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May 5, 2014 by Karen Jensen, MLS

Middle Grade Monday – Battle of the Books

May 5, 2014 by Karen Jensen, MLS   3 comments

Or, “How I Ended Up on a Committee I’m Not Exactly Passionate About.”

My state’s school librarian association runs a number of programs designed to promote and celebrate reading. The one with the longest track record is Battle of the Books. Each year students read a list of 25 (or so) titles and form school teams to battle quiz-bowl style in the school districts. Winners from each district go on to a regional competition, then regional winners go to the state competition. The state competition was held this past Thursday. Since there are nine regions, and each team gets a chance to battle each other team, there are 36 rounds. I got to be time keeper for all 36 rounds. It went a lot faster than you might imagine The librarians who have been on the committee for a while now really have the system down and everything goes like clockwork.

 
In fact, some of the librarians have been on the committee for quite a while and are passionate about the program. I am less so, for a number of reasons. The primary reason is that I’m not a fan of competition – it makes me really anxious. The secondary reason is that it costs a good deal of money to reach relatively few students. Its cost/benefit ratio is somewhat prohibitive, especially for schools with minimal or no budget. The list of books contains award winning titles, some old, some new, but seldom ones I would invest our meager funds in for more than one copy.

So why, you might wonder, did I volunteer for this committee? Well, to understand you might need some background. I was a girl scout (not personality-wise, but literally) as a child, and that, along with my parent’s Kansas sensibilities and my involvement in church led me to a certain pattern where volunteer opportunities are concerned. The first time an opportunity is offered, I consider it thusly, “Is this something I am excited about?” If yes, and I have the necessary skills, I volunteer. If no, I wait to see if someone else will volunteer. Often, things that don’t appeal to me will be someone else’s passion – I wouldn’t want to deny them the opportunity. However, the fourth or fifth time a call goes out, I feel compelled to answer (given that my skill set is a match.) So, that’s how I ended up on the committee.

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On the bright side, the committee decides the books for each year’s list, and I’m hopeful that I will be able to introduce some new choices that will both fit the list requirements and be items that my students are enthusiastic about. We’ll see.

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About Karen Jensen, MLS

Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 30 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).

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Comments

  1. Jennifer says

    May 5, 2014 at 3:44 pm

    Our town's Battle of the Books is organized and run by the three elementary school librarians. The first year I participated I showed up to be a timekeeper at one of the schools for the district battle and was completely, um, demoralized? I thought it was just a fun thing and had NO IDEA that people took this insanely seriously. One of the kids I called on an incorrect answer cried (these are all 4th and 5th graders) and the parents are nuts. Now I host the district battle at the library, which just involves me helping set up the space, admiring all the neat costumes of the teens, and hi-fiving people. This is a major, major deal in our town though. Also, the list is good – it's a mixture of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, picturebooks and the librarians have 4-5 lists they cycle through. Each year they review the list and update it and it's a very diverse list.

  2. Incredibrarian says

    May 5, 2014 at 6:06 pm

    I've seen battle of the books mentioned somewhere before and no idea that it was a thing. A BIG thing! I say I'd like to do something like it with my students next year, but it sounds like a completely daunting task that will put me through my paces. I don't know if I'm up for that if I have no help to back me up.

    Sounds fun though!

  3. Jennifer says

    May 7, 2014 at 12:50 pm

    The Champaign Public Library used to run a battle – they fielded teams from all the schools, including parochial and home schools. I don't know how much staff work went into it, but I think several people at least? But I'm pretty sure it was simpler than the one my town runs, which requires the undivided attention of three school librarians and an army of parent volunteers and coaches.

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