When Ginny Edwards started to volunteer on different award committees, she didn’t think her vote could change the course of an author’s life.
Edwards is currently pursuing her master’s degree in information sciences while working full-time as a children’s and teen librarian at Irondale Public Library in Irondale, Alabama. Her love for libraries began when she was pushed out of her comfort zone.
“I volunteered at my local hometown library starting in middle school, and I fell in love with it,” she said. “I was a very shy person with a lot of anxiety, and working in the library really helped me open up. I enjoy working with people, and I absolutely love working with kids and teens.”
Edwards earned her undergraduate degree in history from Samford University in Alabama and later received her first master’s degree in secondary education. In 2022, she transitioned from her hometown library to Irondale Public Library, where she now works full-time while pursuing her master’s in information sciences.
When asked why she chose the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Edwards replied, “I absolutely love it. I chose UT over in-state options because I appreciate that they provide professors who are actively working in the field. My advisor, Scot Smith, is wonderful. He was a middle school librarian and understands young adult materials very well. The class times fit perfectly with my full-time job, and I love that I have five years to complete the program. It’s really great, and I selected this school over in-state options because of how current it stays with developments in information sciences.”
Edwards has always been committed to professional growth. She attended her first Young Adult Services Symposium in 2018 to further her knowledge.
“I’m always big on knowing all of the types of resources that we have, especially for professionals,” she said.
Soon after, she discovered opportunities to join award committees as a way to network with professionals.
“I really enjoy being involved in various committees because they offer a wide range of perspectives. It’s not just public librarians; there are also school librarians and academic librarians who work with teens, and they come from all over the country. In one of my previous committees, we even had members from Canada. It was a lot of fun to experience different viewpoints and understand what makes a great book in their eyes,” she explained.
Edwards emphasized the rewarding challenge of evaluating hundreds of books for their literary merit, which allows her to collaborate with a diverse group of librarians nationwide. She takes particular pride in helping to select winners for prestigious book awards, such as the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature.
“While I can’t discuss the exact decision-making process, we focus on the literary merit of the books we choose and determine which one is the best in terms of quality for teens for the Printz Award. It’s a very difficult task. Last year, we had over 500 books to review, and it required a careful process to identify which ones truly stand out,” she explained.
According to Edwards, her committee consisted of nine people who needed to interact and work as a cohesive group, which could be quite challenging at times. She noted that being part of a committee like this is rewarding in many ways. Not only do members help curate a list of the best titles for those who may not have significant budgets for books, but there’s also the great advantage of receiving all of the books for free from publishers, which allows them to enhance their collections.
“It can be tedious because you want to get it right. It feels like a lot of responsibility, but I’m very proud of the books we selected. They were all exceptional in terms of literary merit, and I loved them for their stories as well,” she shared.
The winners are announced in January at the ALA Youth Media Awards and in June at the annual American Library Association (ALA) conference. Edwards and the other committee members have the opportunity to meet the authors.
“We often don’t realize how much this can change their lives. When I returned to work at the library, all the copies of the selected books were checked out, and the others were on order. It’s wonderful to see how life-changing these selections can be,” Edwards noted.
Edwards is also an advocate for professional development and encourages people to get involved at both state and national levels. For her, ALA and state library associations have significantly impacted her network and professional support system.
“Get involved! I highly encourage you to participate, even in your state. Many state chapters, like those in Texas and Tennessee, have distinguished book awards. The ALA is a great resource, especially if you need support,” she stated.