YALSA announces 2013 Teen Read Week™ Grant recipients

CHICAGO — The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has announced the 10 recipients of its 2013 Teen Read Week Grant.

The grants, generously funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, are $1,000 each and will be used by each library to fund their Teen Read Week programs and activities.

The recipients of the grant are as follows:

• Dawn Abron, Zion-Benton Public Library, Ill.;
• Catherine Andronik, Brien McMahon High School Library, Norwalk, Conn.;
• Amy Jones, Ashe County (N.C.) Public Library;
• Jennifer Shureman, Gloucester County (N.J.) Library System;
• Staci Terrell, Anderson (Ind.) Public Library;
• Lindsey Tomsu, La Vista (Neb.) Public Library;
• Patricia VanArsdale, Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library, Ind.;
• Deena Viviani, Central Library Of Monroe County, N.Y.;
• Molly Weeta, Lawrence (Kan.) Public Library;
• Bridget Wilson, Moss Memorial Library of Nantahala Regional Library System, N.C.

This is the third year that YALSA has been able to offer this grant, courtesy of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. Teen Read Week is a crucial time to promote reading to teens and grants like the Teen Read Week grant allow for libraries-in-need to develop more comprehensive activities and programs that will attract teens and help them develop a life-long appreciation of reading.

This year, Teen Read Week™ is being celebrated October 13-19 with the theme “Seek the Unknown @ your library”. Official Teen Read Week products are available for purchase through the ALA Store.

Teen Read Week™ is a national adolescent literacy initiative created by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). It began in 1998 and is held annually during the third week of October. Its purpose is to encourage teens to make time to read for the fun of it, because studies show that teens who read for leisure achieve more in school. To learn more about Teen Read Week, visit www.ala.org/teenread.

About Dollar General

Dollar General is a leading discount retailer with 10,000 stores in 40 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 $71.2 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 4.1 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.