What is the ORCA?
The Oregon Reader’s Choice Award was founded in 2010. The award is intended to be a fun and exciting way for Oregon youth in grades 4-12 to become enthusiastic and discriminating readers. During the course of the school year, Oregon students choose their favorite book in a real-life democratic process.
How are the books chosen?
Books must be nominated for inclusion on the ORCA ballot. In order to be considered, the book needs to have a copyright date of two years prior to when the ballots are announced. This delay ensures that the title will be readily available in paperback during the voting year. Oregon students, teachers, and librarians are all able to nominate books. The nominations are reviewed by a committee of librarians and educators. The committee creates the final ballots based upon a number of criteria, including literary quality, creativity, reading enjoyment, reading level, and regional interest.
Who may vote?
Oregon students in grades 4-12. To qualify for voting, the person must have read, or listened to, at least 2 books in one of the divisions.
When does voting take place?
Voting is open from March 1st through March 31st.
The 2016-2017 ORCA Committee
CHAIR:
Kiva Liljequist(Metropolitan Learning Center, Portland)
email: orca@olaweb.org
MEMBERS:
Oregon Young Adult Network (OYAN)
Elizabeth Johnson (Corvallis-Benton County Public Library)
Angela Arena (Cottage Grove Public Library)
MacKenzie Ross (Beaverton City Library)
Anna Bruce (Happy Valley Library)
Oregon Reading Association (ORA)
Beth LaForce (George Fox University)
Karren Timmermans (Pacific University)
OLA’s Childrens Services Division (CSD)
Melanie Hetrick (Tillamook County Library)
Jessica Marie (Salem Public Library)
Bekah Westmark (Coos Bay Public Library)
Oregon Association of School Librarians (OASL)
Grace Butler (Whitman Elementary School, Portland)
Jen Blair (Beaverton Public Schools)
Laurie Nordahl (North Bend High School)
Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA)
Billie Bloebaum (A Children’s Place Bookstore, Portland)
