Excitement at ALA

The highlight of Midwinter ALA for youth librarians is usually the book awards and this year was no exception. Great joy over the Newbery and Caldecott winners and Prinz winners BUT dismay about the change in the ground rules for YALSA awards. The Board has unanimously passed a ruling that the former Best Books for Young Adults will soon be Best Fiction Books. Nonfiction and graphic novels will both be left out of the running. Marc Aronson in his blog describes the rebellion stirring in the ranks of many young adult librarians who want the list to be more inclusive. Everyone knows that graphic novels are great favorites with teenagers. Many of them are literate and artistic stories told in imaginative formats. Why exclude them? Will the next step be to set up three different lists? Stay tuned to the blog world to follow this story as it unfolds.