History
The Newbery Medal was established June 22, 1921 at the American Library Association's annual conference. Proposed by Publishers Weekly editor Frederick Melcher, the idea was enthusiastically received by the children's librarians present. Though the award was organized by and voted on on by the ALA, Melcher provided much needed funds, who paid for the design and creation of the medal.
According to the American Library Association's The Newbery and Caldecott Awards, Melcher and the ALA board agreed to establish the award for several reasons that related to children's librarians. They wanted to encourage quality, creative children's books and to demonstrate to the public that children's books deserve recognition and praise. In 1932 the committee felt it was important to encourage new authors in the field so a rule was made that an author who had already won a Newbery could only win again if the vote was unanimous. In 1958 the rule was felt unnecessary and was removed. Another change in 1963 made it clear that joint authors of a book were eligible for the award. Several more revisions and clarifications were added in the 1970s and 1980's.
Read more about this topic: Newbery Medal
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