Young People’s Book Awards

BILBY Awards

Bilby is an acronym for books I love best yearly

It is a children’s choice award

It is held annually throughout Queensland. The awards are drawn from a list of books, which are recommended by children; the list is generally made available to many libraries and online magazines(Children's Book Council of Australia). Some of which are La Trobe University and Goodreads and Good Reading Magazine. The BILBY awards were first instituted in 1990.

Format

Children of Queensland are invited each year to nominate their favourite title amongst the books they have read in the previous year.

There are three categories: -

Early readers

Books for readers under eight

Younger readers

Books for readers between eight and twelve years

Older readers

Books for readers over twelve years

Each category is awarded for an individual book and past winners from the last two years are not eligible for the next year of awards. The eligible books maybe print, audio or digital format and can be read aloud to children.

There are two phases for the BILBY awards, nomination and voting

Nomination

Children are invited to nominate their favourite book for their readership category, a title they have read in the previous twelve months. Generally the nominations are made online and must adhere to certain conditions. Conditions in this case are as previously stated are books read in the last twelve months, an individual book not part of a series, must be named by the known title and previous winners from the last two years are ineligible for this year’s award.

Voting

Children are encouraged to read all titles that have been shortlisted for their category, and then they are invited to vote using the dedicated online system.

Previous winners of the BILBY awards from 2012 are: -

Early readers

The Cat in the Hat

Dr Seuss

Young readers

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Book 1

Jeff Kinney

Older reader

The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins

General Reflection

In general, Australian literary awards are given to a wide range of genres namely poetry, plays, short stories, plays children books, history, science fiction etc, crime writing and nonfiction. Within each award, there is a criterion that is fulfilled before the award is given. Generally most awards have different categories which are awarded(Wikipedia, 2013).

Literary awards are given so writers and publisher houses can thrive(Australian Government)and the, authors can receive recognition and financial aide to continue writing. The awards bring publicity to the author and greatly assist the task of selling books(Australian Government, 2011). In the case of the NSW Premier Literary Awards it has a proud history of celebrating achievement by Australian writers and helping to establish values and standards in Australian literature. The awards provide an opportunity to highlight the importance of literacy and to encourage everyone to enjoy and learn from the work of our writers. Notable past winners of this award are Thomas Keneally AO and Elizabeth Jolley are just two examples(Australian Government, 2011).

References

Australian Government.). Awards - Office for the Arts. from http://arts.gov.au/funding/awards

Australian Government. (2011). The Miles Franklin literary award. from http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/miles-franklin-literary-award

Children's Book Council of Australia.). Our activities. from http://qld.cbca.org.au/qldactivities.htm

Wikipedia. (2013). List of Australian literary awards. from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Australian_literary_awards

Intellectual freedom and censorship in the library

Author : Jessica L. Cooper

Journal : Community & Junior College Libraries

Volume : 16

Pages : 218 – 224

Year : 2010

DOI : 10.1080/02763915.2010.521016

Introduction

This article by Jessica L. Cooper discusses briefly the topics of intellectual freedom and censorship and the challenges faced by school libraries to fulfil these expectations in larger community libraries. This article offers solutions on how to continue on how to continue upholding intellectual freedom and supress efforts towards censorship while serving the needs of their users.

Intellectual Freedom

Intellectual freedom is defined, as all individuals should have access to all formats of information without restrictions based on the content. In the Untied States intellectual freedom is protected by the first amendment. Here in Australia library professionals protect intellectual freedom by allowing the free flow of ideas and information as a commitment to intellectual freedom (Australian Library and Information Association, 2011).

Censorship

Can be defined as having something withheld from you or a library professional has restricted access to parts of books, films, letters etc on the grounds the content is deemed obscene or a risk to security etc. censorship may also involve actions where free access to information has been significantly restricted (Moody, 2004).

Challenge for Libraries

A constant advocate for intellectual freedom has been the library as they are houses of information allowing access to information no matter what format or content items contain. Libraries assist their users to develop information access skills, which is the ability to locate, evaluate and use information.

This paper suggests that school librarians are caught between trying to understand the concerns of parents and other groups while trying to up hold the intellectual freedom of students.

Suggested Guidelines

·      As a guideline school librarians should consider the suitability of materials in their collections on age appropriateness rather than other agendas.

·      School librarians should seek to build collections that represent all types of people and views.

·      Develop policies that guard against censorship.

·      Work with parents and educate them on the benefits of intellectual freedom rather than censorship.

·      Be cautious against self-censorship, school librarians should look beyond any fears they have and realise that school children are like any other library user, they have the right to access information and make their own decisions. This statement is probably true for older school students who have independent thoughts of their own.

·      Parents of younger children will most likely continue to censor their reading material, but it is hoped with education they will not interfere with the intellectual freedom of others.

·      Libraries should teach school children how to access information; while this will not prevent censorship it will equip them to make the right decisions when selecting materials.

Reflection

While censorship may stay with us it is hoped as librarians and librarians of the future we can advocate that freedom of access to information in any format is the right approach to take rather than excluding information on the bases that it may offend someone or be deemed not suitable for users and the fear of been challenged. If we continue to educate the public they will at least have knowledge of why and how material is selected before proceeding to challenge library material.

References

Australian Library and Information Association. (2011). professional conduct. http://www.alia.org.au/policies/professional.conduct.html

Moody, Kim. (2004). Covert censorship : A discussion paper. Australian Library Journal, 54(2), 138 - 147.

Book Review

Title: The Lost Dog                                                     

Author: Michelle de Kretser

Format: Paperback

Pages: 368

Publisher : Allen & Unwin

Age Range : 15+

ISBN : 1741756065

Synopsis

The main protagonist Tom Loxley is holed up in a remote bush cabin trying to finish his book on Henry James when his dog goes missing. Set in present day Australia and mid-twentieth century India. Nellie Zhang who is a highly regarded contemporary artist accompanies him and she is someone Tom would like to be more than just friends with.

Review

The Lost Dog is a story of love and mystery, which takes the reader on a spellbinding adventure from present Australia to India.  The story has many layers, which are beautifully entwined, on one level Tom must find his dog lost in the Australian bush, he must understand himself as a migrant from India, begin to understand Nellie, both as a artist and her past which is told in fragments throughout the book and for Tom to understand his mother’s disabilities while at the same time remain in the present time.

Overall   it is a book, which grabs the reader and places them on a quest, as it examines the weight of history as well as the different ways of understanding the world.

In the centre are two people Tom a divorcee and Nellie an artist who is tainted by scandal and controversy and the facts behind her missing and presumed murdered husband Felix dogging her.

At story’s end most questions are answered as each piece is entwined in a well-written story.

Final Comment

The book was shortlisted for the Young Person Book Award of 2008 The Man Booker Longlist; it won the Christina Steed Prize for fiction and the NSW Premier Book of the Year in 2008. Shortlisted for the 2008 Vance Price for Fiction (Victorian Premier’s Literacy Awards) and has been highly recommended to be part of any literacy fiction collection.

While not a book I have read before it is thought provoking and interesting. While not relevant to my professional life it is relevant to readers of this age group giving them a title which provides a reading experience of different cultures and what it may feel like for a new arrival from India. The age group rating attached to this book indicates the level of understanding required to read this book, as some of the content is more adult than child. The readers of this book would have reached a development stage where by they can understand the language and the presumed setting of the storyline/s. I didn’t have knowledge of this book before but I have knowledge of book awards, which are awarded each year to different genres and different age groups.

The gaps in my knowledge are not knowing the book title, which has been reviewed, but after reviewing it I can ascertain that gap of knowledge has now been filled.