Policies and Procedures
for VSBA Committees

Co-Chairs

• The co-chairs of the Volunteer State Book Award shall be appointed by the President of the Tennessee Library Association and by the President of the Tennessee Association of School.

• Each organization shall appoint one chair. The co-chairs may serve an unlimited number of terms. A co-chair may also serve on a selection committee. TLA dues for the co-chair appointed by TASL will be paid by TASL during the co-chair’s term of office. The co-chairs shall be members of both TLA and TASL for their terms of office.

• The duties of the co-chairs include but are not limited to the following responsibilities:

  • • • Supervision of the four selection committees and the publicity committee.

      • Maintenance of the VSBA page on the TASL website.

      • Recruitment of new members for the selection committees.

      • Communication to TLA and TASL and their members about the VSBA.

      • Creation and tabulation of the VSBA ballots.

      • Communication to the winning authors and their publishers.

      • Procurement and distribution of the VSBA labels and award stickers.

      • Distribution of review copies to members of the committees.

      • Approval of the final lists of nominations.

      • Communication with TASL regarding events at the annual conference.

Selection Committees

• There are four selection committees--Primary (K-2^nd), Intermediate (3^rd-5^th), Middle School (6^th-8^th), and High School (9^th-12^th).

• Each single committee serves under the guidance of a chairperson.

• Each committee shall have twenty members; this number includes the chairperson.

Chair of the Selection Committee

• Each selection committee has a single chairperson. The chairperson may appoint an assistant to help with the logistical issues related to maintaining the booklists, counting votes, and communicating to other members.

• The committee chairperson is responsible for the creation and leadership of the selection committee. Duties of the chairperson are listed below:

  • • • Creation and maintenance of the selection committee with the goal of having a balance between school and public librarians, the three geographic divisions of Tennessee, and urban, suburban, and rural libraries.

      • Maintenance of the waiting list for the selection committee.

      • Communication between the members of the committees as well as with the TASL and TLA co-chairs.

      • Communication of the selection guidelines and submission dates for nominated titles to the members of the committee.

      • Creation of the list of nominated titles and distribution of that list to the members of the committee and the co-chairs.

      • Determination of the eligibility of nominated titles. Final authority of eligibility rests with the co-chairs.

      • Creation of the ballot for voting within the committee.

      • Organization of the annual meeting, including finding an agreeable time and location for that meeting, leading that meeting, and creating the final list of the selected titles.

• That list will be shared with the members of selection committee and the VSBA co-chairs.

• Each committee determines the length of service for the committee chair.

• The chairperson recruits and appoints the next chair with guidance from the other members of the selection committee.

Members of the Selection Committees

• Any resident of Tennessee is eligible to serve on the selection committee.

• A person who lives in another state but who is employed in Tennessee is eligible to serve on the committee.

• One does not need to be currently employed as a librarian or in a library to be eligible to serve on a selection committee. Teachers, retired librarians, and advocates for literacy may serve on a committee.

• Committee members must be a member of either the Tennessee Association of School Librarians (TASL) or the Tennessee Library Association (TLA).

Selection Guidelines

• Books may be fiction, poetry, or nonfiction.

• Books must be age appropriate for that division.

• Only one title of any one author will be included on any grade level list.

• It is acceptable to have appropriate titles on multiple lists.

• Only titles published in the current year of voting will be eligible.

• Only books by authors who reside in the United States are eligible.

• Textbooks, anthologies, translations, and books from foreign publishers are not eligible.

• Titles from vanity publishers or that have been self-published are not eligible.

• Titles that are available only in digital format are not eligible.

• The award cannot be given posthumously. If the author of a book were to die before or during the year it is on the list, that book would be replaced by another title.

• If a book were to go out of print before or during the voting year, it will be removed from the list and replaced with an alternate title.

• The selection committee must consider the sincerity of the author and respect for the intended audience.

• The selection must consider the book’s literary quality and its potential appeal to readers.

• Special consideration should be given to books with a connection to Tennessee (for example, the author resides in Tennessee or the book is set in Tennessee).

• Inclusion on a local school reading list does not prevent a title from being considered for nomination.

• The final list should include 20 titles, plus at least one alternate title, in each division.

Submission Dates and Committee Meetings

• Submission dates:

September 15

November 15

February 15

• Chairs of the selection committees should make tentative plans for the spring selection meeting. That meeting may be held during the annual TLA conference or at some other designated time and place on or before May 15.

• After each submission date, the selection committee chair will compile all nominated titles and distribute the list to committee members and the co-chairs. At this time, committee members will also be reminded of the next submission date.

• Selection committee members who do not submit titles for consideration by the second nominations date (November 15) may be dropped from the committee and may be replaced by the selection committee chair.

• After the February 15 submission date, the selection committee chairs will distribute the final compilation of nominated titles to all committee members and the two co-chairs.

• The committee members should be instructed to mark their ballots using the rating criteria outlined by the selection committee chair and bring them to the final selection committee meeting or mail/email/electronically submit them to the chair if unable to attend the meeting.

• Notify the co-chairs of the time and place of the final selection committee meeting.

Conduct the final selection meeting as follows:

• Five readers must have read and rated a title for it to be considered for the final list.

• Committee members should discuss each of the nominated titles.

• Use a predetermined scoring method to arrive at a preliminary list of 20 titles.

• Discuss the preliminary list and check for:

  • • • Author eligibility

      • Copyright date (preference should be given to the most recently published books)

      • Literary merit

      • Variety of genres

      • Multicultural appeal

      • Variety of reading levels

      • Appropriateness for age group

      • Connection to Tennessee

• The committee can adjust final list if necessary by using the next highest rated titles until the majority of members is satisfied with the final list.

• Submit copies of list and ballots to each co-chair with the following information about each title in e-mail in a “Word” file within one week after the final selection committee meeting:

  • • • Author

      • Title

      • Publisher

      • Copyright