kids & teens

Your opinion does count!

Here’s your chance to be heard!

Vote for the book that you think is most deserving of the Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award.
Here’s how:

You must be in grade 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12. (Uh, you have to be a Young Adult--in middle school or high school.)

Read at least three (3) of the nominated books. (Yeah, you have to read them, even if the book has been made into a movie.)

Write down the title of the book that you feel was best. (Remember, the one you thought was best, not the one your friend liked!)

Stop in at the Carnegie Public Library in Trinidad to fill out an official Blue Spruce Award ballot. (It’ll take less than two minutes unless you write your name really, really slow!)

Hurry up. (You only have until next year to do this. Ballots are due January 18, 2008.)

For your participation, you will receive a chance to win a brand new hardback book by one of the authors whose book was nominated. (How cool is that? Getting a reward for doing something you like to do anyhow!)

Blue Spruce Book Award

spruce Trinidad’s Carnegie Public Library wants young adults to know that, when it comes to reading: “Your opinion does count!” All middle school and high school students have a chance to vote for the book most deserving of the annual Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award.

All of the nominated books are in the Library’s collection. The 21 titles have been nominated by Colorado students; a wide range of interest, reading levels, genre, and subject matter is represented. As always, the staff of the Carnegie Public Library encourages adult guidance in helping students select the three nominated books to be read.

Interested in voting?

Commonly Asked Questions

Q: What is the Colorado Blue Spruce Award?
A: An award given each year to recognize the most popular books among middle and high school students in Colorado.

Q: What makes this award special?
A: The books are selected and voted on by Colorado middle and high school students. Adults do not nominate or vote.

Q: Can any book be nominated?
A: No. Titles nominated:
• Must be written by a contemporary author
• Must have been published in the last 5 years (2002-2007 for 2008 Nominees)
• May be fiction or non-fiction
• May not appear on the list in consecutive years
• Must not have appeared first as a movie or television program
• May not be written by the previous year’s winning author

Q: What if any school or library cannot offer all of the 21 nominated titles?
A: Any school or library may participate in the Blue Spruce by offering any combination of the titles, as they deem appropriate. In order to vote, students only need to have read three titles from the current list.

Q: What is the purpose of the Blue Spruce Award?
A: To stimulate, promote, and encourage reading.

Now, who would want to do this?

spruce -- Young adults who feel that their opinion is important.

-- Readers who think that readers who live in small cities and towns are just as well-read as those who live in metropolitan areas.

-- Readers who want a chance to win a book. Yes, for your participation, you will receive a chance to win a brand new hardback book by one of the authors whose book was nominated.

What are the titles?

Come on down to the library or click this link to find out. And for a printable copy of this year's nominees, click here.

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Young Adults and their needs...

Teens are taken seriously at Trinidad’s Carnegie Public Library. Our Young Adult’s Department focuses on encouraging adolescent readers to explore themselves and their world through literacy. The Young Adult Collection is set apart from titles for younger readers, providing a comfortable setting that encourages exploration. A wide range of text materials, including award-winning literature for young adults, popular series, and an excellent nonfiction collection of thought-provoking titles on contemporary issues can be found on our shelves. Audio books round out the collection; popular titles can be found on CDs and cassettes.

The Young Adults’ Department also offers programs and events for teens. Speakers, artists, storytellers, and other community members are tapped to share their ideas and experiences with our youth. “Poetry Slams” allow young writers to read their original works, to recite others’ poems, or just to listen while in the safe company of their peers.

Visit
Teen Scene!

Click a link below to go directly to our new page devoted exclusive to teens!

Teen Scene

Trinidad’s Carnegie Public Library prides itself on offering a comprehensive reading and recreation program each summer. Young adults can participate in several ways.

A cooperative effort between the Library and the Trinidad School District awards special incentives to middle school students. A district-provided computer is housed right at the library to allow students to take the Accelerated Reading quizzes on which those rewards are based.

Also, teens are recruited to serve as library assistants. Their tasks include helping or performing at the activity programs, reading aloud to younger children, listening to book reports, and shelving materials.

For some, this experience satisfies their high school’s graduation requirement of community service; for others, it serves as the first step on the path to a library or teaching career.