FROM THE CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG

CONTACT: Elaine Birkinshaw, Library Special Projects Manager 892-5003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

St. Petersburg Public Library joins YALSA, readergirlz in distributing hundreds of books to children’s hospitals

St. Petersburg, Fla. (April 7, 2008) – Teen patients at All Children’s Hospital will receive 700 books during National Library Week as part of Operation Teen Book Drop (TBD), an unprecedented literacy program organized by readergirlz and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) and supported by St. Petersburg Public Library System in honor of the second annual Support Teen Literature Day on April 17.

More than 20 publishers generously donated 10,000 teen books, which will be distributed to twelve children’s hospitals across the country, including All Children’s Hospital. Staff at St. Petersburg Public Library System received the books, attached bookplates noting the publisher’s generosity and inserted bookmarks with details on YALSA and readergirlz, as well as recommended books, then distributed them to All Children’s Hospital.

YALSA and readergirlz organized the initiative to provide books to seriously ill or hospitalized teens in need of solace, entertainment and a sense of personal accomplishment.

“Operation TBD aims to encourage teens to choose reading for pleasure as a leisure activity,” said Library Director Mary Gaines. “Young adults now have many options for entertainment that compete with reading.”

Participating book publishers who have donated books or audiobooks include Abrams Books, Bloomsbury USA, Candlewick Press, Da Capo Press, Full Cast Audio, Harcourt, HarperCollins, Hyperion Books, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Marshall Cavendish, Mirrorstone (imprint of Wizards of the Coast), Newmarket Press, Orca Book Publishers, Peachtree Publishers, Perseus Book Group, Random House, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster Children's Books, TokyoPOP, and Tor Books.

readergirlz is the foremost online book community for teen girls, led by four critically-acclaimed YA authors—Dia Calhoun (Avielle of Rhia), Lorie Ann Grover (On Pointe), Justina Chen Headley (Girl Overboard), and Mitali Perkins (First Daughter: White House Rules). readergirlz was co-founded by Dia Calhoun, Janet Lee Carey, Lorie Ann Grover, and Justina Chen Headley—all four of whom have been touched by children’s hospitals or hospitals in some way or other.

To promote teen literacy and leadership in girls, readergirlz features a different YA novel and corresponding community service project every month. For more information about readergirlz, please visit www.readergirlz.com or contact divas@readergirlz.com.

For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, videos, and audio books for teens. For more information about YALSA or for lists of recommended reading, viewing and listening, go to www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists, or contact the YALSA office by phone, 800-545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail: yalsa@ala.org.

-end-