My name is Valerie Jensen and I am the Assistant County Librarian for Chambers County Library System. I have been working with teens in our library for many years and have had great success in getting them involved in their library. Earlier this year I started gathering names and seeing what type of interest we could get for a Teen group within TLA. The response was overwhelming and I received numerous emails and calls of support. Years ago there used to be a Teen Library Association but due to how much time this involved, it slowly faded away. Forming this as an interest group will make it much more efficient and easier to maintain. Our group name will officially be called, Texas Teens 4 Libraries and will be an organization for teenagers to allow them the opportuntiy to discuss, share, and promote ideas to their peers and other members of this group. Currently there is no organization for teenagers within the Texas Library Association and my goal is to allow them an opportunity to make an impact on services offered to this demographic. Ultimately, the goal is to get teens to join TLA and gather together at the state convention and let them have a voice at the state level. What an impact this would have on librarians, teachers and politicians. If you have not signed the petition, or are interested in being more involved please let me know. I will be at TLA with a teen representative who will be gathering signatures for me so we can get this group off and running.
If you want to sign the petition, you can do so a few ways:
1. Email me a statement in support of "Texas Teens 4 Libraries" along with your TLA member number and typed signature.
2. Fax me a statement in support of "Texas Teens 4 Libraries" along with your TLA member number and typed signature.
3. Catch up with us at TLA. There will be a young lady in a "Texas Teens 4 Libraries" t-shirt running around to collect signatures.
Email: vjensen@co.chambers.tx.us
Fax: 409-267-5181

Thanks so much for your support!
Valerie Jensen