Nutmeg Web Site and another email will be sent out to the CASL listserv when the student application is posted.
Serving on a Nutmeg Book Selection Committee is a great experience. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet other librarians from across the state and learn what’s new in children’s or young adult literature. Before you make a decision about applying, however, there are several things that you need to take into consideration.
Serving on any of the committees is a huge commitment.
The High School Committee will read between 60-80 books (target audience grades 9-12).
The Teen Committee will read around 80 books (target audience grades 7-8).
The Intermediate Committee will read 110-130 books (target audience grades 4-6).
The Elementary Committee, we anticipate, will read about 125 books (target audience grades 2-4).
The Book Selection Chairperson compiles the lists and sends committee members the first list in February 2013. You will then have a steady pace of required reading through November 2013. Committee members are responsible for obtaining their own copies of the books.
As a committee member you will be expected to read all the books on the lists, whether they suit your tastes or not. This can be difficult. If you don’t like a book right at the start you must at least give it a good try.
Selection Committee members must be a member or willing to become a member of either Connecticut Association of School Librarians (CASL) or Connecticut Librarian Association (CLA). Reading teachers must be a member or willing to become a member of Connecticut Reading Association (CRA) and also be willing to join CASL or CLA.
Each Selection Committee will have a maximum of 15 members including: 1-2 chairpersons, 1 reading teacher, and a mix of school and public librarians. The Intermediate, Teen, and High School Committees will also have 2-3 student readers.
Four to five meetings are held during the selection process. The Chairperson selects the sites, dates and times of the meetings. Meetings are usually on a weeknight and most meetings run for two hours sometime between 6 and 9pm. Depending on where you live, it could be a short or long drive (committee members are from all over the state). Please know attendance is an important part of the Selection Committee process. Members should plan to attend ALL THE MEETINGS. If you are absent from more than 2 meetings or not participating in the on-line discussions, you may be asked to leave the committee. At the meetings the merits of each book are discussed and a lively debate is part of the process. To help with this discussion and to keep meetings moving along, members are encouraged to participate in online discussions on our wiki site throughout the reading process. At the last meeting in November, the committee will meet and choose the final ten nominees, along with alternate titles. It is the most important meeting and usually the longest.
The librarians and teachers on the committee are devoted to helping young people connect with quality fiction. If you have participated in the Nutmeg program in the past, you realize that the books you help to select will be read by many students across the state of Connecticut. You should feel free to express ideas and opinions that are your own and you will make a valuable contribution to the selection of Nutmeg nominees.
You may not serve on a Committee for more than two consecutive years.
Taking into account the above information, please decide if this is a challenge that you are suited for and if it is, please apply to be a volunteer!
Applications are due by December 15th. You will be notified before December 24th if you have or have not been selected to be on one of the Committees.
If you have any questions, please contact the corresponding Selection Chairperson:
2015 High School Selection Committee - Cathy Andronik cathyandronik@yahoo.com
2015 Teen Selection Committee - Jessica Miller jmlib923@yahoo.com & Marla Martin mmartin@biblio.org
2015 Intermediate Selection Committee - Cathy Townsend cwtown34@aol.com
2015 Elementary Selection Committee - Heather Baker bakerheather@gmail.com & Caitlin Augusta caitlinreads@gmail.com
Lisa Garofalo
School Librarian
Ellington Middle School & Crystal Lake School
Ellington, CT
lgarofalo@ellingtonschools.net
Co-Chair, Nutmeg Steering Committee