A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a type of a book published annually to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school. The term also refers to a book of statistics or facts published annually.
Many high schools, colleges, and elementary and middle schools publish yearbooks; However, many schools are dropping yearbooks or decreasing page counts given social media alternatives to a mass-produced physical photographically-oriented record. From 1995 to 2013, the number of U.S. college yearbooks dropped from roughly 2,400 to 1,000.
Elementary and middle schools may have a designated staff member who is in charge of putting together that school's yearbook, with or without the help of the students. These books are usually considerably smaller than a high school or college yearbook.
High school yearbooks generally cover a wide variety of topics from academics, student life, sports, clubs and other major school events. Generally, each student is pictured with their class, while seniors might get a page-width picture or a slightly larger photo than the underclassmen to reflect their status in the school. Each school organization, such as a sports team or academic/social club, is usually pictured. A high school yearbook staff consists of students with one or more faculty advisors. The yearbook staff can be chosen in a variety of ways, including volunteer extracurricular organization, academic class, or assigned to the entire senior class.
High school yearbooks are considered a form of journalism by scholastic journalism such as the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the National Scholastic Press Association, the Journalism Education Association and state and regional scholastic press associations. Numerous awards are given for journalistic excellence annually.
Colleges that publish yearbooks follow a similar format to high schools. Some include detailed recaps of football and basketball games. College yearbooks are considered by the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) to be a form of journalism. ACP holds the annual Pacemaker competition for college yearbooks as well as other collegiate media outlets.
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