Teen Read Week 2012

Teen Read Week 2012 is upon us! Besides the traditional print materials like flyers, signs and bookmarks and paper press releases, how else can you spread the word to teens throughout your community?

• Facebook reaches virtually all of your teen users. The simplest way to let your teens know about TRW through FB is by sharing some of YALSA’s posts and links. But you can also use Facebook to advertise the events going on in your building or classroom, promote some great reads like Teens’ Top Ten, and share pictures of teens “reading for the fun of it” around town.
• Many libraries connect with their communities through Patch, an online news source featuring local news, events, and topics of interest. Many even welcome guest writers to submit articles.
• Twitter is a great tool that your library may already be using. Get news out to the masses through words and images, featuring books, audiobooks, ebooks, free downloads, great literature and media apps, and more with simple, short tweets.
• Interactive displays can really attract attention to Teen Read Week and Teens’ Top Ten. Make them flashy (with bright colors as backgrounds, or even some glitter thrown about), make them loud (maybe not, but be sure to include audiobooks!), and use more than just traditional library materials by including some fun props. Try displaying Halloween masks when featuring spooky titles or plastic food when displaying cookbooks, for example. Take pictures of your display and add them to your library’s tumblr or Pinterest accounts!

It’s not too late to put some of ALA’s Teen Read Week publicity tools to use. Tell us what you are doing to promote TRW in your schools and libraries in the comments!