For the first time ever, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), held a national teen vote to determine the theme for Teen Read Week. Over 1,100 teens nationwide voted during Teen Read Week, October 17 – 23, for the 2005 theme. GET REAL! was chosen as the theme for Teen Read Week 2005, to be held October 16 – 22nd.
The online vote allowed teens to choose from three options: Get Real; Get Active; and Think.Choose.Do. There was also an opportunity to suggest a theme for future years.
“One of the key components in YALSA's New Directions in Library Service for Young Adults is youth participation,” said YALSA President David Mowery. “By involving teens in choosing the 2005 theme of Teen Read Week, we are not only giving teens the chance to participate, we are allowing them to take ownership.”
Now finished with its seventh year, Teen Read Week is a national literacy initiative of YALSA. The theme for Teen Read Week 2004, “IT’S ALIVE! @ your library®”, encouraged teens to explore programs, Web sites and books about mysteries, forensics, science fiction, horror and the world around them.
Teen Read Week supporting organizations include: American Association of School Administrators, American Booksellers Association, Cable in the Classroom, International Reading Association, Kids Care, KIDSNET, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Council of Teachers of English, National Education Association, National School Boards Association, SmartGirl.org, The N/Noggin, Speak Up Press, and TeenInk.
HarperCollins was a corporate sponsor of Teen Read Week 2004. Corporate friends were Scholastic, Inc., and Houghton Mifflin. Pamela Spencer Holley was an individual friend of Teen Read Week.
For more information visit the Teen Read Week Web site at www.ala.org/teenread, or contact the YALSA office by phone: 312-280-4387 or e-mail: yalsa@ala.org.