Get ready to vote! The YALSA election runs from March 19 through April 25, and to help you be an informed voter, we’re sharing interviews with each of the 2014 candidates for YALSA Award Committees.
This week we are focusing on the Michael L. Printz Award Committee, which honors the best book and up to four honor books written for teens, based entirely on literary merit, each year.
Candidates, who will be presented in alphabetical order, were asked to craft “Twitter-length” responses (i.e. around 140 characters). Full biographical information on all of the candidates can be found on the sample ballot.
Today we have an interview with Paige Battle.
Name and current position:‘ Paige Battle, Librarian, Grant High School in Portland, OR
Why did you decide to run for a YALSA selection committee?
YALSA book awards and lists are an integral part of Readers Advisory for youth librarians across the country. I wanted in on the action of selecting those titles.
In a nutshell, what will you bring to the committee?
17 years of proudly and obsessively reading YA lit and sharing titles with teens in the vein of Printz’s RA philosophy: right book for the right teen at the right time.
What experience do you have with materials selection and evaluation?
Created/hosted Mock Printz workshops in collaboration with Ft Vancouver Regional Library; chairing the 2015 Alex Awards after a 2 year term as a committee member.
What makes you a good fit for this committee in particular?
My career as a HS librarian and immersion into the world of YA began the same year the first Printz award was given – coincidence? I think not.
How do you plan to manage the reading load required by selection committee participation?
2 years of Alex reading has been excellent conditioning, but I also have a Hermione time-turner necklace at my disposal that my daughter picked up while visiting Hogwarts.
What have been some of your favorite past winners of this particular award?
The First Part Last and Looking for Alaska – books that are universally beloved and reluctant readers will take a chance on. Cue the ABBA music.
What books should have won the award, but didn’t?
Everybody Sees the Ants – hands down one of the best books for starting conversations with students about the effects of bullying.
What else do voters need to know about you?
When not fighting librarian sartorial stereotypes, I spend time searching for serendipitous finds at vintage shops in the City of Roses where we do indeed put birds on things.
This interview was cross-posted on The Hub and the YALSAblog.
