Titles for the Choose to Read Ohio booklists are selected by representatives of Ohio’s library, educational, and literary communities. In the fall of odd-numbered years, the CTRO Advisory Council compiles a list of dozens of books by Ohio authors. These titles are sorted into age/readership groups, and are reviewed according to the eligibility criteria below. This results in a list of 8-15 nominated titles each for young children, older children, teens, and adults.
The CTRO Advisory Council recruits Ohio librarians, teachers, and others who are knowledgeable about books and readers, to serve as reader/electors. Each CTRO reader/elector considers books in one or two age/readership groups. Each of these individuals reviews the lists and chooses the 5 books (per age/readership group) they consider most suitable for CTRO. The Advisory Council reviews the results in light of the CTRO eligibility criteria (below) to confirm that the top vote-getters, as a group, meet the criteria. Ordinarily, the top five vote-getters in each age/readership groups become the CTRO titles for the next program cycle.
The teachers, librarians, and others who serve as CTRO electors have graciously offered their time, support, and expertise to CTRO by reading and assessing the many nominated books. The CTRO Advisory Council and partners are indebted to these librarians and educators for their generous participation. The list of individuals who served as electors for the CTRO 2021 & 2022 booklist appears in the press release announcing the 2021 & 2022 booklist. The list of individuals who served as reader/electors for the CTRO 2019 & 2020 booklist appears in the press release announcing the 2019 & 2020 booklist .
Eligibility Criteria
All books selected for the Choose to Read Ohio program must be by Ohio authors or illustrators as described below.
The books selected for any biennial CTRO program must, as a group:
- Include both new/recent releases and backlist/classic titles
- Include both fiction and nonfiction
- Represent various ethnicities and cultures
- Represent various regions of the state
- Include titles attractive to reluctant readers
The program will also consider availability of books, including in-print status, presence of multiple formats for accessibility, etc., to make CTRO usable and attractive to the widest audience.
To qualify as an Ohio author for purposes of CTRO, an author must have been born in Ohio or have lived in Ohio for at least 3 years.
No author may be featured in the same age/readership group in consecutive CTRO cycles. Authors may be featured in consecutive CTRO cycles for works targeting distinct age/readership groups, as determined by the CTRO Advisory Council.
Ohio illustrators are eligible. In the case of an illustrated book, either the author or the illustrator must have been born in Ohio or have lived in Ohio for at least 3 years.
CTRO honors specific books rather than authors for their entire body of work, but is structured to spotlight the authors of the selected books and to promote interest in their books in general.
If you have any questions or suggestions, or you wish to be considered to serve as a CTRO reader/elector for a future program cycle, please contact project coordinator Janet Ingraham Dwyer, Library Consultant, State Library of Ohio.