Naperville librarian helps select best children's books for Newbery Medal
When Naperville librarian Emily Mroczek learned she'd be part of the committee that chooses the best children's literature to receive the prestigious John Newbery Medal, she wasn't in the presence of anyone who'd understand.
She was in Beijing, talking with athletes in a para archery competition for a story she'd write for the World Archery organization. And while it was time to compete in China, it was 3 a.m. back home.
So Mroczek shared the news with "a random archer" who didn't grasp the magnitude of the opportunity.
For a 28-year-old children's services librarian and freelance journalist to be able to help select the year's best contribution to American literature for children was the career boost of a lifetime.
It was September 2017 and Mroczek gladly accepted.
"It forever changed the way I look at books and will really make me a better librarian," she said.
The opportunity brought a lot of travel and even more reading, as Mroczek and the 13 other nationwide members of the Newbery Medal Committee worked to review as many of 2018's new releases for children as possible.
She met with fellow librarians during two conventions in 2018 and one last month to pick the 2019 winners: Newbery Medal awardee "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina and two runners-up, or Honor books, "The Night Diary" by Veera Hiranandani and "The Book of Boy" by Catherine Gilbert Murdock.
"Those three were definitely amazing books that really showcased the best of the year," she said. "They are three really different stories that really can resonate with adults, too."
Before arriving at the winners, the librarians pored over hundreds and possibly thousands of others, emailing monthly suggestions of titles that could have a shot at glory.
"Everyone on the committee would read the suggestions and we would also just keep reading everything we could to see what could be a possibility," Mroczek said.
Mroczek, who lives in Naperville with her husband, Marek, and newborn son, had the committee ship boxes and boxes of books for her consideration to her workplace at the Naper Boulevard Library. Children's Services Supervisor Cory Ganbarg said the shipments seemed to come daily. Whenever Mroczek had any free time at work, she'd be allowed to read.
"Every day was Christmas," she said. "It was fun opening the books with my co-workers and seeing what was coming."
The library supported Mroczek's participation in the Newbery committee by paying for her travel, conference attendance and lodging at American Library Association events last February in Denver and last June in Los Angeles.
"Whenever she came back, she always shared something new," Ganbarg said. "She is definitely very passionate about children's librarianship."
Before studying library and information science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Mroczek got a bachelor's degree in journalism there and worked on the sports staff of The Daily Illini. The Joliet native worked for more than a year at a library in Cincinnati after completing her graduate degree and has been on the Naperville Public Library staff since 2016.
She joined the Association for Library Services to Children, and through that organization, was nominated to the Newbery committee.
Mroczek read paper copies of many titles, but she listened to audiobooks, too. The recordings helped her multitask, as her time on the committee overlapped with her wedding in April and her pregnancy with her first child, born Jan. 19.
With baby John only 5 days old, Mroczek attended the pivotal conference of the book-selection period Jan. 25-27 in Seattle. Her mother and husband took over little John's care for 72 hours while the new mom discussed and debated last year's best books.
"That was really hard," she said. "But it was such a big professional opportunity that I'm so happy it was still able to work."
John will benefit from his mother's time selecting top-notch literature, too. While Mroczek said she's donated many books to the library for its collection or to other organizations or friends, some have invaded the nursery.
"He's going to be a well-read little baby," she said, "because he definitely has lots and lots of books already."