The name of the oversight and administering group shall be called the Arkansas Teen Book Award Steering Committee.

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1 By-Laws Blog: Goodreads: Youtube: Article 1 Name The name of this award shall be the Arkansas Teen Book Award. The name of the oversight and administering group shall be called the Arkansas Teen Book Award Steering Committee. Article 2 Intent/Purpose The Arkansas Teen Book Award shall encourage young adults across Arkansas, in grades 7-12, to read. The Award will recognize books in two divisions: Level 1, 7 th -9 th grades, and Level 2, 10 th -12 th grades. The intent of this award shall be to: encourage young adults in Arkansas to read for enjoyment; promote teacher, library, and parent involvement in young adult literature programs; commend authors of young adult literature; promote the use of libraries and media centers; increase community support and involvement in encouraging and fostering young adults interest in reading. The purpose of the Steering Committee shall be to oversee and administer the Arkansas Teen Book Award. Article 3 Membership/Structure The primary sponsoring organization of the Arkansas Teen Book Award shall be the Arkansas Center for the Book at the Arkansas State Library. This project is made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Secondary sponsoring organizations may be added as the Steering Committee and the primary sponsoring organization deem necessary. The Steering Committee shall exercise general supervision and control over the property and affairs of the Arkansas Teen Book Award, and shall supervise the execution of approved actions and policies within the powers delegated by the bylaws.

2 The Steering Committee shall be a collaborative effort, with no elected Chairperson. Rather, all decisions are made democratically, with each member receiving one (1) vote, and all agreeing that a majority carries the decision. At least four (4) meetings per year shall be held, with scheduling of the meetings to be based on the needs of the award. Four (4) voting members of the Steering Committee shall constitute a quorum. shall be used concerning important, unexpected decisions that must be made between meetings. Minutes of all meetings shall be created, and housed at the Arkansas Center for the Book for future reference. Section 1 Steering Committee Membership The Arkansas Teen Book Award Steering Committee shall consist of seven (7) committee members, including three (3) public librarians, three (3) school librarians, and one (1) librarian from the Arkansas State Library. There shall be no elected positions, and each committee member shall bear the same weight of responsibility for committee work, with award duties divided equally among the committee members. The committee member representing the Arkansas State Library shall serve at the discretion of the Arkansas State Librarian. The committee members representing public librarians and the committee members representing school librarians shall be elected for one (1) four-year term. After their term expires, these members must wait a minimum of one (1) year before serving as a committee member again. Attendance at a majority of the Steering Committee meetings is required, as well as participation in necessary work for the Teen Book Award outside of committee meetings. Section 2 Eligibility to Serve on Steering Committee Members of the Steering Committee shall be actively employed in the library profession. Preference will be given to former readers/moderators. Section 3 Appointment of Steering Committee Terms for Steering Committee members begin with the fall meeting. Committee members shall be replaced via an application process and voted upon by existing committee members. Vacancies in membership shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made, with the newly appointed member serving the unexpired term of his or her predecessor before beginning a new, four-year term. This will eliminate the possibility of two or more members rotating off of the committee during the same year. Section 4 Duties of the Steering Committee Committee members are responsible for the overall function of the reading award, including but not limited to compiling nominated titles, recruiting readers, maintaining the voting process and development of official award reading lists, attending committee meetings, preparing and giving presentations and workshops at conferences and educational cooperatives, maintaining all social media sites, updating the Facebook and Twitter accounts, checking the Google account and promoting the award across the state. 2

3 Section 5 Duties of the Reading Groups (Readers) Readers shall volunteer their time to read and select the titles that will be added to the voting lists from which teens will select the Arkansas Teen Book Award winners each year. Readers shall be coordinated by Steering Committee member(s) and participate online via social media (determined by Steering Committee) as they make their selections. Designated Steering Committee members shall maintain social media outlets. Readers will be divided into groups, according to genres of books to be read graphic novel, fiction, adrenaline, fantasy, etc., with each group moderated by a Steering Committee member or by additional moderators selected by the Steering Committee. Persons outside of the Steering Committee selected as moderators shall have previous histories as Readers for the Arkansas Teen Book Award. Readers are responsible for acquiring their own copies of the titles on the book lists to read. Article 4 Public Relations/Publicity/Promotions A logo for the Arkansas Teen Book Award, recognized by librarians and educators across Arkansas, has been developed and shall remain in use on all print and online materials associated with the award until such time that the Steering Committee deems it necessary to be updated or replaced. All promotional materials produced by the Arkansas Center for the Book in relation to the Arkansas Teen Book Award will bear the logo of the Arkansas Center for the Book and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Promotional materials produced elsewhere but paid for with state or federal funding shall also bear these logos. In both cases, materials shall be approved by the Arkansas State Librarian prior to printing and distribution. The Steering Committee shall assist with the development, assembly, and distribution of promotional material packets to requesting organizations (primarily school and public libraries). The official website for the Arkansas Teen Book Award will be accessed through the Arkansas Center for the Book s webpage on the Arkansas State Library s website. The Steering Committee blog, youtube channel, and goodreads account shall also be accessible from this website. All press releases shall be released from the Arkansas State Library, under the auspices of the Arkansas Center for the Book. The Steering Committee shall contribute to the press releases, but the Arkansas Center for the Book and the Arkansas State Library shall have control over the final release. Article 5 Timeline The Arkansas Teen Book Award shall be awarded annually, but work of the Steering Committee shall typically simultaneously include three consecutive award years. Committee work shall adhere to the following schedule: 3

4 Year 1: 1. January through February A. Solicit readers and book titles to consider. B. titles and/or sign up to be a reader at arteenbookaward@gmail.com 2. March through July A. Divide Readers into Reading Groups B. Readers read titles on reading lists C. Readers vote/decide on titles for teen voting lists via selected social media. Year 2: Year 3: 3. August through December A. Wildcard Reading Group votes on Wildcard titles for teen voting lists via selected social media. B. Teen Voting List is announced at ArLA Annual Conference C. Distribute voting lists statewide D. Access other promotional materials via official website and promotional blog: E. New lists announced via press release from the Arkansas Center for the Book. 1. Year 1 schedule 2. November of Year 1 to August 31 of Year 2 Teens read and vote 3. Winners announced via press release from the Arkansas Center for the Book. 1. Year 1 schedule 2. Year 2 schedule 3. Spring Skype session with either a winning or nominated author at AAIM Conference 4. Fall Skype session with either a winning or nominated author at ArLA Conference Article 6 Finances As long as the Arkansas Center for the Book at the Arkansas State Library remains a primary sponsor of the Arkansas Teen Book Award, funding to assist with the award shall be proposed during the Arkansas State Library s annual budget process. The Steering Committee shall also seek financial assistance in the form of sponsorships, grants, and/or gifts for the Arkansas Teen Book Award when/if applicable. Article 7 Book Selection Section 1 Selection Criteria The Arkansas Teen Book Award shall use the following criteria in its selection process: 1. Unless the title can stand on its own, it must be the first in a series. 4

5 2. The copyright date must be for the year directly preceding the year the book goes on the reading list. 3. Copyright date goes by the hardback edition unless it was originally published in paperback. 4. Allow translations going by the U.S. copyright date. 5. Each title shall have a review in a peer reviewed journal such as School Library Journal, Library Journal, VOYA or Hornbook. 6. Age division shall be determined by reviews through School Library Journal when possible. If unavailable, then age division shall be determined by Booklist, Library Journal or at the discretion of the Book Award Committee. If a recommended age level can t be determined, the title will not be selected. A. Levels in which titles are placed shall be determined by the largest number of grades covered by the review s indicated grade level. For example, 8+ would be assigned to level 2 because it covers a larger portion of the grades in level 2 (grades 10-12). B. Books may be nominated by library community, parents, teens, others, etc. via , Facebook, etc. C. Other selections shall be taken from multiple book awards, top ten, and best of lists published by ALA, YALSA, other book awarding foundations, and titles which receive the highest rated review in Hornbook Guide and VOYA. Section 2 Procedure Voting Procedures for the Reading Groups 1. Target number of titles for each age level s voting list shall be twenty (20) titles Level 1 and Level Target number of votes per level shall be eighteen (18) between all reading groups. A. Reading groups (historical fiction, graphic novels, etc.) will be assigned a number of votes depending on the number of titles in each group. Example: 74 titles in level 1 divided by 18 = 4.11 titles per every 1 vote. Example: 97 titles in level 2 divided by 18 = 6.39 titles per every 1 vote. B. Wildcard nominations shall be taken from all reading groups and the Spring Horn Book Guides top rated titles which were not on the original reading list and compiled into a wildcard list once all other votes have been tallied. a. This list shall be available for reading group members at least one month before voting. b. Wildcard readers are volunteers from the reading group who choose to continue reading for another month. 1) Wildcard selections shall be added to the final teen reading list. 2) Wildcards shall be selected from each level to ensure that the total number of titles on each age level s voting list equals 20. Student Reading and Voting Procedures Students shall vote at their school/public library for their favorite book from the lists beginning in November each year through August 31 of the following year. A. Reading 5

6 a. Teens shall have the Arkansas Teen Reading Book Award voting lists available to them from November to August of each year. It shall be the responsibility of public librarians, school library media specialists and teachers to make this list available to students. b. Reading for each level shall not be restricted to those students within the grades for that level Example: a 12 th grader can read and vote on titles from Level 1. B. Voting a. Voting procedures shall be determined by individual libraries/librarians. b. Teens shall cast their votes from November of each year to August 31 of the following year via paper or online ballots. c. Public librarians and library media specialists shall be responsible for sending their students votes to the Book Award Committee to be counted (if students voted via paper ballots). arteenbookaward@gmail.com Article 8 Awards The Steering Committee shall contact the award-winning author(s) and their publisher(s). The winners shall be announced in a press release from the Arkansas Center for the Book. If possible, one winner shall be recognized in a session at the AAIM Conference in spring, and one winner shall be recognized in a session at the ArLA conference in fall. Article 9 Bylaws Section 1 Amendments Amendments to the bylaws shall be proposed in writing to each member of the Steering Committee at least two weeks prior to a scheduled meeting. Following the discussion at the scheduled meeting, approval for the amendment(s) will be by majority vote. 6