Nominate for the 2026 OYAN Graphic Rave

Young Adult Graphic Novel fans! The time has come to nominate books for the 2026 OYAN Graphic Rave!

Graphic Rave is an annual graphic novel and manga list produced by the members of the Oregon Young Adult Network and announced in the fall. Books nominated should be written and marketed for readers of middle and high school age (generally 6th-12th grade) and be published between March 1, 2025 and April 30, 2026.

NOMINATE TODAY!

Nominations will be collected until June 30, 2026. OYAN members will then be invited to vote on the nominated books, narrowing the list to approximately 20 OYAN Graphic Rave selections. The list will be further discussed at the Summer meeting of the Oregon Young Adult Network, on July 24, 2026.

The goals are:

• To provide libraries across Oregon with a vibrant, reliable, high quality list of recommended graphic novel and manga purchases for readers of middle and high school age (generally 6th-12th grade)

• To include a variety of genres (fantasy, science fiction, realistic fiction, historical fiction, nonfiction, mystery, etc.)

• To represent a diverse mix of authors and stories, reflecting a mix of cultural, sexual, gender, socioeconomic identities and experiences.

• To include at least three Manga/Manwha/Manhua titles each year

• To include at least one nonfiction title

• To include at least two superhero titles

• To include at least three titles with connections to the Pacific Northwest (publisher/author/illustrator/setting)

Please nominate early and often!!

Questions? Reach out to Graphic Rave coordinators Ruth Headley at Ruth.Headley@newbergoregon.gov or Lily Hawley at lilyh@wccls.org

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2026 Book Rave

The annual Oregon Young Adult Network (OYAN) Book Rave is a list of the best fiction and nonfiction for a young adult audience, nominated and chosen by library workers across Oregon who serve middle and high school aged youth.

Download a PDF to share in your library.

Reminder: Apply for OYAN Scholarships!

With the 2026 OLA/PNLA Joint Conference “Get Loud For Libraries” approaching in April we wanted to remind folks that OYAN offers  scholarships for attendance. 

OYAN Application for Financial Support  The Oregon Young Adult Network (OYAN) awards scholarships for OYAN members’ participation in state, regional, and national conferences or other continuing education opportunities relating to library services for young adults.

Scholarships are dispensed in the form of reimbursement to the applicant rather than a direct payment to the event. If a scholarship is awarded, a brief survey and report are required. The report may be submitted in writing or given verbally at an OYAN Membership meeting.

Scholarships may be used to pay for continuing education fees and travel expenses including transportation, hotel, and food not to exceed a total of $350. Association membership fees cannot be included. INSTRUCTIONS: Complete the following and send to the current OYAN Chair at oyan@olaweb.org. The application can be found at https://ola.memberclicks.net/assets/OYAN/OYAN_ScholarshipApp2025%20Updates.pdf

OYEA! OYAN You’re Excellent Award Nominations are Open!

WHO*:  An individual, library, organization, program, or initiative that has made a positive and significant contribution to teens in libraries in the state of Oregon may be given the award. 

Eligibility requirements:

  1. The individual, library, or organization shall reside or operate principally in Oregon.
  2. Only living persons may be considered for the award.
  3. If a program or initiative is being nominated, it must have occurred within the previous or current year of nomination.
  4. Nominees don’t need to be active members of OYAN

*Preference shall be given to nominees who are supported by a letter of recommendation written and submitted by a teen or teens.

WHAT: The award shall consist of an engraved plaque and a monetary donation up to $100 to the teen services program of the award recipient’s choice.

WHEN: Entry deadline is Friday, March 13, 2026

WHERE: The award shall be presented at the 2026 Oregon Library Association Annual Conference – at the OYAN Hangout and Awards Time & Location TBD.

WHY: Because we all know what we do, and we’d like others to know what great things are happening with teens & libraries around the state! 

HOW: 

Nominations shall include the following information:

  1. Nominee’s name and/or program title
  2. Nominee’s contact information
  3. Description of the nominee’s positive and significant contributions to teens in libraries in the State of Oregon. The narrative may include statements of support from individuals who are familiar with the nominee’s work, or other information that supports the nomination.

****Preference shall be given to nominees who are supported by teen-written letter(s) of recommendation.****

  1. Need advice? Consult with the Incoming OYAN Chair, Vanessa Clausing, 

v.clausing@newportlibrary.org

Send nominations via email to: oyan@olaweb.org

Nominations and all supporting materials must be received by Friday, March 13, 2026

Teen Internship Experiences funded by State Library of Oregon Grants

The State Library of Oregon offered small grants to libraries to fund library internships for Oregon teens to be completed in the summer months. This project was inspired by PLA’s Inclusive Internship Initiative and has been adapted for Oregon library needs.

This grant project had multiple goals:

  • Teen interns will increase skills working on a connected learning project. They will also more fully understand the scope of library work and be able to identify how their interests and skills match that work.
  • Library mentors will develop leadership, communication, and coaching skills.
  • Participating libraries will better understand how to engage and support students while also creating career and programmatic pathways to increase diversity in the field. Read more about the Teen Internship Grant from the Oregon State Library.

Ava Garrett and Delilah Sauceda share their experiences interning at the Heppner Branch of the Oregon Trail Library District this summer!

My name is Ava Garrett and I was also hired as a summer intern for the library in Heppner, Oregon. One of my favorite things about this internship has been working with the patrons at the library. I have especially loved helping with the crafts during our library’s weekly story time as well as our end of the summer reading program party. I have really enjoyed working with kids and helping them find books that interest them. It has also been a really cool experience to work in an environment with people who also enjoy books as much as I do. I have loved meeting kids, adults, and seniors who love to read all sorts of different genres and it has helped me expand my interests and learn more about types of books that I maybe wouldn’t have read otherwise. It has been interesting to me to learn what brings people to the library and how that is affected by the library’s outreach and engagement. For example, at some library events we  had more people show up than we knew what to do with- we had a slime-making activity that was very popular during shark week, but for other activities that we maybe advertised less or that were a little less structured, we had some where nobody showed up at all. Overall, I really appreciate the things that I have learned and the people I have met at a job that I actually enjoy and look forward to. I feel very lucky to have been a part of this internship 🙂

My name is Delilah Sauceda and I have worked as an intern for the Heppner Branch of the Oregon Trail Library District this summer.  I am going into my senior year at Heppner High School. This internship has truly been an invaluable experience, while working here I have been given the opportunity to creatively express myself. Working under the Library Aid Melissa Garrett has been a wonderful experience, Melissa has always supported and encouraged us anyway she could. Melissa has been our cheerleader while working on our connected learning project. The goal of our Connected learning project was to make the library more accessible to senior citizens. We recently presented at our local senior center sharing all the library services we offer (Libby, Discover and Go, Mango, Creativebug, etc.) and shared about events we host and our variety of large print books. Lastly, we are working on creating a mobile library that will be housed in the senior center. My favorite part about working at the library has been the patrons, getting to meet and connect with them over books has been incredible. I love seeing patrons who would come in and share about what they were reading and why they enjoyed it. The library is a space where everyone is welcome and I enjoy being apart of this welcoming and safe place for everyone.

Teen Summer Reading Logs, Challenges and More! Part 2

Lisa Power from Banks Public Library made laminated bookmarks featuring teen art contest winners and included tracker dots on the other other side for teens to track their reading!

Ruth Headley of Newberg Public Library shared their Summer Reading bingo and card game instructions and playing cards!

Vickie Husted shared Driftwood Public Library’s teen challenge in English and español.

Kristy Kemper Hodge shared Salem Public Library’s reading challenge in English and español

Teen Summer Reading Logs, Challenges and More! Part 1

OYAN requested Teen Librarians around the state of Oregon share all the amazing and creative Teen reading logs, challenges, and more from their libraries this summer. Sharing can help spark new ideas—or, you can simply borrow some great ones from others 😂—and hopefully make prep for next year a bit easier for all of us!

Hilary Tsukakoshi, Youth Services Librarian from Monmouth Public Library shared “We tried something new for our teens this year, and by new I mean something we haven’t been doing for teens specifically. It is similar to how we do our children’s reading logs (though with different graphics and fewer side quests) because we were trying to simplify and wanted something straightforward and familiar, especially for our younger teens.”

Yay for a new separate challenge for teens this year!

Jen Wilson shared Coos Bay Public Library’s tiered Reading and Library Engagement Challenge. We love the different activity options teens can choose from like curating a book display for their teen section, creating book themed art or submitting a book review!

Lindsey Quigley-Johnson shared – There are two ways I am doing the SRP this year:

  • The Reading Journal for Kids & Teens. This year, they can count library programs as “reading time”, though they must limit it to 1 hour, and it has to be library programs that are geared towards their age groups. 

I am also using a D&D-inspired gameboard with quest prompts. They get to pick their “class” (the kind of rader they are)and then choose challenges based on what class they picked. This is tied to our raffle, so each red tile they complete gives them a raffle ticket.

Vanessa Clausing, Children and Teens Librarian at Newport Public Library shared their bilingual (english/español) Teen Reading Log where teens get one free book for every ten books read!

Brianna Sowinski from North Plains Public Library borrowed and lightly adapted Lily Hawley’s (Teen Librarian at Forest Grove Public Library) idea for a teen reading challenge with scratch off stickers.

Want to show off your teen reading log or challenge? Email brianna.sowinski at northplains.gov your log and we’ll add it to the blog!

OYAN Summer Membership Meeting

OYAN Summer Membership Meeting Friday, July 25th from 11:00 a.m. -3:00 p.m. Hey OYAN people! It’s almost time to get together again, with a virtual or beach option in beautiful Lincoln City! If you’re planning to join us in person, there will be lots of snacks provided. There are not a lot of food options nearby, so feel free to bring a lunch or join us after the meeting for an early dinner at the food cart pod on the other side of town.

We will soon send out a ballot for OYAN executive board elections. If you’re interested in a leadership role in OYAN, please reply and let us know! I won’t refer you to the officer descriptions on our website ’cause they’re in need of updating, but we’re happy to answer any questions you may have. We have nominees for most positions, but we’re looking for a Summer Reading Representative. The SRP Rep assists the Oregon State Library’s (OSL) Youth Services Consultant in sharing and gathering information relevant to SRP and iRead, and generally spreads the joy of Summer Reading through meetings, conference sessions, resources, and more! The role doesn’t require a lot of work or travel, so it’s a great entry level office or way to contribute if you’re just really busy but you want to help.

Nominate for the 2025 OYAN Graphic Rave!

Young Adult Graphic Novel fans! The time has come to nominate books for the 2025 OYAN Graphic Rave!
Graphic Rave is an annual graphic novel and manga list produced by the members of the Oregon Young Adult Network and announced in the fall. Books nominated should be written and marketed for readers of middle and high school age (generally 6th-12th grade) and be published between March 1, 2024 and April 30, 2025.
 
NOMINATE TODAY!

Nominations will be collected until May 31, 2025. OYAN members will then be invited to vote on the nominated books, narrowing the list to approximately 20 OYAN Graphic Rave selections. The list will be further discussed at the Summer meeting of the Oregon Young Adult Network, on July 25th.

The goals are:

  • To provide libraries across Oregon with a vibrant, reliable, high quality list of recommended graphic novel and manga purchases for readers of middle and high school age (generally 6th-12th grade)
  • To include a variety of genres (fantasy, science fiction, realistic fiction, historical fiction, nonfiction, mystery, etc.)
  • To represent a diverse mix of authors and stories, reflecting a mix of cultural, sexual, gender, socioeconomic identities and experiences.
  • To include at least three manga titles each year
  • To include at least one nonfiction title
  • To include at least two superhero titles
  • To include at least three titles with connections to the Pacific Northwest (publisher/author/illustrator/setting)

Please nominate early and often!!
 
Questions? Reach out to Graphic Rave coordinators Ruth Headley at Ruth.Headley@newbergoregon.gov , Lily Hawley at lilyh@wccls.org , or Chloë St. Claire at chloest@multco.us