About YALSA

Best Books For Young Adults Committee Description

Type: Standing

Membership: 15 members, including Chair, plus 1 Consultant (Editor of Booklist's Books for Youth) and 1 Administrative Assistant.

QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Current membership in YALSA
  • Experience in evaluating library materials, such as relevant course work, on the job materials evaluation experience, writing reviews and/or relevant articles, previous selection committee experience, etc.
  • Ability to attend both ALA's Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference during your term of appointment on the committee.
  • Ability to dedicate a significant amount of time to seeking out and reading relevant titles.
  • No conflicts of interest in accordance with
    YALSA’s Award & Selection Committee Conflict of Interest Policy.
  • Good time management and organizational skills
  • High ethical standards
  • Previous service on a YALSA committee/jury/taskforce is preferred.

For information on the responsibilities of committee/jury/taskforce members, visit
YALSA's Handbook.

Term of Office: Chair: one year. Members: one year, with possible reappointment for one additional year.

Function: To select from the year's publications those adult and teenage books significant for young adults; to annotate the selected titles.

Procedures: See "
Policies and Procedures for the Best Books for Young Adults Committee."

History: The committee was originally the Association for Young People's Librarian's Book List Committee (1952). It was renamed the Book Selection Committee (1954), and later the Committee for the Selection of Significant Adult Books for Young People (1963). It became the Best Books for Young Adults Committee in 1966. The committee's policies and procedures are examined from time to time by an ad hoc committee. Most recently the Board approved major recommendations for change at the Atlanta Annual Conference, July, 1991. In 1994 a history and compilation of Best Books for Young Adults was published by ALA Editions. Entitled
Best Books for Young Adults: The History, The Selections, The Romance, it was written by Betty Carter and used at the preconference, "Here We Go Again. . .25 Years of Best Books," which was held at the 1994 Annual Conference in Miami Beach.