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September 19, 2008

Garden State Teen Book Award FAQ

For a refresher of what the GSTBA is, how to participate, and how to vote, please check out the FAQ created by the Young Adult Services Section. These Frequently Asked Questions are also posted at the NJLA wiki at: http://njla.pbwiki.org/Young+Adult+Services.

Garden State Teen Book Awards
Frequently Asked Questions
Young Adult Section of the New Jersey Library Association

The official rules and explanation of the GSTBA ballot process can be found at: http://www.njla.org/honorsawards/book.

What is the Garden State Teen Book Award (GSTBA)?
The Garden State Teen Book Award is a project of the Young Adult Section of the New Jersey Library Association (www.njla.org). The section represents libraries from throughout the state, and selected nominees are based on teen appeal and quality of writing from the previous year’s “Best Books” list (i.e. the final 2010 GSTBA ballot is completed in late 2008/early 2009 and contains titles published in 2007). Ballots are composed of 20 nominations in three categories: fiction for grades 6-8, fiction for grades 9-12, and nonfiction for grades 6-12. The section seeks to expose teens to books that are appealing and well written, and which accurately display the diversity found in the state of New Jersey. Ballots are made available primarily to New Jersey school and public librarians.

What is the process for putting together the GSTBA ballot?
Members of the Young Adult Section of NJLA who have elected to act as “readers” are assigned titles by the YA Section Executive Board. The section will be notified as a whole when readers and titles are matched up, usually following the September section meeting. Readers read their assigned titles, and then meet with the section to discuss which titles should be chosen for the ballot. Each of the categories are discussed at three separate meetings. These discussion meetings follow regular section meetings in January, February, and March.

In 2008-2009:
Grade 6-8 discussion: January 30, 2009 (with snow date February 27)
Grade 9-12 discussion: February 27, 2009 (with snow date March 27)
Nonfiction discussion: March 27, 2009

At the conclusion of each discussion, a ballot with a maximum of 20 nominations is created. The full ballot of no more than 20 titles in each category is completed following the discussion of nonfiction titles in March. Voting extends from this time through mid-January of the following year.

Who puts together the GSTBA ballot?
Readers! You must be a member of the Young Adult Section of the New Jersey Library Association in order to be a reader.

Being a reader requires you to:
+ read titles that are assigned to you.
+ attend discussion meetings in January/February/March.*
+ help create original annotations of titles that make the ballot.
*note: If you cannot attend one or more of the discussions, you must make every effort to send your comments with a proxy (or a member of the executive board). Be sure to indicate your “Top Five” titles if you cannot attend the meeting. A GSTBA reader feedback form and book review code are available for your reference.

Being a reader entitles you to:
+ vote! Any section member can attend meetings and discussions, but ONLY READERS CAN VOTE for the final ballot.

The Members-at-Large of the section are responsible for compiling the final ballot and list of annotations, as well as for assigning readers and organizing the original full list of nominations.

How can I participate in choosing nominations for the ballot?
If you are a current member interested in participating in the creation of the GSTBA ballot, please contact one of the section Members-at-Large. You will be notified of your title assignments following the September meeting. If you are only interested in reading for one or two of the categories, please indicate this preference to the Members-at-Large.

To participate in putting together the ballot for the 2010 GSTBA ballot, please send an email prior to October 1 to:
Kate at kate_thelibrarian@yahoo.com; Emily at haberman@bccls.org.

When does the process for putting together the GSTBA ballot begin?
Reader assignments are made following the September meeting. The section begins discussions in January.

How can I get my hands on the ballot?
Printable ballots are available at the NJLA website (www.njla.org). Print ballots are also available the NJLA Conference at the end of April. You can contact one of the section Members-at-Large to see if there are extra print ballots after this time. Online voting is available at www.bccls.org/teens.

Who can vote for the award?
New Jersey teens! This is an award for teen readers, voted on by teen readers.

Posted by vasilik at September 19, 2008 1:53 PM

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