Doctors, dentists, photographers and businesses like to purchase
local yearbooks for their waiting rooms. Chambers of commerce and
businesses such as real estate agencies like to have yearbooks to show
people who are moving to the area and are looking for schools for their
children. Police departments purchase yearbooks for identification
purposes.
The image others see in the yearbook is the image they have of the
school and of each student. The members of the staff determine the
image the yearbook will have by the theme, colors, photos and words
they choose to use and the care with which they edit the book.
Misspelled words, weak leads, poor-quality photos and inconsistent
design give the impression that the staff doesn’t care very much about
the yearbook or how it makes them and their school look to others.An Educational Experience
Schools provide an adviser and funds for yearbooks because they
understand the importance of the historical record to the students and
to the school. Schools also help fund these books because the students
on a yearbook staff learn writing and production skills.
Producing a yearbook, like working on the school newspaper, gives
students hands-on experience practicing skills learned in English class,
the computer lab and the darkroom. It also gives them credentials that
might help when they apply to colleges or look for jobs.
Publishing is a major industry that offers career opportunities for cre-
ative artists, salespersons, editors, designers, writers and photographers.
Working on a yearbook gives students a chance to experience book pub-
lishing from the concept to the finished product. It lets students become
the planners, producers, journalists, researchers, sales staff, marketers
and distributors.Everybody’s Book
No matter what else it may be, the yearbook is everybody’s book. It
should reflect the school and each individual in the school, not just the
staff or a few key people. It takes a concentrated effort to make sure the
coverage includes every person. When planning the book, devise ways to
be sure everyone is included at least once in addition to the individual
photographs on the people pages. People pages are those on which
the people associated with the school are recognized through photos
and identified by name. They are also called mug pages or panel
pages when they contain rows of head-and-shoulders photographs of
individuals identified by name and class or job description such as fresh-
men, seniors, faculty and staff. People pages are more interesting if they
contain some feature stories about individuals or a few candid photo-
graphs in addition to the individual portraits.
One staff made a master list of students’ names and put a check
beside the name each time a person was pictured. Its rule was that
everyone would be pictured at least twice and no more than five times.(^404) MIXED MEDIA
people pages
pages on which the persons
who are members of the
school community are
featured through individual
head-and-shoulders pho-
tographs and identified
by name and class or job
description; as a section,
people pages may include
candid photographs and fea-
ture stories about individuals
mug pages
the people pages that contain
rows of individual head-and-
shoulders photographs, also
known as mug shots
panel pages
another name for mug pages,
so-called because the rows of
photographs resemble panels
constructed by placing many
small, even-sized pieces side
by side