Turn dreams into reality at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library during Teen Read Week!
Nationally, Teen Read Week is observed October 12-18, but Charlotte Mecklenburg Library will be extending the celebration of reading for two weeks, with events taking place October 5-18. The Library will celebrate with special events and programs aimed at encouraging teens around the area to read for the fun of it. Thousands of libraries, schools and bookstores across the country will hold similar events centered on this year’s theme, Turn Dreams into Reality @ your library.
Teen Read Week is a time to celebrate reading for fun while encouraging teens to take advantage of reading in all its forms —books, magazines, e-books, audiobooks and more. It is also a great opportunity to encourage teens to become regular library users. Charlotte Mecklenburg Library hopes to inform teens and their families about all of the free resources available that can be used to make a young person’s dreams come true.
Each of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s 20 branches (except Main Library) will be hosting special programs and events during this time. One of the featured events is GPS (Goals, Plans and Strategy) Your Guide to Your Dreams, which takes place on Thursday, October 9 at 5:30 pm at the South County Regional Library branch (5801 Rea Road, Charlotte). At this event, teens will learn that while effective goal setting is the key to making things happen, it is just the beginning. Presenter Reginald Johnson will teach basic techniques for setting goals, establishing an effective action plan, and executing the best strategy to make goals a reality. For details call the South County branch at 704-416-6600 or sign up online.
There are many more free events being offered, including the following:
- Explore Art. Express your creativity while learning new things.
- Explore Careers. Find out about options that are available and how to pursue your career dreams.
- Explore Robotics. Get hands-on and learn new skills.
- Now showing! Join the Library for a special showing of a select movie.
- Hold Shelf Surprise. Fill out a sheet about your reading interests along with your library card number and a Teen Librarian will put a random surprise book on hold for you.
- Dream Jar. What is a dream jar? It is a mason jar filled with slips of paper with your hopes and dreams for the future.
- End Cap Bucket Lists. What is a bucket list? It is a list of places you want to go and things you want to do in your lifetime.
- Dream Quotes. Pick up your copy of our Teen Read Week quotes and see if you can match the quote to the author. Turn it in to receive a sweet treat.
- Booktionary. Play this guessing word game by identifying book titles through sketched clues.
- Turn It Up: Teen Radio. Listen to a radio show created by the Library's "Turn It Up: Teen Radio" and discuss the topics of the show.
- Write to an Author. Teens will be able to write to an author who has inspired them to follow their dreams.
See a complete schedule of Teen Read Week events with dates and times, or call or visit your nearest library branch for information.
Parents of teens are also encouraged to celebrate Teen Read Week at home. The Library offers these ideas:
- Set aside time each day for the family to read
- 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 by visiting www.cmlibrary.org/teens or www.ala.org/yalsa/reads4teens
- Host a book discussion group
- Build an in-home library (library book sales offer an inexpensive way to do that)
- Listen to audiobooks on trips
- Create a cozy reading corner somewhere in your home
- Use meal time to talk about books that you’re reading
- Parents and caregivers can be role models by making time to read, too
- Incorporate reading into teen chores, such as reading a recipe when cooking, reading instructions for how-to projects, reading sales fliers to develop a shopping list, and more
For more information about services and programs available to teens from the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, visit www.cmlibrary.org/teens.
Teen Read Week is a national adolescent literacy initiative created by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association.
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