The digital age is here to stay. But even as online streaming video and innovative videogames gain more and more in popularity, there are still those who promote reading among young people in schools.

The Gardendale High School Library staff is pursuing this goal for the students.

Cheryl Reed, library media specialist at Gardendale High School, hopes to get a book club established at Gardendale High to encourage more teens to read.

“My goal with the book club is to entice kids to read more often,” Reed said. “Teenagers usually don’t spend as much time reading for pleasure because they’re too involved with videogames, TV and things like that.”

She mentioned that a relatively new book, “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins, is one of the most requested titles by students. She also said that newer books have begun getting teens interested in reading for pleasure and that updating the library’s contents will draw more.

“Nobody’s going to read a book from 1970,” said Jay Greene, a fellow librarian on the staff on teenagers’ interest in books today. “Nobody’s going to read that stuff now. They want to read Twilight today.”

Young adult literature has grown in popularity not only among teens but with adults as well, as the “Harry Potter” series did in the 2000s. “The Hunger Games” has recently become a popular title with both adults and teens.

As it happens, the author of “The Hunger Games,” Suzanne Collins, attended the Alabama School of Fine Arts. Gardendale’s library staff hopes that students will be able to identify with authors who were either natives of Alabama or have lived here before.

A few years ago libraries were cut from the Jefferson County Commission’s budget. But not only did budget cuts affect the ones in the cities but in high schools as well, when they were cut from the state department’s budget.

“This is our third year without a budget,” said Reed. The money that remained had to be split between fiction books and reference books.

The Jr. Miss and Miss Rendezvous pageants held recently at the high school raised money for the library. Funds amounted to $3,500 that was given to the library for books.  

Aside from money raised by fundraisers, donors from outside Gardendale High School are also willing to help out, including the Gardendale Public Library, which has donated books to the school.

In addition to the readings, Reed said there may be activities such as breakfast meetings and contests for naming the club.

A date has not been set for opening the club, but organizers anticipate it starting soon.