Fifteen people serve on the Newbery selection committee.
The committee meets to choose the John Newbery Medal winner for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children published during the preceding year. Its members are librarians and other qualified professionals selected through the Association for Library Service to Children, or ALSC, a division of the American Library Association.
The number is easy to confuse with earlier arrangements. The Newbery’s selection structure has changed over time, and the Newbery and Caldecott awards were once handled by a combined committee. When the Caldecott Medal was introduced in 1937, a 23-member committee selected books for both awards. Separate Newbery and Caldecott committees began selecting awards in the early 1980s.
Today’s 15-member committee studies eligible books, discusses contenders, and votes according to the award’s criteria. The committee also may name Newbery Honor Books, whose number can vary. Honors recognize leading contenders, but only the medal winner receives the Newbery Medal itself.