Organising a Yearbook
The following guide offers a structured step by step approach that will ensure you successfully complete your multimedia yearbook CD project. Should you have any further queries, please get in touch with us through the contact us page.
1) Start early
Once you decide on a multimedia yearbook CD, make sure you start organising as soon as possible - the best time is the beginning of the academic year. Many schools & colleges start their run up to exams following the Easter break and it can be unfair on pupils/students to start a yearbook project with exams looming. It is possible to put together ‘last minute’ yearbooks, but the more time you have to consider what photos, video and text you want to enter, the better the yearbook. A year group member’s contribution can take as little as one hour to complete.
2) Contact someone in authority at your School/College/University
Although this is not always necessary, we prefer you to have the approval of your school/college and to have their support. If you are lucky, they may even help to pay for your yearbook. It is essential that sixth form students and below inform both the head of their school or college and the head of their year - this is because written permission must be sought from the parents/guardians of pupils/students under the age of eighteen. In this instance, only a member of the teaching staff will be eligible to apply for a yearbook.
Whoever makes the payment for the yearbook will be referred to as the Editor. The Editor must be aged eighteen or over and will be required to make payments using a debit/credit card. The Editor has editorial and censorship rights as they are responsible for the overall contents of the yearbook - see Terms of use agreement.
3) Determine your year group’s enthusiasm for a yearbook on CD
Find out how enthusiastic your year group is to have a multimedia yearbook. There may be a small percentage of your year group who will want to drop out midway through the project. By taking a year group register of names and collecting deposits, you are more likely to be successful in accomplishing your yearbook.
4) Nominate yearbook sub-editors
Once you have sufficient interest from your year group, your editor will need to consider suitable members to nominate as sub-editors. Sub-editors can access and edit pages of the yearbook that contain additional articles, voting, questions, CD print design, etc.
The editor will be responsible for:
• Collecting and sending deposits to Yearbooks4Computers via debit/credit card
• Receiving the yearbook and entering the names & email addresses of all members
• Issuing members with login details - the system will print or email these details
• Monitoring progress and keeping in touch with members via the email system
• Closing the yearbook and editing its contents for suitable viewing as appropriate
• Collecting final payments from year group members
• Submitting the final payment to Yearbooks4Computers via debit/credit card
• Receiving and distributing the yearbook CD to year group members
5) Collect & submit deposits & register the yearbook
The yearbook editor now collects a deposit from each year group member - keep a record of deposits and issue a receipt if necessary (see yearbook costs section for details). The yearbook editor submits the deposit for the yearbook via a debit/credit card and registers the yearbook with Yearbooks4Computers.
6) Login & start your new yearbook
The editor logs in to the new yearbook and enters each member’s name and email address - these details can be copied and pasted from an existing spreadsheet. The editor can send login details to members via the system’s email facility - there is also a facility for the editor to print off login details for posting purposes. Members can now log in to their yearbook page by entering the login details issued to them.
Members are now able to enter photos, text and video into their own page and complete a questionnaire and vote on awards decided upon by their editor & sub-editors. The editor & sub-editors can add extra photos, video and text of year group events and occasions, and also create a print design for the CD.
7) Close the yearbook and collect and submit final payments
The editor will have decided upon a closing date for entries into the yearbook - this date will be displayed on all members’ logins to remind them. Once this date arrives the yearbook will be closed by the editor and final payments will be collected - issue a receipt if necessary. It is a good idea to set a deadline for the year group to complete their yearbook and submit their final payment. The editor submits the final payment to Yearbooks4Computers via debit/credit card.
8) Receive your Yearbook CD for distribution to year group members
Once the yearbook editor has received your yearbook on CD, it simply requires distributing to the year group members for them to enjoy.
If you have chosen Yearbook Service 1, each year group member will be issued with their own yearbook CD printed in colour using your year group’s own design.
If you have chosen Yearbook Service 2, your yearbook editor will receive a single yearbook CD printed in colour using your year group’s own design. This will need to be copied for each year group member - although it is time consuming, this service does save significantly on costs.