Cedar Mill Teen Wins Washington County Libraries 2011 Teen Summer Reading Artwork Contest

For immediate RELEASE
Date: March 28, 2011
Contact: Jodi Nielsen, Senior Program Educator
Washington County Cooperative Library Services
www.wccls.org
503-846-3235

Cedar Mill Teen Wins Washington County Libraries 2011 Teen Summer Reading Artwork Contest

Washington County, Oregon: For the second year the Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) has presented local teen artists with the opportunity to exercise their creative side and compete for the privilege of seeing their artwork on all countywide Teen Summer Reading publicity. The 2011 response was quite impressive. In total, over 70 pieces of artwork were submitted during the months of January and February this year. That is a tremendous increase over the 40-plus submissions from the previous year.

In early March, a group of teen library enthusiasts gathered at the Beaverton City Library to conduct a blind review, judging and selection of the piece that best represents the 2011 Washington County Libraries Teen Summer Reading Program. The judges were looking for an exciting and original piece of artwork that incorporates the 2011 Teen Summer Reading theme, “You Are Here”, which denotes a travel destination. In addition, the pieces were examined for reproducibility, as the winning piece will be used to create teen summer reading posters, bookmarks, buttons, and a wide variety of promotional materials.

First place was awarded to Grace Chu (age 18), a Cedar Mill Community Library @ Bethany library user. Chu created a design that incorporates a host of west coast license plates bearing the names of popular teen fiction overlaid upon a map of Washington County. According to WCCLS Youth Services Librarian, Rick Samuelson, “the Teen Summer Reading theme is very complicated this year. Grace has done a wonderful job translating the concept of ‘You Are Here’ and creating a piece of artwork that is both fun and relevant.” Upon receiving her award, including a $150 gift card to Powell’s Books, Chu informed library staff that she is considering a future in visual communication design. That makes perfect sense.

Following are the 2011 WCCLS Teen Summer Reading Art Contest winners:

• 1st Place: Grace Chu (Cedar Mill Community Library @ Bethany)
• 2nd Place: Dillon Scott Taylor (Hillsboro Public Libraries)
• Honorable Mention (Tie): Elina Gouw (Cedar Mill Community Library @ Bethany) and Kaitlin Baird (Cedar Mill Community Library)

The 2011 Teen Summer Reading Art Contest Panel of judges included:

• Teen Library users:
  • Alaa Aisi, Beaverton
  • Pratyusa Mukherjee, Cedar Mill
  • Rebecca Richardson, Cedar Mill
  • Camryn Flint, Tigard
  • Gimena Olguin, Tualatin
• Staff Coordinators:
  • Dawn Borgardt, Beaverton City Library Teen Librarian
  • Rick Samuelson, WCCLS Youth Services Librarian

The 2011 WCCLS Teen Summer Reading promotional pieces will be released to the public beginning in early May. Stop by one of our fifteen WCCLS member libraries for additional details. Summer reading sign-up in Washington County libraries begin June 1st.