LYRC/LTRC Disclaimer

The Louisiana Readers’ Choice Program provides a recreational reading list. Participation in this program is voluntary. This list does not specifically support any particular curriculum, although it does provide study guides which teachers can incorporate into their school’s program of study. An annotated list of nominated titles will be provided on the State Library’s website (www.state.lib.la.us) to aid in this selection.  

In an effort to provide titles that appeal to elementary, middle, and high school readers across the state, both urban and rural, the list will contain books with a variety of reading levels, subject matters, and an assortment of genres. The list will contain titles for reluctant readers as well as titles to challenge more mature and advanced readers.  

Though these lists are intended for students in grades 3-5th, 6-8th, and 9th-12th, not every book will suit every reader, which is why there are many titles to choose from. Remember that students only need to read three (3-5th and 6-8th) or two (9-12th) titles on the list in order to vote for their favorite. We understand that students in our state addend a variety of different types of schools: public, Montessori, private, parochial, charter, etc. We recognize that it is up to the individual reader to select the titles they wish to read from the list, and we encourage parents and caregivers to be involved. Each school and public librarian should take their individual collection needs into account and consider each title before purchasing every book on the list. An annotated list of nominated titles will be provided on the State Library’s website (www.state.lib.la.us) to aid in this selection.  

When considering a title for the nominated list, the work as a whole will be considered. We regret that occasionally elementary and middle school books may contain small amounts of colorful language. However, those titles will not be automatically removed from consideration; rather the work as a whole will be considered. We bear in mind that regular television commercials, network TV shows, and PG (3-5th), PG13 (6-8th), and R (9-12th) rated movies are permitted to have various amounts of language and mature content. (Rating Information from the Motion Picture Association of America: Understanding Film Ratings, http://www.mpaa.org/film-ratings/). 

When selecting titles, the LYRC and LTRC committees adheres to the American Library Association (ALA) intellectual freedom guidelines and statements, as well as the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) statements, including but not limited to following:

• Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill
• Code of Ethics of the ALA: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/proethics/codeofethics/codeethics
• “Free Access to Libraries for Minors”: http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=interpretations&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=8639
  • "We affirm the responsibility and the right of all parents and guardians to guide their own children's use of the library and its resources and services." Librarians and governing bodies should maintain that parents—and only parents—have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children—and only their children—to library resources. Parents who do not want their children to have access to certain library services, materials, or facilities should so advise their children. Librarians and library governing bodies cannot assume the role of parents or the functions of parental authority in the private relationship between parent and child."
• Diversity in Collection Development Statement: http://www.ala.org/template.cfm?section=interpretations&template=/contentmanagement/contentdisplay.cfm&contentid=8530
• Libraries: An American Value, Statement by ALA: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/statementspols/librariesamerican
• NCTE’s (National Council of Teachers of English) Right to Read Position Statement: http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/righttoreadguideline

Additional Program Details

Each year a committee of public librarians, school librarians, and English/Reading teachers, headed by a youth services library consultant at the State Library of Louisiana, compiles the LYRC/LTRC ballots of nominated titles. The final ballots will be a well-balanced selection of high-quality fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Students may read or listen to the books and vote for their favorite one. Votes are due by March 1st of the award year. For example, votes for the 2021-2022 LYRC/LTRC lists must be submitted to the State Library by March 1, 2022.

The nominated books must reflect a variety of difficulty levels, genres, ethnic groups, gender interests, and subjects. Genres represented should include realistic, historical, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, picture books, humorous fiction as well as non-tradition formats such as graphic novels. The committee will occasionally include outstanding non-fiction: poetry, biographies, documentaries, etc.