Chambersburg District Libraries

RELEASE DATE: September 20, 2002

CONTACT PERSON: Bernice D. Crouse e-mail bdcrouse@fclspa.org

SUBJECT: Local Public Libraries Launch On-Line Book Club for Teens

Finding a Great Book to Read Just Got Easier
So many books, so little time. For all those busy young people, the public libraries of Franklin and Fulton Counties have a new service: a Teen Book Club that delivers books electronically. Each day, Monday through Friday, the library emails subscribers a portion of a book that takes about five minutes to read. Teens are able to read two or three chapters from a book during the week. If they like the book, they can check it out of the library. Each week the site features new books.
District and Franklin County Library System Director Bernice Crouse says, "This exciting new service lets us reach out to the teens in our community. It gets them reading, despite their busy days of school, sports, vocational, and social activities."
Teens do not have to give out detailed personal information to subscribe. They simply enter a first name and e-mail address. Recently subscribers have been reading the following books: Blood Runs Deep by R. Scott Mackey, Straydog by Kathe Koja, Goodbye, Amanda the Good by Susan Shreve, Hole in the Sky by Pete Hautman, and Cry of Courage by Lee Roddy.
Subscribers may also forward the e-mails to their friends. It's a great way to stay in touch with friends and relatives that live in other parts of the country.
The service is available from any of the library webpages. A public library website visit starts at www.fclspa.org. From there a reader can join the Teen Book Club directly or check out the webpage of his or her local library. The books are selected and e-mailed by Chapter-a-Day, a business based in Florida, which also provides an electronic forum for book discussion and produces book clubs in other genres.
On each library homepage teens will find fantastic new links to sites of interest to them. Coyle Free Library "Just for Teens" page contains a list of exciting new books and features lists of classics and historical novels readily available to downtown library patrons.
Never before has this area seen a library service like Chapter-a-Day. The on-line books are selected with teens in mind, but anyone in the two-county area may subscribe and enjoy them.

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