For the first time, an independent bookseller chosen by the American Booksellers Association has joined the committee that will select the 2015 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, which were established in 2012 by the American Library Association and Carnegie Corporation of New York.
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| Betsy Burton | |
Betsy Burton, co-owner of the King's English Bookshop, Salt Lake City, Utah, and ABA board v-p, has been added to the committee to represent independent booksellers, "reflecting the impact and influence of these awards on general readers both inside and beyond the library and adding additional expertise," according to the organizers.
"The American Booksellers Association is glad to see an independent bookseller added to the ALA's Andrew Carnegie Medals selection committee," said ABA senior program officer Joy Dallanegra-Sanger. "The books selected inspire fresh programming opportunities and help booksellers highlight outstanding titles. We know that the longlists, shortlists, and winners offer a wealth of quality reading suggestions."
The committee also includes Brad Hooper, Booklist's adult books editor (who succeeds Nancy Pearl as chair); Donna Seaman, Booklist senior editor, adult books; Keir Graff, editor, Booklist Online; as well as three editors of the RUSA CODES Notable Books Council--Kathleen de la Peña McCook, distinguished university professor of librarianship, University of South Florida School of Information; Elizabeth Olesh, director, Baldwin Public Library, Baldwin, N.Y.; and Katharine J. Phenix, adult services librarian, Rangeview Library District (Anythink Libraries), Thornton, Colo.
Members will read and consider titles selected from the Booklist Editors' Choice list and the RUSA Notable Books List. A longlist will be announced in early February, followed by the six-title shortlist--three each for the fiction and nonfiction medals--in April. The two winning titles will be revealed in June at the ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco.