Each year the American Library Association honors books, videos and other outstanding materials for children and teens. Recognized worldwide for the high quality they represent, the ALA Youth Media Awards, include the prestigious, Coretta Scott King Book, Caldecott, Newbery, and Printz Awards.
Through these awards ALA helps guide parents, educators, librarians and others in selecting the best materials for youth. Selected by committees composed of librarians and other literature and media experts, the awards encourage original and creative work in the field of children’s and young adult literature and media.
At the Cordova Public Library our Youth Services Librarian, Anna Hernandez, strives to fill the shelves for our local youth and young adults with a varied array of materials, including prize-winning books. Look for the award stickers on many of the books in our collection. Here are a sample of what the awards are given for.
Alex Awards
The Alex Awards are given to 10 books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18. The winning titles are selected from the previous year’s publishing. The Alex Awards were first given annually beginning in 1998 and became an official ALA award in 2002.
Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children’s Video
The Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children’s Video honors the most outstanding video productions for children released during the previous year. The medal was awarded for the first time in 1991, with the support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The annual award is given to the video’s producer by the Association for Library Service to Children, of the American Library Association, through a Carnegie endowment. Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) may be best-remembered for his establishment of free public libraries meant to make available to everyone a means of self-education.
Coretta Scott King Book Awards
The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood.
The Coretta Scott King Book Award was founded in 1969 by Mabel McKissick and Glyndon Greer at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The first award was given to Lillie Patterson in 1970 for her biography, Martin Luther King, Jr.: Man of Peace (Garrard). In 1982, the Coretta Scott King Book Awards became an officially recognized ALA award.
