2026 Battle of the Books

 

 

Beginning in September of 2026, each school will be asked to designate ONE person as the liaison for the school.  The role of the liaison is to act as the intermediary between the SLS and the coaches, chaperones, etc.  Communication from SLS will be sent to the liaison and it will be the liaison’s responsibility to ensure that all information is disseminated to everyone.  In addition, all coaches and chaperones will need to communicate with their liaison instead of SLS.

 

Why are we asking for a liaison? We’ve found over the last couple of years that the number of people with whom we communicate has increased significantly.  This has created challenges in terms of making sure everyone has all the information they need.  So, we need to streamline this process a bit.

 

 

Because we have so much interest in BOTB and not enough room at SUNY Adirondack, the committee has decided to split the event into a virtual first round held at each school, and an in-person semi-final and final at SUNY Adirondack.  More information on the logistics of this will be available in the fall.

 

For planning purposes now, please know that we will be using Time to Climb from Nearpod for the virtual first round.  This is tentatively scheduled for February 12, 2026.  The committee had some discussion around trying to do virtual battles in the same way as the in-person battles, but we are unable to accommodate that request for multiple reasons.  And, using Time to Climb allows for ALL students on a team to participate.

 

The Semi-Final and Final Rounds will be held at SUNY Adirondack on March 10 (snow date March 11).  This date is tentative pending SUNY Adirondack approval.  Teams who are in the top nine slots after the virtual battle will advance to SUNY Adirondack for the semi-finals and finals. Teams who advance will continue to be limited to 15 students with 5 participating in the battles.

 

 

Because of the new timeline and structure for BOTB, the committee has decided to remove one books from each grade level and not add a new title.  So, each grade level will read nine books.  For book lists, please visit our LibGuide.

 

Each year we need volunteers to read the books (old and new) and create new questions.  If you are interested in volunteering please let me know by June 1st.  You may only create questions for books that are in grade levels that you do not coach.

 

Thank you for your continued interest and participation in Battle of the Books.  We are looking forward to a fabulous competition in 2026!