Tales from a Loud Librarian

The library was a hub of activity all week long as the students celebrated Teen Read Week. It may not have always been about books, but it certainly put the library in the minds of all the students and teachers at PFTSTA. You can check out all the pics and activities of the week  here on the PFTSTA Library website .  Teen Read Week may be over, but there are two contests in which students can still participate. Entries in the annual bookmark contest are due October 29th. Open here for the entry form .  This will be the first time that PFTSTA participates in YALSA's Wrestlemania Reading Challenge. Teens will need to write a letter to their fav WWE Superstar asking the Superstar to try a great read recommended by the teen. The letters must be submitted by November 9th. You can find out more about this challenge by watching the video below: (watch at home, video hosted on youtube)

On Wednesday, for Teen Read Week, the students visited the library to dress like they were from another world. There was a table full of assorted costumes for them to select as an outfit. Wigs, masks, scarves and other stuff were thrown everywhere as students crowded around to create their own masterpiece. Maybe no one looked like they stepped out of a book, but we did get some crazy photos. Check out more pics of the day on the library website here . (Scroll to the bottom of the page to see the pictures.) I did some editing using pixlr.com to create these images

The theme for this year's Teen Read Week is, It Came from the Library. At PFTSTA, we interpreted that to be stories rooted in other worlds. When we decided to start the week off with a movie, I thought that we might want to use a Twilight Zone episode. Each episode lasts about 30 minutes which is perfect for each lunch period. Also, the setting for many of the episodes was a world that is not ours. One of the members of Bookmarked suggested  The Obsolete Man  because it was her favorite. It was first shown on June 2, 1961, and it still seems relevant today. I loved the fact that Burgess Meredith, who is deemed obsolete, is a librarian. How fitting. In this world there are no more books, so there don't need to be any librarians. I invited students to bring their lunches with them, and I served popcorn. There were two showings, one for middle school and the other for high school. Even some of the seniors joined us for the 1st showing

The first day of Teen READ Week is always exciting because TRW has started and also because the top ten  teen-selected books are announced. This is one of the few book lists that is selected solely by kids. I made a sign that I am going to hang up in my library announcing the ten titles that won. Feel free to click the link below and download my sign from Scribd and hang in your library. 2012 Teens Top Ten Winners Sign

YALSA is encouraging librarians, teens and everyone who loves young adult literature to join the conversation about reading on Twitter on October 17th during Teen Read Week. Use the hashtag #TRW12 to join the fun. Click here to read more about it .