Teen Read Week (TRW) kicked off with a lively Twitter chat among supporters of teen literacy and leisure reading on October 15, 2-3pm ET. An initiative spearheaded by the American Library Association’s (ALA) Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) in 1998, TRW encourages adolescents to be lifelong readers and library users. School Library Journal; Zondervan’s young adult imprint, Blink; Goodreads; Merit Press; Soho Teen; and the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) participated in the hour-long virtual conversation, highlighting ways librarians can help celebrate teen reading. A mix of librarians, authors, editors, and other supporters of teen literacy also joined the chat. Below are some of the tweets that resonated with SLJ editors. For the full thread, check out #TRW13 on Twitter.

@yalsa Censorship. Teens should be able to decide what they want to read for fun. #TRW13 —  (@robertstanek) October 15, 2013  

Another challenge is lack of funding #TRW13 - let's encourage corporations to support teen literacy! — HealersTrilogy (@HealersTrilogy) October 15, 2013

 

Big challenge to getting kids to be more proficient readers? Lack of librarians in the schools :-/ #TRW13 — Shelley (Diaz) Vale (@sdiaz101) October 15, 2013

 

.@yalsa I like to keep steps simple. But, the more we read--across genres--and the more we share, the better for readers in room. #TRW13 — Paul W. Hankins (@PaulWHankins) October 15, 2013

 

One major way to get teens reading is to make sure there are books on the shelf that include & reflect them. #TRW13 — Tu Books (@tubooks) October 15, 2013

 

#TRW13 - we can encourage reading by giving more choice, not less. Things like AR, etc. put readers in boxes, limit them, make it a chore. — TeenLibrarianToolbox (@TLT16) October 15, 2013

 

Libraries create such amazing theme displays (I LOVE this one http://t.co/YacSvFRIts)--that helps position books for teens. #TRW13 — Soho Teen (@soho_teen) October 15, 2013

 

@BlinkYABooks One thing that helps is a culture that embraces all things nerd, encourages books alongside tv, games, etc. #TRW13 —  (@JLamb89) October 15, 2013

Leave no genre unturned, even if it's one you may not prefer. Be prepared to offer a variety instead of just a couple of flavors #TRW13 —  (@yabooksandmore) October 15, 2013

I had a really great librarian & really great English teacher who both encouraged me to read & write. I'm grateful to them. #TRW13 —  (@CherylRainfield) October 15, 2013

Below are some of the resources that SLJ and SLJ editors shared with chat participants:

Recent SLJ Summit keynoter @anniemurphypaul talks about pleasure reading and its connection to learning: http://t.co/bfHDfUPNGu #TRW13 — (@sljournal) October 15, 2013

 

A recent Pew study had interesting findings: Teens Still Love Print Media, ‘Traditional’ Library Services http://t.co/wiVpyz3Hmc #TRW13 —  (@sljournal) October 15, 2013

 

And if you need a go-to list of Horror YA Lit, look no further: http://t.co/572BiUSppW #TRW13 #yalit — (@sljournal) October 15, 2013

 

SLJ bloggers that cover #yalit: @LizB http://t.co/CTOp9BwV0q, & the Adult Books 4 Teens crew http://t.co/NZ8V0HdoSw #TRW13 —  (@sljournal) October 15, 2013

 

Here's a list of SLJ's read-and-watch-alike posts: YA movies lead to YA books http://t.co/dDTKjrS7bc #TRW13 —  (@sljournal) October 15, 2013

 

Give teens a voice in collection development choices: A group of teens review books, CDs, games for SLJ http://t.co/SuEZQ2YUgp #TRW13 — (@sljournal) October 15, 2013

 

A recent article that I wrote on Diversity in #yalit http://t.co/LwkII9NSdC #TRW13 — (@sdiaz101) October 15, 2013

 

Great quotes from @neilhimself re reading on @sljournal Tumblr http://t.co/gRVixe1Ap0 #TRW13 —  (@ChelseyPhilpot) October 15, 2013