Yearbook
A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a type of a book published annually. One use is to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school. The term also refers to a book of statistics or facts published annually. A yearbook often has an overarching theme that is present throughout the entire book.
Many high schools, colleges, 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.
History
A marble slab commemorating a class of military cadets in Ancient Athens during the time of the Roman Empire is an early example of this sort of document. Proto-yearbooks in the form of scrapbooks appeared in US East Coast schools towards the end of the 17th century. The first formal modern yearbook was the 1806 Profiles of Part of the Class Graduated at Yale College. Because printed photography did not yet exist, the 1806 Yale College yearbook included printed silhouettes of the students.Yearbooks by country
Australia
Yearbooks published by Australian schools follow a consistent structure to their North American counterparts. Australian yearbooks function as an annual magazine for the school body, with a significant focus on objectively reporting the events that occurred during the schooling year. Yearbook staff predominantly consists of only one or two school teachers who serve as editors in chief. Australian school yearbooks are predominantly created on A4 paper size, featuring a softcover style front-and-back cover, typically 250 or 300 g/m2 density. Hardcover-style yearbooks are not as common, although exceptions occur. This is sold as allowing a higher level of student involvement whilst making the workflow simpler and easier for all involved. Additionally, some schools feature a separate yearbook for students in year 2.Publishing
Australian school yearbooks are primarily published with technology, with a mix of color, spot color, and black and white pages, depending on the school's budget.India
India does not have a long history of publishing school yearbooks. However, top Business schools and Engineering colleges publish custom yearbooks. This is typically created by the final-year students of the batch. A yearbook or a memory book would consist of testimonials and common pages such as the Director's address and events, and festivals' picture collages.Most top schools create school magazines that are shared with each student. Some of the early adopters among school students are starting to create custom yearbooks along the same lines as those created by students from the US or Europe. This trend is likely to pick up with the advent of technology platforms that make it easy for students to create them.
Nigeria
In Nigeria, it is very common to find yearbooks in schools as it is in countries such as the US and Canada, though several schools allocate annual funding and publish yearbooks at the end of the school year. These yearbooks closely resemble those found in the US, with columns about certain themes, in-depth coverage of major events, and large collections of photos, as well as drawings reflecting daily life at these schools. Some schools do produce yearbooks yearly.South Africa
In South Africa, it is not as common to find yearbooks in schools as it is in countries such as the US and Canada, though several schools allocate annual funding and publish yearbooks at the end of the school year. These yearbooks closely resemble those found in the US, with columns about certain themes, in-depth coverage of major events, and large collections of photos, as well as drawings reflecting daily life at these schools.Major events covered include Matric Farewell Dances, annual sporting events, and grade group events organized specifically for a specific grade.
United States
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 and often paperbound than a later secondary school / high school or college / university 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 organizations such as the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the National Scholastic Press Association, and the Journalism Education Association, among others. Numerous levels of awards are given based on judging competitions for journalistic excellence annually, often at the nationwide or state / regional press conventions / conferences and seminars for school / college media.
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 to be a form of journalism. ACP holds the annual Pacemaker competition for college yearbooks as well as other collegiate media outlets. Many colleges have phased out yearbooks due to high prices and low demand, while some, like Auburn University, opt to support annual publications with relatively small portions of student fees to continue this over 120-year-old tradition. The Glomerata continues to be one of the most circulated yearbooks in the country, distributing 8,000 copies to Auburn University's student body in April 2018.
U.S. military
Warships of the United States Navy often produce a yearbook-style publication upon completion of a long deployment. These books, referred to by sailors as "cruise books" are produced on board by the ship's Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Department and Public Affairs staff, and then printed ashore by the same printing companies that publish high school and college yearbooks. The cruise book of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier typically reaches over 600 pages in length, as it includes portraits of the more than 5,000 sailors and Marines assigned to the ship's company and embarked carrier air wing.The Navy's Recruit Training Center in Great Lakes, Illinois also produces yearbook-style publications for each graduating division of recruits. These publications are much smaller, as each recruit division totals roughly 80 sailors. The book is called "The Keel" after the part of a ship that is constructed first, as RTC or boot camp sets the foundation for the sailor's career. These books contain a color section common to all books published that year, with a specific black and white section added for each recruit division and their "brother" or "sister" division.
Production and distribution
Compilation
Yearbooks are generally compiled by a student club or a yearbook class, usually advised by a faculty member. The yearbook staff usually has one or more editors who are responsible for collecting and compiling all of the information to be contained within the book, as well as deciding the layout and allocation of space for each contributor.Sections
Most yearbooks have a similar format, which includes individual photographs of students, and information on activities, sports, and other activities.People (seniors, underclassmen, faculty)
In the U.S., where a yearbook often covers the whole school and not just the senior class, these sections are usually arranged in chronological order by class, in either ascending or descending order. Normally students will have individual portraits accompanied by their names. Senior photographs are usually larger than those of underclassmen and are sometimes accompanied by text about their accomplishments throughout high school and their plans. Frequently, seniors are polled to nominate their classmates for "superlatives" or "class celebrities", are often published in the senior section. In addition, seniors typically wear formal attire and individuals select quotes that they feel represent themselves. Some private schools and smaller high schools set aside an entire page for each senior. These pages are sometimes designed by the seniors themselves, with each senior submitting a digital or physical version of the page they would like featured in the book."Picture Day" is the school day in the United States and Canada when students have their photographs taken by a professional photographer. Parents can purchase packages of these portraits to distribute, often accompanied by other items featuring the portrait. The pictures are not inexpensive for the amount of time and effort involved – which can be less than one minute per student – partly because the photography company usually pays the school part of the price for each photo sold in a "rebate" or unadvertised "fundraising" scheme. These portraits often go into the school yearbook, which is usually distributed at the end of the school year. The pictures may also be used on student ID cards. There will also generally be a second day to take pictures if the student is absent.
In the UK and other countries, where yearbooks often only cover the final year group and not the entire school, each student may have more space for answers to various questions as well as their photo. In Year 11 members are usually grouped by form/class; whilst Year 13 tends not to be grouped in such a way, but instead, just appears alphabetically throughout the book. It is common in these markets for each person to have between a quarter and a whole page each, depending on the budget available for the yearbook. The editorial team chooses questions for members to answer and these answers appear alongside member photos. These photos and answers are sometimes also collected online.