Past teens hired for the summer as part of Team Read outreach traveled to day camps, clubs, and childcares, reading books and playing games with children as “reading role-models.” In 2019, 34 teens were employed as reading mentors for 5700 children at 21 locations across the county. COVID-19 safety precautions meant that the program would have to change. Cancelled in 2020 and re-envisioned for 2021, Team Read focused on teens’ work in libraries, local community impact, and connecting with college and career paths.

Eighteen teens and 3 adult supervisors were hired. Six of those teens were returning from 2019. Teens worked 12 hours per week at their branch and came together for either hours of Virtual Team Read. They connected over Zoom with the Boys and Girls Club and a local summer camp. Teens wrote weekly letters to the children with whom they were paired and the letters were delivered during outreach visits. Weekly speakers focused on college and career, youth services, trauma-informed care, and entrepreneurship.

Team Readers increased their understanding of the library and saw it as valuable to their future. Four of the 2021 Team Readers have been hired by the library year-round. This longstanding program had to change due to Covid-19 but the impact made it clear how this program could be even more meaningful. One evaluation states: “Team Read made me a more well-rounded individual, allowing me to excel in all sectors of life. I learned how to let compassion lead the way and let passion fill the rest.”