[1] The program was established in 1974 with Intermediate, Primary, and Young Adult Medals that were inaugurated in 1975, 1976, and 1977 and were conferred biennially, and annually beginning in 1983.
[1] The ballot for each medal comprises 3–5 books published during the preceding four years—two to five years ago when the process concludes.
Candidates must be original works of fiction by living authors, available in English, published during the four preceding years and still in print.
[4] Nominations are made by award category and the books should be "often read or requested" and have "strong appeal for the age group".
[2] For each category (now five) CYRM maintains a "Booklist" of finalists (3–5 annually) that provides basic bibliographic data for all, and cover images beginning in 2005 or so.