EBPL First Look

The EBPL First Look Volunteer Program

This program encourages teens to read Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs) of YA books that the library obtains from publishers or new books recently added to the EBPL collection. You earn community service hours based on the length of the book and for contributing a book review to the library's website. There is no registration required to take part in this program, but volunteers should not earning more than 6 hours a month through First Look.

Choosing a Book

ARCs are first come, first serve. You may take one book at a time. After you read it and complete your review, you may choose another. Come to the Teen Space in the library to find the selection of EBPL First Look books to choose the book you'd like to read and review. These books are not library books and they cannot be checked out. You do not need to let anyone in the library know that you are taking home one of these books.

If there are no ARCs available or you aren't interested in any of the ARCs on the shelf, you can also select a book from the NEW teen book shelf.

Community Service Hours

Earn hours for reading the book and contributing a book review to the library's website. First Look is 1 hour per 100 pages rounded up at the 50 page mark. For example: a book that is 240 pages is worth 2 hours. A book that is 362 pages is worth 4 hours. Volumes of manga are worth 1 hour each regardless of page count. Hours earned through First Look should not exceed 6 hours per month.

Write Your Review

Please write at least 250 words! (You can write way more, if you want!) Make sure you give your book a star rating. Write whether or not you liked the book. Tell us a bit about what happens in the plot (but be careful of spoilers!) And give us an idea of what kinds of readers you'd recommend it to.

Submit Your Review

Visit the EBPL First Look page. If the book you want to review isn’t there, click the button at the bottom of the page that says "Yes, I'd love to!". If the book is there, click on it and you'll see on the page a button that says "write a review." That's where you post your review!

Happy Reading!