It's Almost Time for our Discussion & Election!

I just emailed the following letter to all the people I have listed as participating in our Mock Newbery discussion on January 17th:

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I am excited that you will be joining us for our Mock Newbery discussion and election on January 17^th! The program will be held at the Main Library of the Allen County Public Library system. The address is 900 Library Plaza in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana. You can go to our website for directions and parking information. Participants will begin to gather in the Orientation Room – also known as “The Globe Room” – at 9:00 am. We will plan to begin our program at 9:15. Each Indiana Librarian will receive one LEU for their attendance & participation in this program.

The general format of our program will consist of:

• Information about the Newbery Award
• Criteria used to select the Newbery winner and honor books
• Discussion guidelines
• Group discussion of the books on our list
• Balloting

Our process in the book discussion is to have each participant present brief (2 to 4 minutes) information about a book under consideration. This will be followed by a group discussion of the book.

Because we have so many GREAT books to discuss -- and so little time -- I’d like to give each of you an opportunity to choose in advance the book you’d most like to present to the group as the introduction to the book’s discussion. This involves offering a VERY brief synopsis of the plot to remind us all about the book, followed by why you believe it is a strong contender in our discussion. Your reasons should focus on the criteria used by the actual Newbery committee. Knowing in advance the book you will be presenting will allow you to prepare any important points you want to be sure to bring up.

Please respond to me at mvoors@acpl.info with your ranked list of three books you’d be willing (excited!) to present to the group. I will create a list of who is presenting which book and will also have a “back-up” presenter for each book. (You will be able to choose additional books to present the day of the program if you wish.) First come, first served! The sooner you send me the list of books you’d be willing to present, the more likely you will be able to present your favorite of the year!

Let me know if you have questions or concerns. I look forward to hearing from you about which books you’d be willing to present. And I REALLY look forward to our discussion on January 17^th!

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If you thought you had signed up for the program and did not receive this letter via email, please let me know; it's not too late to get you signed up!

If you are unable to participate in our "in-person" discussion, please feel free to add your comments to this blog... we'll make sure your voice is heard during our discussion on the 17th.