The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is launching the 2013 Teen Summer Reading Programs website. As the hub for summer reading and summer learning, the website offers a place to go to exchange information and ideas to help them implement programs for and with teens. The website is funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, which also provides grants for summer reading programs. The website will continue to be updated throughout the spring and summer and a great place to share ideas and brainstorm with fellow teen services librarians and library workers.
“Even though it may still be cold out in certain parts of the country, it’s never too early to start thinking about summer reading programs for the teens at your libraries,” said Jack H. Martin, YALSA president. “This cool new website will hopefully help you formulate, plan and share awesome summer reading ideas to help you keep teens in your community reading and learning all summer long.”
Libraries play a critical role in helping young people maintain and build literacy skills. According to the 2010 “Public Library Summer Reading Programs Closing the Reading Gap” study from the Dominican University, students who participated in a public library summer reading program scored higher on reading achievement tests at the beginning of the next school year than those students who did not participate.
