The Ainsworth Public Library will celebrate Teen Read Week (October 18-24, 2015) with special events and programs aimed at encouraging teens around the area to read for the fun of it. Thousands of libraries, schools and bookstores across the country will hold similar events centered on this year’s theme, Get Away @ your library.
Teen Read Week is a time to celebrate reading for fun while encouraging teens to take advantage of reading in all its forms —books, magazines, e-books, audiobooks and more! It is also a great opportunity to encourage teens to become regular library users. Teen Read Week is a great opportunity for teens and their families to learn about all the free services and resources the library offers. The library also offers a safe and supervised space for adolescents to engage in creative, educational activities with caring adults and mentors.
Moreover, according to Gail Irwin, Librarian, strong reading skills are more critical than ever because they translate into better performance at school and better preparedness for careers. This is why it is important to take advantage of Teen Read Week and show teens that reading is a fun and relaxing activity they can do for free.
The Ainsworth Library invites teens to visit the library and sign up for some great prizes that will be given away in a drawing on October 24th. The drawing will be open to teen aged 13-18.
Parents of teens are also encouraged to celebrate Teen Read Week at home. Librarian, Gail Irwin, offers these ideas:
- Set aside time each day for the family to read
- Give books or magazine subscriptions to your teen as a gift or reward
- Share your favorite book with your teen
- Go online with your teen to learn about new books or authors by visiting www.ala.org/yalsa/reads4teens, or use YALSA’s free Teen Book Finder app
- Host a book discussion group with your family and friends
- Build an in-home library (thrift stores and yard sales offer an inexpensive way to do that)
- Listen to audiobooks on trips
- Create a cozy reading corner somewhere in your home
- Use meal time to talk about books that you’re reading
- Parents and caregivers can be role models by making time to read, too
- Incorporate reading into teen chores, such as reading a recipe when cooking, reading instructions for how-to projects, reading sales fliers to develop a shopping list, and more
Teen Read Week is a national adolescent literacy initiative created by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association. It is held annually during the third week of October. For more information, visit www.ala.org/teenread.
