Baker City Hosts Region 6 Oregon Battle of the Books March 2026

Baker City is hosting the Region 6 Oregon Battle of the Books regional tournaments this month, with grades 6-8 scheduled for Saturday, March 7, at Baker Middle School and grades 3-5 set for Saturday, March 14, at South Baker Intermediate School; teams check in at 8 a.m. and matches begin at 9 a.m., and the top team in each division advances to the state finals April 11 at Chemeketa Community College in Salem.

Oregon Battle of the Books, or OBOB, is a statewide reading program sponsored by the Oregon Association of School Libraries and funded in part by a Library Services and Technology Act grant. Washington County Cooperative Library Services notes that OBOB is paid for by local school libraries, local public libraries, and federal LSTA funds administered by the State Library of Oregon. Each year a list of up to 16 books is compiled for three grade levels - 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12 - and matches use those lists.

Preparation for regionals is intensive: participants spend months reading the year’s book list for their grade level, practicing with volunteer coaches, memorizing titles and authors, and learning to answer detailed content questions. Questions for Region 6 matches are written by volunteer groups of teachers, librarians and community members, and volunteers commonly fill roles as moderators, scorekeepers and timers, as seen in other regional events across Central and Eastern Oregon.

Program rules from the OBOB handbook will shape match play in Baker City: for the 3-5 and 6-8 divisions at regionals and state there are no steals in pool play matches, while steals have returned for all 9-12 battles and for bracket play in all divisions. Regional managers set specific regional dates and locations within the Executive Committee’s window; schools assigned to a tournament may not request a date change. Registration for schools opens each year from September 1 to October 31; public, private and charter schools may register, while home-schooled students may participate only if they join a school team within their boundary or a participating public library.

Locally, the Baker High School team is coached by Baker County Public Library staff. Baker High competed Feb. 28 at a regional tournament in Bend and did not advance to the state tournament. Baker City serves as the Region 6 site this year for the eight-county region that includes Baker, Gilliam, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union and Wallowa counties.

Regional context underscores local stakes: last year Madras High School defeated Baker City in the regional final to earn its first-ever trip to the state tournament in Salem, and 509J School District librarian Ryan Dempsey observed, “Without the support from the Jefferson County Library District, we wouldn’t have had teams qualify for the State Tournament.” For teams and coaches seeking the 2026 book lists and match resources, the official OBOB website and Washington County Cooperative Library Services provide author/title guides and pronunciation aids for the 2025-2026 season. Winners from Baker City's Region 6 will represent the eight counties at the state finals on April 11 at Chemeketa Community College in Salem.