Teen Read Week is a national literacy initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association. It’s aimed at teens, their parents, librarians, educators, booksellers and other concerned adults.

It began in 1998 and is held annually in October the same week as Columbus Day. Its purpose is to encourage teens to be regular readers and library users.

The 2017 event will be held Oct. 8 – 14th, featuring the theme ‘Unleash Your Story.” Library staff, afterschool providers, and educators are encouraged to leverage this theme to encourage teens to tell their own stories as well as find stories, biographies, autobiographies, folktales, and more in their local library.  Join the conversation on Twitter with #TRW17.

The 2017 theme, “Unleash Your Story encourages library staff, afterschool providers, and educators to leverage this theme to encourage teens to tell their own stories as well as find stories, biographies, autobiographies, folktales, and more in their local library. The event also offers librarians and educators a chance to encourage teens to read for pleasure and to visit their libraries for free reading materials.

Click here for the Teen Read Week FAQ page and more information.

The WVLS Teen Services page is a good place to start when looking for ideas to make the library fun and inviting to teens during ANY week in the year!

Submitted by Kris Adams Wendt.