It’s coming up fast: Teen Read Week!  It’s year number seven of the national celebration, and teen bloggers have been added to the mix!

Teen Read Week was created by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) in 1998 to encourage teenagers to be regular readers and library patrons.  2014’s Teen Read Week is scheduled for October 12th through the 18th, and the theme for this year is ‘Turn Dreams Into Reality’!  Libraries are encouraged to use this theme “to spotlight all the great resources and activities they provide to inspire teens to succeed in school and beyond” (Teen Read Week main site).

YALSA is a division of the American Library Association (ALA), but you don’t need to be a member of either organization to take advantage of the program or its services.  You can find official products, such as posters and bookmarks, to use to promote Teen Read Week at your library!

Additionally, be sure to let your teens know they can vote for YALSA’s Teens’ Top Ten!  Voting is now open and continues through Teen Read Week.  YALSA says, “The Teen’s Top Ten is a ‘teen choice’ list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year.  Readers ages twelve to eighteen will vote online,” and winners will be announced on Monday, October 20th.

As another way to celebrate Teen Read Week, YALSA announced 31 winners of its Teen Read Week Blogging Contest last month.  The bloggers, listed here, “will blog about various young adult literature topics throughout the month of October on YALSA’s young adult literature focused blog, The Hub, in celebration of Teen Read Week.”