Each year the YALSA office receives more than 1,200 newly published children's, young adult and adult books, audiobooks, and other materials. YALSA and the cooperating publishers are offering one year's worth of review materials as a contribution to a library in need.

YALSA's Great Books Giveaway Competition

Purpose
Each year the YALSA office receives approximately 1,200 newly published books, videos, CD's and audiocassettes, materials that have been targeted primarily towards young adults. Publishers and producers submit copies for selection committees to review and nominate. After the ALA Midwinter Meeting (when committees select their annual lists), these materials need to be removed from the YALSA office to make room for the next year's publications.

The YALSA Board of Directors believes many libraries that serve young adults would benefit by receiving this collection of materials. YALSA and the cooperating publishers are therefore offering one year's worth of review materials as a contribution to a library in need through this application process. Applicants must demonstrate:

Why the collection is needed in their community.
Why the collection is needed in their institution.
How acquiring the collection will help them better serve the youth of their community.
That the library's commitment to intellectual freedom and equity of access for young adults is supported by an up-to-date, board-approved collection development policy which is based upon the guidelines in the Intellectual Freedom Manual (ALA, 1996) and/or Censorship and Selection: Issues and Answers for Schools by Henry Reichman (ALA, 2001).

Criteria

Each application will be judged on the basis of:

The degree of need in the community. (20 points)
The degree of need of the school, public library, or institution where the library is located. (20 points)
The degree of improvement of service to young adults in the community. (20 points).
The degree of clarity and effectiveness of the statement of need. (20 points)
An estimate of the age of the nonfiction collection. (10 points)
The currency and completeness of the institution’s board approved collection development policy, including the materials selection policy, with procedures for handling challenges. (10 points)

A total of 100 points is possible. Each entry will be rated by this point system and the winning application will be the one with the highest total number of points. The YALSA Executive Committee will judge the applications.

Guidelines

Applicants must be personal members of YALSA as well as ALA. Organizational members are not eligible.
All applications must be received complete in the YALSA office no later than December 1.
All entries must include the cover sheet provided by YALSA. Web site or e-mail forms of the cover sheet are acceptable.
The application must be signed by the director of the public library, the superintendent of schools, the building-level administrator or the director of the institution.
Applicants must agree to accept all the materials received at the YALSA office, with the understanding that this collection is material targeted primarily for young adults, ages 12-18.
Six paper copies (one original plus five copies) of the application and one copy of the current, board-approved collection development policy must be submitted to the YALSA Office, 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL, 60611 by the above deadline date.
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Shipping and handling charges are the responsibility of the institution selected to receive the Great Book Giveaway collection. For purposes of estimating shipping costs, winning collections have weighed as much as 2000 lbs. and included as many as 35 cartons. Shipping ranges from $500 - $800.

Previous winners are not eligible.

Announcement of Winner

The recipient of the Great Books Giveaway will be announced by a press release issued by the ALA Public Information Office during the upcoming Midwinter Meeting.

For further information contact :

YALSA Office
American Library Association
50 East Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611
1-800-545-2433, extension 4387, or via e-mail at YALSA@ala.org

Great Books Giveaway Competition

Application Cover Sheet

Please complete the application cover sheet below and submit the additional information specified on the next page.

Institution Information

1. Name of Contact Person:

Title:

Work Phone No:

Home Phone No:

Fax No:

E mail:

2. Name and address of library system, private school, public school district or institution:

3. Type of facility:

Single public library

Single public school

Single private school

Public school district

Institutional library

Public library system

Other:

4.Signature of contact person completing the application:

IMPORTANT: Date of the institution’s current board approved collection development

policy:_______________________________________________________________

(One copy must be included with your application.)

Applicant must be a personal member of YALSA and ALA, or must apply for membership when submitting the Great Book Giveaway Application.

I am currently a personal member of YALSA and ALA. My membership number is:

I am applying for a personal membership in YALSA and ALA. My membership application and remittance are attached.

STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT

I understand the criteria for the Great Book Giveaway Competition and verify all the information provided. I also understand that the winner of the Great Book Giveaway is entirely responsible for the pickup and delivery of the entire collection, and I have identified a means to ship the entire collection to our premises. If unable to complete this commitment within one month of notification, I understand that the collection will be awarded to the applicant with the next highest number of points.

Signature of administrator, superintendent, or director:

Name and title of administrator, superintendent, or director (please print):

Application Instructions:

1. Complete the application cover sheet, being sure to include your membership status information and the date of your institution's board approved collection development policy.

2. Attach the following information to the application cover sheet, providing this information in no more than three double-spaced pages.

Describe the community that the institution serves, using socioeconomic statistics if available.
Describe the institution for which the materials are intended.
Explain why the institution needs these materials. Include the estimated age of your non-fiction collection and the characteristics of your young adult population.
Explain how library service to young adults would be improved in the community.

3. Provide one copy of the current, board-approved collection development policy that includes a selection policy with procedures for handling challenges. It would be helpful to include any forms used in the challenge process.

4. Mail complete application including all copies to arrive no later than December 1. Due to the unpredictability of various mail and delivery services, the postmark date cannot be a determining factor for eligibility, only the date it is received in the YALSA office.