StoryTubes 2009 National Contest
Contest Rules and Regulations

Release Form
(Adobe Acrobat Plug-in Required)

Any failure to follow the rules and regulations stated below will make an entry ineligible to enter the contest and ineligible to win prizes associated with the contest.

• Students must have a parent’s or guardian’s permission to enter the contest.
• The contest is open to students in grades kindergarten through twelve who are residents of the United States or its territories, same-aged children who are residents of Nova Scotia, Canada, and same-aged children of active-duty U.S. military personnel stationed abroad. Parents, teachers, and other adults may also appear in a video with a student or by themselves, but videos with adults only will not qualify for prizes. If you do not fit the description above but are interested in the contest, please email us as we would like to collect input for the future.
• An entry consists of EITHER an online video of one student promoting one book with a corresponding online individual entry form OR an online video of two to five students promoting one book with the corresponding online group entry form. To enter, the contestant must upload the video to YouTube or TeacherTube and submit the correct corresponding StoryTubes Contest Entry Form.  Failure to include both elements of the entry will make the entry ineligible.
• All required fields of the online entry form must be completed, including the category for which the entry is being submitted. See Contest Categories for more information.
• Entries must be submitted between 10:00 a.m. EST on January 8, 2009 and 9:00 p.m. PST on February 22, 2009.
• An individual may enter the contest more than once, but each video entry must feature a different book.
• The spoken information on the video must be in English.
• The maximum length for each video is two (2) minutes. Entries that exceed two minutes and one second in length (2:01 by the YouTube or TeacherTube counter) will be ineligible.
• The video may show the book cover and may include brief quotations from the book but may not include any excerpt of the book that exceeds one-sixteenth of the book’s total text.
• The book that is promoted in the video must be appropriate for a family oriented contest.
• All visual and spoken content of the video must be appropriate for a family oriented contest.
• Information provided on the online form must be true and accurate.
• No personally identifying information should be included in the visual or spoken content of the video. Personal information includes but is not limited to last name, street address, and town or city.
• By allowing his/her child to enter the contest, a parent acknowledges the nature of the Internet and agrees to ensure that appropriate safety precautions are taken. While the StoryTubes web site contains only approved videos, these videos are also viewable from YouTube and TeacherTube, which are freely accessible websites. Partner libraries and sponsoring publishers have no control over or responsibility for the content on these sites or the actions of those who view the videos.
• Videos will be reviewed by the partner library for the entrant’s state or province. To avoid any conflict of interest or preferential treatment, no reviewer will review a video that was made by a child whom the reviewer recognizes. The video will be forwarded to a reviewer who is unfamiliar with the child. In the event that the regional library that receives the submission has difficulty locating a reviewer to whom the child is unknown, another region will provide a reviewer.
• Videos will be evaluated primarily for performance, script, and creativity of supporting materials. Other factors with lesser weight include but are not limited to demonstrated knowledge of the book, technical quality of the entry, and general appeal of the presentation.
• The first 2,000 entries in each region are guaranteed review for award and voting consideration. Entries beyond this number will be screened if possible, as determined by the library partners.
• Partner libraries will work together to select entries to receive Judges’ Choice Awards. At least one award will be reserved for each entry category. Partner libraries will also select videos to proceed to popular voting. The selection of entries by regional partners to receive awards or to proceed to voting is final. Judges’ Choice Awards will be announced by March 9, 2009.
• Judges’ Choice Award winners will receive books for themselves and the public or school library they designate. Winners in the Individual Entries categories will each receive $250.00 worth of books for themselves plus $250.00 worth of books for the school or public library of their choice.  Winners in the Group Entries categories will receive $500.00 worth of books to divide among group members plus $250.00 worth of books for the school or public library of their choice.
• Five Judges' Choice Honorable Mention Awards will be given, distributed across categories as merit warrants. Individual winners may win assorted books (up to $250.00 in value) or a digital camera. Group winners will win books to divide among group members.
• Online voting for videos chosen to proceed to voting will be held as follows:

Individual Entries, Grades K-4	March 9-12
Individual Entries, Grades 5-8	March 16-19
Individual Entries, Grades 9 up	March 23-26
Group Entries, Grades K-6	March 30-April 3
Group Entries, Grades 7 & Up	same as Groups, Grades K-6

• Voting will be limited to manual online votes. Robotic votes will be discounted from vote totals. Voting will be otherwise unlimited.
• Each category winner of the popular vote will receive a bookstore gift card.  Each winner who created an individual entry will receive a $50.00 gift card. Each entrant who worked to create a winning group entry will receive a $25.00 gift card.
• Videos that win Judges’ Choice Awards and videos that are selected for the voting phase must be submitted in their original movie format to the coordinating library partner. A specific parental permission form granting permission for this action must be signed and submitted by the stated deadline for an entry to receive a prize or to be included in voting. Inability to contact the child’s parent/guardian and/or to receive the permission form by the date required will render an entry ineligible for prizes and/or voting.
• Participants in the StoryTubes contest are subject to all usual and ongoing rules and policies of the partner libraries presenting the contest.
• Prize winners are responsible for determining what, if any, local tax laws or other laws apply to their winnings and winners agree to abide by those laws.
• By entering, contestants imply an understanding that while only highly rated entries will receive awards and that all judging parties will be thorough and impartial, evaluating entries is inherently subjective. Judges’ Choice Awards, once awarded, are final.
• Entrants who agree to allow their entry to proceed to the online voting phase of the contest imply an understanding that online voting itself is not a scientific process. The purpose of voting is to promote books rather than to engage in a controlled process of determining the best entry. Online vote totals, as determined by the partner libraries, are final.
• All decisions regarding the contest will be made solely at the discretion of the public library contest partners. Library partners reserve the right to change or amend procedures during the contest so as to ensure its viability. All decisions made by library partners are final, determinative, and non-appeal-able.

 

[Revised April 1, 2009]