Students support Operation Teen Book Drop

University of Houston-Clear Lake members of the Young Adult Library Services Association delivered more than 700 books to teen patients at the Texas Children’s Hospital in celebration of the second annual Teen Literature Day on April 17. The effort is part of Operation Teen Book Drop and is held in conjunction with National Library Week (April 13-19) with the intent of encouraging more teens to choose reading as a leisure activity.

Operation Teen Book Drop was organized by the national Young Adult Library Services Association and readergirlz, an online book community for young teens, and supported by UH-Clear Lake School Library and Information Science faculty. The books were delivered to seriously ill or hospitalized teens to provide solace, entertainment and a means of providing a sense of personal accomplishment.

"All kids need books – no matter where they are," according to Paula Griffith, UH-Clear Lake School Library and Information Science instructor. "When lives are interrupted by illness, books become even more crucial, and kids especially enjoy reading about other people their own age."

Participating UH-Clear Lake students included Rachel Hunter, Jill Hanley, Chrissy Johnston, Melissa Bonner, Laurie Baxter, Erin Casteel, Maria Ramirez and Carrie Tabuena. The volunteers attached bookplates, inserted bookmarks, and included a list of additional book recommendations before delivering the books to the children.

Nationwide, the generosity of more than 20 publishers helped make the event successful, with donations of more than 10,000 teen books for distribution to twelve children’s hospitals across the country, including Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.

In addition to Operation Teen Book Drop, the association will sponsor Teen Read Week 2008, Oct 12-18, to encourage teens to read just for the fun of it. The theme of this year’s event is Books with Bite @ your library.