Picture It! @ your library: Sherwood Library celebrates Teen Read Week

Sherwood Regional Library will celebrate Teen Read Week, October 16-22, 2011, to encourage area teens to read for the fun of it. This year’s theme is, Picture It! @ your library. The program encourages teens to read a variety of materials, including graphic novels, movies, books about photography, and more.

Teen Read Week is the effort of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the fastest-growing division of the American Library Association. It is held annually during the third week of October.

Teens have more activities to fill their free time than ever — web videos, social networking sites, video games, afterschool activities, athletics — as well as their work in the classroom, as every parent knows. It’s important that we show them that reading is something that’s fun, relaxing, and FREE. We also want them to see that reading for fun leads to better performance at school.

This is also an opportunity to show parents and the greater community what the library can offer. If it’s been a while since parents and neighbors have been to a library, they are surprised how much has changed since their own school days. In these tough economic times, there is a lot to like about today’s libraries. Teen Read Week is a great time to make sure teens and their families know about all the free services the library can offer them and to reach out to teens who aren’t regular users and encourage them to come see what they can find here.

Parents can get involved, too. Try these ideas:

• Visit the dedicated teen area of the Sherwood Library with your teen to check out books. It’s where the school-recommended books are found.
• Take a look at the bulletin board in the teen area for suggestions of NEW reads.
• Work together to learn how to download audiobooks or ebooks from our website, www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library.
• 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. A good place to start is YALSA's Booklists and Book Awards page, www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists.
• Encourage your teen to join a book discussion group at school or the public library. Some book groups are for parents AND their teenagers.

And as always, please call or stop by the information desk at the Sherwood Library (703-765-3645) if you have questions about any of our programs or services.