St. Louis County Library is celebrating Teen Read Month in October with special events and programs aimed at encouraging area teens to read.

Thousands of libraries, schools and bookstore across the country will hold similar events centered on this year’s theme, "Picture It! @ your library," which encourages teens to read a variety of materials, including graphic novels, movies, books about photography, and more.

“Teens have more activities to fill their free time than ever — web videos, social networking sites, video games, afterschool activities, athletics —and increasingly high expectations in the classroom,” said Sara Wood, Assistant Youth Services Manager, in a statement. “It’s important that we show them that reading is something that’s fun and relaxing that they can do for free. And that reading for fun can translate into better performance at school.”

SLCL has a variety of fun programs scheduled for Teen Read Month. Activities include College and the Real World workshops, photography and photo editing classes, contests, recycled art demos, a digital scavenger hunt and more.

Be sure to check out the library's teen blog.