Since 1980 the goals of the Nebraska children’s choice book award have been to instill a love of reading

and an appreciation of books and good literature in young people; and to involve Nebraska teachers,

librarians and children in the process of selecting and evaluating appropriate titles for students from

kindergarten through middle school ages.

The committee encouraged participation, provided resources with author and illustrator information,

curriculum-related and skill-building activities, collected and tallied votes and presented the awards to

winning authors who were invited to the state to meet the children who had voted for their books.

Those authors and illustrators also often visited schools, libraries and bookstores where they interacted

with even more of the state’s readers.

The program was designed to inspire children and it should retain that lofty purpose.

Disagreements and dissension among adults cannot be allowed to tarnish the integrity of the award; or

to cause it to be a pawn in any sort of discussion. Verbal battles seldom bring satisfactory solutions and

can often cause greater harm and misunderstanding.

To ensure this, the current members of the committee who have worked to uphold the values and goals

of the award have all chosen to step away.

The Nebraska Library Association has assumed full responsibility for the continuation of the award.

Inquiries may be directed to: NLA President Emily Nimsakont. Email address:

nlapresident@nebraskalibraries.org