December, 1997

Staff -- School Library Journal, 12/1/1997

Defending Walden Award

Regarding "Should We Beware of Donors Bearing Book Prizes?" (SLJ, September 1997, pp. 115-117): I was a member of the board of the Young Adult Library Services Association in 1995 and recall our discussion about the pros and cons of Ms. [Amelia] Walden's selection criteria [for a young adult book award]. I had also worked with Caryn Sipos to craft the procedures to guide the Walden Award should it come to fruition. It's true that my primary concern was to implement the donor's instructions accurately and completely. My feeling was, and is, that the criteria give plenty of latitude to celebrate an honorable book selection each year. As for YALSA's being "whorish," I think that's a little strong. If the author of this article, an editor, or a former YALSA President wishes to bequeath to the organization the funds to support an award recognizing a young adult novel, I, for one--as a professional working to improve the literacy of young adults--would jump at the chance to "sell out" once again.

A Field Day with Guides

I just read Carolyn Caywood's column on field guides and think it's excellent! (Teens and Libraries, October 1997, p. 61) She brought attention to a particular type of book and also gave useful criteria for good points and poor points. The way she connected the advantages of guide books to teen learning skills was well done. I wouldn't have thought of using them for booktalks. Caywood gets a "thumbs up" from me.

Ads a Minus

The September issue of School Library Journal was, as usual, filled with interesting articles, useful information, and invaluable book reviews. However, enough with the #$%@^&!* adhesive, multi-paged inserts! In attempting to remove one of them so that I could read the reviews underneath, I was forced to tear the page, as the "temporary" gel adhesive proved permanent. This rendered two reviews unreadable.I fully understand the need for publishers' advertisements in the Fall Books issue, but need we have whole catalogues? Frankly, I rely on SLJ for the articles and reviews and feel these should have priority. I resent having to spend time ripping things out of the magazine before I am able to make use of it. It may be a marketing coup for the publisher to have the mini-catalogue where I can't avoid seeing it. But if the end result is that their ads annoy readers, the publishers may wind up selling fewer books.