I've run a mock Newbery group since 2003, when I was serving on the committee and wanted to have seed group for discussing eligible titles, as a way to practice discussing them and refine my opinions on them. The following year, a local colleague served on the committee and mentioned she hoped I'd be doing it again. Since then, I just never seemed to be able to
not do it. To me it's better than a bookgroup: it only meets once, and has the added wild-card elements of the intricate consensus voting procedures and the anticipation of the actual awards. It makes for very rich connections with people in the area who share this interest, but with whom I may not interact with any other time of year.
It is, however, a lot of work. So in 2006, I started the blog
Nina's Newbery as a way to keep notes on titles, get ideas for titles, and communicate logistics with those interested in attending. It was also the perfect narrow focus for me to experiment with blogging. In 2007, I chaired the Newbery committee, and my friend and colleague
Sharon McKellar took over the blog and mock discussion, so that I could maintain neutrality. In 2008 we were invited to move our blog to School Library Journal's website, where it became
Heavy Medal.
Since then, the online mock Newbery discussion has become it's own beast, and I find myself having to refer to our "live" mock Newbery discussion to differentiate that event where a couple of dozen people all gather in the same room for a long Sunday afternoon. Over the years, each venue has become more and more different in what it offers, and I think they serve as useful examples of the value in online versus live discusison in general.
The online discussion adds instanteonusness...a place for on-the-spot discussion when you want it, with whoever happens to be there. It's only lightly moderated, and groundrules are nearly impossible to establish, as you never know at what point someone as entered the conversation. When attempting to moderate or have a detailed discussion, it's very difficult to tell whether the other partcipant understands, pays attention, or cares, as there are no body language cues, and you have to wait for their response (if it comes) to see if they "got" it. It works, but while the actual posting of comments gives you quick and anytime access to a conversation... actually having a productive conversation can take much longer, and expend much more energy (mental, emotional, physical--poor hands!) that a live one. Given all that, in the end it's that unpredictability that keeps the online discussion unique and refreshing. It will
always offer different opinions that you have access to in person.
The live discussion adds efficiency to the conversation, but also depth. With everyone committed in mind, spirit and body, to be in the same place at the same time to tackle a topic, you can cover amazing ground. You can develop aspects of a collegial relationship that may have started online, but really gels when you get to meet each other face to face (
oh, she pulls a funny face when she uses that catch-phrase! Or,
it's not my imagination,
she even looks
like my mother. Or,
oh well, she's married.). Where the online discussion doesn't lend itself to climatic moments (since everyone experiences it separately, and at different times) and tends to peter out at the finish of a season (sometime leaving me thinking, I'll admit, "can I do this again?")... the live discussion offers a moment of shared triumph that is electric and silly-happy-making as we glance at each others' faces to trade surprise, pleasure, grief and satisfaction. Though each year the preparations for this live discussion make me think, I'll admit, "why am I doing this again?"...at the end of it I always come around with: "Note to self:
must do it again. Just do it."
In my own professional life I'm constantly strapped for time, and the balance of where my energy goes constantly shifts. If I'm overly consumed with online discussions now, it'll be at the expense of getting together with colleagues face to face, and that balance will shift in the other direction over the course of months. I feel strongly that each kind of interaction feeds my thinking about collection development in different ways, each equally important. While access to live discussion is different depending on where you are, there are ways to make it happen. If regular local group meetings are just not possible, regional or national conferences offer intense doses of the live experience. And happily, today, where the financial constraints hamper, online forums are there to pick up the slack.
