NBC TV has become a national partner for Teen Read Week, October 17-23, sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).

The network has developed a "TNBC Reads" theme day for Saturday, October 23, with characters on TNBC shows reading and talking about books. NBC will also support this theme day with special NBC2000 windows devoted to the theme, featuring NBC talent. NBC's goal is to show that reading is an important part of the daily life of a teenager and fun activity outside of the classroom.

"We are pleased that NBC has agreed to showcase the importance of teen reading to a national audience," says YALSA President Joel Shoemaker. "The TNBC stars are great role models and spokespeople to help remind teens how much fun reading can be."

TNBC is the Saturday morning live-action block of entertaining and educational programming from NBC, targeted to teen audiences. Each of the series, "City Guys," "Hang Time," "One world" and "Saved By The Bell: The New Class," qualify as both educational and informational for teens ages 13-16, in accordance with the FCC's recent ruling regarding children's programming.

Each season, the network schedules "theme days" that focus on particular topics of interest to today's teens. Teen reading is the first of the year's themes. Previous days have been devoted to safety, substance abuse, family issues and the importance of voting. For more information about the TNBC's promotion of Teen Read Week, see the TNBC Web site at http://www.nbc.com/tnbc.

The theme for Teen Read Week 1999 is "Reading Rocks! Read for the Fun of It." The week aims to motivate teenagers to read for enjoyment and remind parents and teachers to promote reading among older as well as young children. Other national partners include the American Booksellers Association, American Association of School Administrators, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Council of Teachers of English, and National Education Association.

A Teen Read Week Web site designed to help young adult librarians plan for the event, including publicity ideas, sample press materials, research and resource lists, can be found at http://www.ala.org/teenread.

Libraries are encouraged to register their participation in Teen Read Week at this site. Libraries without Internet access are able to obtain a printout (23 pages) of the Web site through ALA Fax-on-Demand at 1-800-545-2433, press 8.

For more information about Teen Read Week, contact YALSA at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4390 or by e-mail at yalsa@ala.org.