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Brittnee Emerine doesn't wait for teenagers to come to the library. She goes to them.
Each May, Emerine and her colleagues at the Carrollton Public Library show up at middle and high school pep rallies and school libraries across the city, making a personal pitch to students about why they should spend part of their summer reading.
Last year, it worked. Participants in the library's annual Summer Reading Challenge logged 3.78 million minutes, a program record.
That outreach effort earned Emerine, the library's Youth Services supervisor, the 2026 Young Adult Reading Incentive Award from the Texas Library Association in February. The award is given annually to a librarian who has shown exceptional ability to engage middle and high school students in reading.
The Summer Reading Challenge runs June 1 through Aug. 1 and is open to patrons of all ages, who earn prizes by tracking their reading minutes. Prizes for teens and tweens include gift cards to Amazon, Cinemark and Dutch Bros. Coffee, along with free books chosen for each age group. The library covers the cost through donations from the Friends of the Carrollton Public Library and local businesses, a funding approach the Texas Library Association highlighted when presenting the award.
"The Youth Services Team is committed to helping tweens and teens build those essential reading skills away from school through a fun, rewarding program," Emerine said.
The Texas Library Association is the country's largest state library organization. The award is open only to members of its Young Adult Round Table and comes with a $500 honorarium for the recipient's library and a speaking slot at the TLA Annual Conference.
Registration for this year's Summer Reading Challenge opens May 1. More information is available at the Carrollton Public Library's website.
