{"id":208537,"date":"2025-04-10T19:18:32","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T23:18:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sis.utk.edu\/?p=208537"},"modified":"2025-04-10T19:18:32","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T23:18:32","slug":"msis-student-ginny-edwards-is-changing-lives-through-volunteering-on-awards-committees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2025\/04\/10\/msis-student-ginny-edwards-is-changing-lives-through-volunteering-on-awards-committees\/","title":{"rendered":"MSIS Student Ginny Edwards is Changing Lives through Volunteering on Awards Committees"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Ginny Edwards started to volunteer on different award committees, she didn\u2019t think her vote could change the course of an author\u2019s life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Edwards is currently pursuing her master\u2019s degree in information sciences while working full-time as a children\u2019s and teen librarian at Irondale Public Library in Irondale, Alabama. Her love for libraries began when she was pushed out of her comfort zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI volunteered at my local hometown library starting in middle school, and I fell in love with it,\u201d she said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edwards earned her undergraduate degree in history from Samford University in Alabama and later received her first master\u2019s degree in secondary education. In 2022, she transitioned from her hometown library to Irondale Public Library<\/a>, where she now works full-time while pursuing her master\u2019s in information sciences.<\/p>\n

When asked why she chose the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Edwards replied, \u201cI 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\u2019s really great, and I selected this school over in-state options because of how current it stays with developments in information sciences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edwards has always been committed to professional growth. She attended her first Young Adult Services Symposium<\/a> in 2018 to further her knowledge.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always big on knowing all of the types of resources that we have, especially for professionals,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Soon after, she discovered opportunities to join award committees as a way to network with professionals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really enjoy being involved in various committees because they offer a wide range of perspectives. It\u2019s 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,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I can\u2019t 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\u2019s 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,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u2019s also the great advantage of receiving all of the books for free from publishers, which allows them to enhance their collections.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\u201cIt can be tedious because you want to get it right. It feels like a lot of responsibility, but I\u2019m 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,\u201d she shared.<\/p>\n

The winners are announced in January at the ALA Youth Media Awards<\/a> and in June at the annual American Library Association<\/a> (ALA) conference. Edwards and the other committee members have the opportunity to meet the authors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"Edwards<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe often don\u2019t 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\u2019s wonderful to see how life-changing these selections can be,\u201d Edwards noted.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGet 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,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Ginny Edwards started to volunteer on different award committees, she didn\u2019t think her vote could change the course of an author\u2019s life.\u00a0 Edwards is currently pursuing her master\u2019s degree in information sciences while working full-time as a children\u2019s and teen librarian at Irondale Public Library in Irondale, Alabama. Her love for libraries began when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":284,"featured_media":208538,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[209,204,197,56,210,208,207,196,198,199,168],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-208537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-cci","category-events","category-featured-story","category-graduate-student-news","category-impact-stories","category-masters-degree","category-news","category-school-of-information-sciences","category-student-experience-stories","category-student-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMSIS Student Ginny Edwards is Changing Lives through Volunteering on Awards Committees - School of Information Sciences<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/blog\/2025\/04\/10\/msis-student-ginny-edwards-is-changing-lives-through-volunteering-on-awards-committees\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MSIS Student Ginny Edwards is Changing Lives through Volunteering on Awards Committees - School of Information Sciences\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When Ginny Edwards started to volunteer on different award committees, she didn\u2019t think her vote could change the course of an author\u2019s life.\u00a0 Edwards is currently pursuing her master\u2019s degree in information sciences while working full-time as a children\u2019s and teen librarian at Irondale Public Library in Irondale, Alabama. 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