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The Newbery
Medal is awarded annually by the
American Library Association for the most distinguished American children's
book published the previous year. On June 21, 1921, Frederic G. Melcher
proposed the award to the American Library Association meeting of the
Children's Librarians' Section and suggested that it be named for the
eighteenth-century English bookseller John Newbery. The idea was enthusiastically
accepted by the children's librarians, and Melcher's official proposal
was approved by the ALA Executive Board in 1922. In Melcher's formal agreement
with the board, the purpose of the Newbery Medal was stated as follows: "To
encourage original creative work in the field of books for children. To
emphasize to the public that contributions to the literature for children
deserve similar recognition to poetry, plays, or novels. To give those
librarians, who make it their life work to serve children's reading interests,
an opportunity to encourage good writing in this field."
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The Newbery Award thus became the first children's book award
in the world. Its terms, as well as its long history, continue to make
it the best known and most discussed children's book award in this country.
In 1921 Frederic G.Melcher had the Newbery Medal designed
by René Paul Chambellan. The bronze medal has the winner's name
and the date engraved on the back. The American Library Association Executive
Board in 1922 delegated to the Children's Librarians' Section the responsibility
for selecting the book to receive the Newbery Medal.
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The Newbery Medal |
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The inscription on the Newbery Medal still
reads "Children's Librarians' Section," although the section
has changed its name four times and its membership now includes both
school and public library children's librarians in contrast to the
years 1922-58, when the section, under three different names, included
only public library children's librarians. Today the Medal is administered
by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of
ALA.
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The Newbery Honor Seal |
From the beginning of the awarding of the Newbery and
Caldecott Medals, committees could, and usually did, cite other
books as worthy of attention. Such books were referred to as Newbery or
Caldecott "runners-up." In 1971 the
term "runners-up" was changed to "honor books." The new terminology was
made retroactive so that all former runners-up are now referred to as Newbery
or Caldecott Honor Books. |
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