Ten librarians win Teen Read Week™ Mini Grants from YALSA

CHICAGO — The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), announced the winners of its 10 Teen Read Week Mini Grants. The grants, funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, give each winning library $1,000 to use for events, programs and services to encourage teen reading and celebrate Teen Read Week, Oct. 14–20.

The 10 winners are:

• Dawn Abron, Zion-Benton Public Library (Ill.)
• Shonda Brisco, Newkirk High School Library (Okla.)
• Pham Condello, Ocean County Library System (N.J.)
• Natalie Couch, Muscogee County Libraries (Ga.)
• Deana Cunningham, Granville County Library System (N.C.)
• Penny Johnson, Baraboo Public Library (Wis.)
• Ann-Marie Marchant, Provo City Library (Utah)
• Amanda Margis, Warren-Newport Public Library (Ill.)
• Lindsey Tomsu, La Vista Public Library (Neb.)
• Patricia VanArsdale, Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library (Ind.)

Activities include a Maker Faire, a Zombie Prom, a teen book club, filmmaking projects and more.

Teen Read Week is a national literacy initiative aimed at teens, their parents, librarians, educators, booksellers and other concerned adults. The purpose of the event is to increase the number of teens who are regular readers and library users. It began in 1998 and is celebrated the third week in October. The 2012 theme is “It Came from the Library!,” which encourages teens to read just for the fun of it. For more information or to register, visit the Teen Read Week website at www.ala.org/teenread.

Members of Team Teen Read Week are ALA Graphics, Dollar General Literacy Foundation, and Penguin Young Readers Group.

Dollar General is a leading discount retailer with more than 9,900 neighborhood stores in 39 states. Dollar General stores provide convenience and value to customers by offering consumable basic items such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids and cleaning supplies, as well as basic apparel, house wares and seasonal items at everyday low prices. The company has a longstanding tradition of supporting literacy and education. Since 1993, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $64.5 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 3.7 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy, a general education diploma or English proficiency. To learn more about Dollar General, visit www.dollargeneral.com.

For more than 50 years, YALSA has worked to build the capacity of libraries and librarians to engage, serve and empower teens.  For more information about YALSA or to access national guidelines and other resources go to www.ala.org/yalsa, or contact the YALSA office by phone, (800) 545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail: yalsa@ala.org.