THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE YOUNG ADULT LIBRARY SERVICES ASSOCIATION A DIVISON OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION young adult library services

VOLUME 8 | NUMBER 2 WINTER 2010 ISSN 1541-4302 $12.50

INSIDE:

TEEN TECH WEEKTM ISSUE! TEEN TECH WEEK IN A SCHOOL LIBRARY CIRCUIT BENDING TEEN TECH SQUAD ...AND MORE!

The official journal of The Young adulT librarY ServiceS aSSociaTion young adult library services

VOLUME 8 | NUMBER 2 WINTER 2010 ISSN 1541-4302

The View from ALA 29 Teens Talk Tech By Mari Hardacre 4 Connect With What’s Important to You on ALA Connect By Aaron Dobbs Literature Surveys and Research 34 Peer Influences on Young Teen Readers An Emerging Taxonomy YALSA Perspectives By Vivian Howard 7 Spectrum Scholar Advocate, Mentor, Change Agent By Cristina E. Mitra

School Library Perspective 9 Now Is the Time! Teen Tech Week in a School Library Plus: By Kim Herrington 2 From the Editor Sarah Flowers Best Practices 3 From the President 11 Marketing the Homework Center Digitally Linda W. Braun By Suellen S. Adams 31 Professional Resources 13 Hennepin County Library’s Teen Tech 33 Guidelines for Authors Squad Youth Leadership and Technology Free-for-all 33 Index to Advertisers By Cynthia Matthias and Christy Mulligan 42 The YALSA Update 17 A Year in Volunteering at the Library By Erminia M. Gallo

Hot Spot: Teen Tech Week About This Cover 20 Bending Circuits and Making Music TM Teen Tech Week in Downtown Minneapolis Poster art for Teen Tech Week , March 3–7, By Camden Tadhg 2010. Teen Tech Week is an annual initiative 23 Free Online Tools for Serving Teens sponsored by YALSA to ensure teens are Four Verbs to Live By and Great Technologies competent and ethical users of technology, to Try particularly those available at libraries. To purchase By Mary Fran Daley the poster or other Teen Tech Week materials, visit 26 Where Are All the Teens? www.alastore.ala.org. Poster by Distillery Engaging and Empowering Them Online Design Studio. By Laura Peowski 2009–2010 YALSA Editorial Advisory Committee (performing referee duties and providing advisory input for the journal) Michael Cart, chair, Columbus, Ind.; Kimberly Bolan Cullin, Indianapolis, from the Ind.; Melissa Dease, Dallas, Tex.; Sarah English, Omaha, Neb.; Sarah Ludwig, New Haven, Conn.; April Witteveen, Bend, Ore.

2009–2010 YALSA Publications Committee Sasha Matthews, chair, Chesapeake, Va.; Laura Amos, Yorktown, Va.; Editor Heather Booth, Westmont, Ill.; Jeremy Czerw, New York; Jessica Moyer, Menomonie, Wisc.; Krista King, Lexington, Ky. YALSA Executive Director Sarah Flowers Beth Yoke Editor-in-Chief â Sarah Flowers Learn, Create, Share @ your library Managing Editor Stephanie Kuenn Circulation Young Adult Library Services (ISSN 1541-4302) is published four times a year eens and technology are a natural. Today’s teens were born by the American Library Association (ALA), 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. It is the official publication of the Young Adult Library Services Asso- between 1992 and 1998. That means there has never been a ciation (YALSA), a division of ALA. Subscription price: members of YALSA, day in their lives that did not include personal computers, $25 per year, included in membership dues; nonmembers, $50 per year in the T U.S.; $60 in Canada, Mexico, and other countries. Back issues within one year the Internet, and cell phones. So clearly, for those of us who work of current issue, $15 each. Periodicals class postage paid at Chicago, Illinois with teens, it is way past time to get over thinking about technology and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Young Adult Library Services, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Members: as “all that new stuff.” Of course, new types of hardware emerge all Address changes and inquiries should be sent to Membership Department, the time, and new applications crop up daily. However, we owe it to Changes to Young Adult Library Services, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Nonmember subscribers: Subscriptions, orders, changes of address, ourselves and our teens to keep up, to know what’s out there, and to and inquiries should be sent to Changes to Young Adult Library Services, think constantly about how these technology applications can be Subscriptions, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; 1-800-545-2433, press 5; fax: (312) 944-2641; [email protected]. used in libraries. This year’s Teen Tech Week theme, “Learn, Statement of Purpose Create, Share @ your library,” applies as much to librarians and Young Adult Library Services is the official journal of the Young Adult library workers as it does to the teens we serve. Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association. YALS primarily serves as a vehicle for continuing education for I am very excited about this issue of YALS, which offers some librarians serving young adults, ages twelve through eighteen. It will include very practical suggestions for working with technology and teens in articles of current interest to the profession, act as a showcase for best prac- tices, provide news from related fields, publish recent research related to YA both school and public libraries. Many thanks to YALSA’s Teen librarianship, and will spotlight significant events of the organization and Tech Week committee, chaired first by Heidi Dolamore and then offer in-depth reviews of professional literature. YALS will also serve as the official record of the organization. by Kelly Czarnecki, for coming up with lots of great ideas to share with YALSA members. Camden Tadhg, one of YALSA’s past Production Cadmus Communications Teen Tech Week mini-grant winners, tells us about how she used the grant to learn how to make music by bending circuits and then Advertising Bill Spilman, Innovative Media Solutions; 1-877-878-3260; fax (309) shared that knowledge with her teens. Mary Fran Daley shares 483-2371; e-mail [email protected]. YALS accepts advertis- some free online tools, Laura Peowski offers some tips for engaging ing for goods or services of interest to the library profession and librarians in service to youth in particular. It encourages advertising that informs readers teens online, Mari Hardacre talks to teens about technology, and and provides clear communication between vendor and buyer. YALS adheres Kim Herrington focuses on how school librarians can tap into to ethical and commonly accepted advertising practices and reserves the right to reject any advertisement not suited to the above purposes or not TTW. Christy Mulligan and Cynthia Matthias describe Hennepin consistent with the aims and policies of ALA. Acceptance of advertising in County Library’s Teen Tech Squad, a model for teen leadership, YALS does not imply official endorsement by ALA of the products or services advertised. Suellen Adams talks about how to use digital tools to market the Manuscripts homework center, and Aaron Dobbs explores some of the Manuscripts and letters pertaining to editorial content should be sent to possibilities of ALA Connect. YALSA, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; e-mail: yalseditor@gmail. It is not only about tech. Mina Gallo offers suggestions for a com. Manuscripts will be sent out for review according to YALS’s established referee procedures. Visit www.ala.org/yalsa for further information. year’s worth of teen volunteer projects and Vivian Howard explores Indexing, Abstracting, and Microfilm the influence that peers have on teen reading. Add all that to Young Adult Library Services is indexed in Library Literature, Library & reviews of professional resources and the YALSA update and you Information Science Abstracts, and Current Index to Journals in Education. Microfilm copies of Journal of Youth Services in Libraries and its predecessor, have a jam-packed issue. Top of the News, are available from ProQuest/Bell & Howell, 300 N. Zeeb In all of these pages, you are sure to find something to learn, Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106. something you can create, and lots of things you will want to The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of share—@ your library. Meanwhile, do not forget to register for American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. 1 Teen Tech Week. Registration is free and gives you access to the Ó2010 American Library Association 2010 logo, which you can use to promote Teen Tech Week by All materials in this journal subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be photocopied for the noncommercial purpose of scien- adding it to your library’s web site, blog, Facebook page, or other tific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the resources. Check out Teen Tech Week products, including decals, Copyright Revision Act of 1976. For other photocopying, reprinting, or trans- lating, address requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions. posters, bookmarks, digital downloads, and more by going to www.ala.org/teentechweek. YALS

2 YALS | Young Adult Library Services | Winter 2010 from the YALSA Rocks President Technology Linda W. Braun

on’t stop me if you’ve already heard l The YALSA blog covers a wide range networking this: when I was in library school of topics from news about YALSA and tools D and computers were just beginning its activities to trends in programming themselves. to show up in libraries, a professor predicted and services for adolescents. Each YALSA that within ten years all libraries would be month, the blog receives about fourteen maintains filled with computers. My response: “Not in thousand hits. It’s a resource for finding both a library where I work; I love books.” out what’s going on and conversing MySpace Once I had my first professional library with others about libraries and teens. and position and began seeing the enthusiastic l Audio and video have proven to be a Facebook accounts and is actively using way teens interact with technology in the great way for YALSA to share Twitter to inform followers of upcoming library, I did a 180. I realized the library information with members. For example, events and news of interest to teens and wasn’t about what I thought teens should podcasts on YALSA’s financial health librarians. In fact, YALSA was the first use; it was about how I could help teens were produced when there was a ALA division to set up a Twitter account successfully use the increasing variety of downturn in the U.S. economy. Over the as a way to connect with teen librarians. tools and resources that would make past few years YALSA has also published l Teen Tech Week is a great way for positive contributions to their lives. podcast interviews with award-winning librarians to celebrate the many ways that I knew I needed to get some more authors and conversations about diversity technology can support teen learning and education. I needed to learn why teens in the library. Audio and video are also a literacy, and it highlights the important gravitate to technology and how I as a way that YALSA briefs those who can’t role that libraries can play in providing librarian could support their technology attend conferences and meetings. Audio technology skills to teens through needs and interests. I also wanted to find and video were used in conjunction with programming and services. YALSA examples of ways that teens and librarians the YA Literature Symposium in fall started Teen Tech Week just three years were already using technology and use 2008, and video interviews with attendees ago, and already many teen librarians find those as jumping-off points for programs and presenters have been part of every the materials produced and distributed and services in the library where I worked. recent Midwinter Meeting and Annual essential for integrating technology into In those early days of technology Conference. their teen library services. integration in teen library services, the l Wikis are an important part of how research, models and best practices were YALSA interacts with members and A new development: In 2010, limited. There were no Teen Tech Weeks, no gives them opportunities to develop YALSA’s annual President’s Program— e-chats, no webinars, no blogs, no wikis. content. In 2009, YALSA crowdsourced which traditionally takes place on-site at the As I think back on this, I can’t help developmentofabooklistfocusingon annual conference—will be entirely virtual. being envious, but inspired, by the many titles that every teen library should have. This format will give an increased number technology tools, resources, and methods People from around the country added of members the opportunity to participate, of support that YALSA provides to its their suggestions for the list via the wiki. and will again give YALSA the chance to members. Think about it: Similarly, many people generate details test out a new way to use technology. Stay for the YALSA wiki about programs and tuned for details. l The first Wednesday of each month, meetings scheduled for the Midwinter There is no doubt that YALSA has YALSA sponsors an e-chat on a topic Meeting and Annual Conference, as well embraced technology as a tool to support of interest to librarians who work with as information about what to do, where members, and is willing to take risks in teens. These real-time conversations to eat, and where to stay while in a the technology realm in order to give participants an opportunity to talk meeting or conference city. understand the potential a specific tool with peers about a popular topic or l YALSA uses social networking both to has for the work of the association. new trend and get feedback on ideas, connect with members and to help Overall, YALSA rocks when it comes to successes, and challenges. members better understand the social using technology! YALS

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 3 feature The View from ALA

dealing with the same issues you face, as well as with role models and possible mentors. Connect With This includes mentors in young adult (YA) librarianship and mentors who can help you meet and become known to the movers and What’s Important shakers inside YALSA and ALA. Right now ALA Connect is only a little more than nine months old. This platform is wide open and fertile ground for engaged, to You on ALA energetic people to get out there and have their ideas heard and discussed and build their reputations. If you find a group that Connect encompasses what you’re passionate about, go forth and participate. Share and learn. What? You don’t find a group like that? Create one! (If you build it, they will come.) By Aaron Dobbs Maybe no one has thought of your idea, or maybe someone has, but they decided not to post it. ALA Connect is flexible and allows users the latitude to organize communities as they organically develop.

LA Connect is a Web platform in to ALA Connect. Not sure what that is? What sorts of things created to promote The ALA Membership office can help you can I expect to find A communication and collaboration recover it. Not an ALA member? You’re on ALA Connect? among ALA members. For the last nine still welcome to participate on ALA months, ALA divisions, round tables, Connect—just create an account. You will find more ALA communities than interest groups, and members have been My first position straight out of library you can shake a stick at or tell to get off exploring ALA Connect to find ways to school was at Brooklyn Public Library, your lawn. ALA divisions, round tables, leverage this new application to distribute working mainly with young adults and committees, interest groups, and other committee work and find or create children in their transition from childhood official ALA entities each have their own, connections to other ALA communities into young adulthood. Brooklyn Public prepopulated, group space. Check out the working on similar efforts.1 Library had an excellent internal support YALSA space, where you will find We haven’t exhausted all the system in place for its librarians. However, if information about upcoming YALSA possibilities yet, by far. You can use ALA ALA Connect had been around then, it online chats, held on the first Wednesday Connect to highlight what your committee, would have been a great way for me to stay of each month from 8 to 9 P.M. Eastern interest group, or self-organized involved with national-level issues via ALA time.2 Recent chats included “Advocacy” in community of practice is doing. You can (this was during my “I can’t afford to eat October; “Cool Teen Programs for under easily find engaged, like-minded (and even after paying the student loan monthly $100” in November; “Teens and contrary-minded) library folk to help move payment, let alone pay dues and go to ALA Technology” in December; and “Your your efforts forward. ALA members use conferences” phase). ALA Connect provides YALSA New Year’s Resolution” in their ALA website login information to log opportunities to network with peers who are January. Upcoming chats will be on “Building and Defending Your Teen Services Budget” (Feb. 3), “Engaging the AARON W. DOBBS is Systems and Electronic Resources Librarian After-School Crowd” (Mar. 3), and at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania and an active ALA “Programming for Older Teens” (Apr. 7). member as ALA Councilor at Large, LITA Director at Large, and a You will also find annual conference member of the ALA Website Advisory Committee. programs, plus legislative advocacy efforts

4 YALS | Young Adult Library Services | Winter 2010 Dobbs

and recommendations. In addition to public venue for suggesting improvements to conferences, this is the time to step up and YALSA events, the YALSA community the service.10 get involved.”16 tag brings together disparate goings-on that The ALA New Members Round Feel free to drop me a line while you’re relate to young adult library services, Table (NMRT) has a community called exploring ALA Connect or add me as a including the various YALSA task forces Career Connections where some have friend or colleague (or whatever suits our (Reader’s Choice, Competencies, etc.), posted their resumes and invited comments relationship). I look forward to hearing 11 interest groups (Teen Read Week, Youth and suggestions for improvement. People from you on ALA Connect! YALS Participation, Popular Paperbacks for in hiring positions, as well as job seekers, Young Adults, and so on), and of course, participate in this community. It gives References the YALSA committees.3 There are also those involved the opportunity to provide cross-divisional groups and communities, or gain insights into the search process 1. American Library Association. ALA such as the AASL/ALSC/YALSA from both sides—search committee and Connect. http://connect.ala.org (accessed School–Public Library Cooperation potential hires alike. Nov. 3, 2009). Committee.4 I love to see mutually 2. American Library Association. YALSA developed sets of best practices come out of What knowledge would (Young Adult Library Services Association). interdivisional efforts such as this. make it easier for me to ALA Connect, http://connect.ala.org/yalsa Along with the “official” ALA and connect with ALA (accessed Nov. 3, 2009). YALSA groups, ALA Connect users can Connect? 3. American Library Association. Young create communities. Communities are like Adult Library Services Association groups, but (unlike official groups) you can The ALA Connect Help Community (YALSA). ALA Connect. http:// create communities that cross over multiple offers comments and suggestions on how to connect.ala.org/taxonomy/term/6245 ALA entities or define an issue or area of effectively use ALA Connect.12 (accessed Nov. 3, 2009). practice. A video example highlighted in AL Particularly helpful posts include “Finding 4. American Library Association. AASL/ Focusis“Dog-LovingLibrariansWhoKnit New Groups that Might Interest You,” ALSC/YALSA School—Public Library and Watch Lost.”5 Videos that explain and “Keeping Up with Connect: What’s Going Cooperation Committee (Interdivisional). demonstrate uses for ALA Connect, from an On,” and “What’s New with My Groups: ALA Connect. http://connect.ala.org/ ALA Emerging Leaders Team, are linked Finding and Featuring Group Information node/64283 (accessed Nov. 3, 2009). from a post on the ALA Student Member on ALA Connect.”13 After viewing these 5. American Library Association. Dog Loving Blog.6 Did you know there is a YALSA three ALA Connect help posts, you’ll Librarians Who Knit and Watch Lost: Student Interest Group Community on know things those of us who have used Creating Communities in ALA Connect, ALA Connect?7 Whether or not you’re a ALA Connect from its inception learned AL Focus, September 15, 2009. http:// member of the YALSA Student Interest by banging rocks together to see what alfocus.ala.org/videos/dog-loving- Group on Ning, consider joining the current happened. If you’re interested in future librarians-who-knit-and-watch-lost- community members on Connect.8 ALA plans for this tool, please check out the creating-communities-ala-connect Connect is an easy way to connect across ALA Connect Roadmap.14 (accessed Nov. 3, 2009); American Library related groups and communities in YALSA Long story short, ALA Connect will Association. Dog-Loving Librarians who andinotherdivisions. become what we all make of it. ALA Knit and Watch Lost. ALA Connect. There are plenty of other ways to get Connect will be more powerful as more http://connect.ala.org/node/75478 involved with YALSA and ALA on ALA people use it. As Peter Bromberg (accessed Nov. 3, 2009). Connect. There is a very active Young comments in Library Garden, “[I]t is getting 6. American Library Association. Learning Librarians Working Group tasked with exponentially more useful and powerful How to Connect: New ALA Connect making suggestions to improve the ALA with each new user.”15 And as Christopher Videos. ALA Student Member Blog, experience for newer librarians.9 (If you Harris puts it in School Library Journal, September 21, 2009. http:// have ideas about this, please share—more “Along with the potential for involvement, www.students.ala.org/ brain power equals better results.) Another though, comes a responsibility for taking studentmemberblog/?p=366 (accessed active community is the Improve ALA action. For the many members who have Nov. 3, 2009). Connect community which offers ALA been asking for virtual committees and 7. American Library Association. Student Connect users (ALA members or not) a ways to be connected without attending Interest Group (YALSA—Young Adult

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 5 Connect With What’s Important to You on ALA Connect

Library Services Association). ALA 12. American Library Association. ALA Connect 14. Jenny Levine. ALA Connect Roadmap, Connect. http://connect.ala.org/node/ Help. ALA Connect. http://connect.ala.org/ ITTS Update. American Library 70750 (accessed Nov. 3, 2009). help (accessed Nov. 3, 2009). Association, February 10, 2009. http:// 8. American Library Association. YALSA 13. Jenny Levine. Finding New Groups that itts.ala.org/update/?p=300 (accessed Nov. Student Interest Group. Ning. http:// Might Interest You, ALA Connect. 3, 2009). yalsasig.ning.com. American Library Association, August 28, 15. Peter Bromberg. “Make ALA Connect 9. American Library Association. Young 2009. http://connect.ala.org/node/81349 Work for You: An Appeal for Librarians Working Group. ALA (accessed Nov. 3, 2009); Jenny Levine. Notifications ON!” Library Garden, July Connect. http://connect.ala.org/node/ Keeping Up with Connect: What’s Going 28 (2009), http://librarygarden.net/2009/ 73093 (accessed Nov. 3, 2009). On. ALA Connect. American Library 07/28/make-ala-connect-work-for-you- 10. American Library Association. Improving Association, September 10, 2009. http:// an-appeal-for-notifications-on (accessed ALA Connect. ALA Connect. http:// connect.ala.org/node/82364 (accessed Nov. Nov. 3, 2009). connect.ala.org/node/75799 (accessed 3, 2009); Jenny Levine. What’s New with 16. Christopher Harris. “ALA Connect: The Nov. 3, 2009). My Groups: Finding and Featuring Group Mother Ship Evolves.” School Library 11. American Library Association. Career Information on ALA Connect, ALA Journal, May 1 (2009), http://www. Connections. ALA Connect. http:// Connect. American Library Association. 19 schoollibraryjournal.com/article/ connect.ala.org/node/68527 (accessed August 19, 2009, http://connect.ala.org/ CA6654572.html (accessed Nov. 3, Nov. 3, 2009). node/80739 (accessed Nov. 3, 2009). 2009).

Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation Young Adult Library Services, Publication No. 1541-4302, is (Average figures denote the average number of copies published quarterly in January, April, July, and October by the printed each issue during the preceding twelve months; actual American Library Association, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, figures denote actual number of copies of single issue published Illinois 60611-2795. It is the official publication of the Young nearest to filing date: Fall 2009 issue.) Total number of copies Adult Library Services Association, a division of ALA. The printed: average, 5,936; actual, 5,877. Sales through dealers, editor is Sarah Flowers, 2455 Fountain Oaks Dr., Morgan Hill, carriers, street vendors and counter sales: average, 0; actual, 0. CA 95037-3937. The managing editor is Stephanie Kuenn, 50 Mail subscription: average, 5,551; actual, 5,557. Free E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Annual subscription price, distribution: average, 257; actual, 200. Total distribution: $50.00. Printed in U.S.A. with periodicals-class postage paid at average, 5,808; actual, 5,732. Office use, leftover, unaccounted, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and at additional mailing offices. As a spoiled after printing: average, 128; actual, 120. Total: average, nonprofit organization authorized to mail at special rates 5,936; actual, 5,877. Percentage paid: average, 93.5; actual, 94.5. (DMM Section 424.12 only), the purpose, function, and Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt status for (PS Form 3526, September 2008) for 2008/2009 filed with the federal income tax purposes have not changed during the United States Post Office Postmaster in Chicago, October 28, preceding twelve months. 2009.

6 YALS | Young Adult Library Services | Winter 2010 feature YALSA Perspectives

have always wanted my work to reflect my personal passion for social Spectrum Scholar I change. After graduating from Smith College, a women’s college in Northampton, Mass., in 2002, I returned home to San Francisco and dedicated Advocate, Mentor, myself to learning as much as possible about the nonprofit sector. I found a niche in outreach and database management, Change Agent understanding that I am definitely a “people person” and also someone who loves technology. Unfortunately, like many nonprofit workers, I began to burn out and By Cristina E. Mitra become frustrated from increasingly stressful working conditions with low pay and little or no room for growth into management positions without a professional degree. I started to consider alternate careers in which I could incite less confident person than I am today. I As an aspiring librarian, it was an social change from a more sustainable have always wanted to work with youth to obvious choice to seek out youth services place. As a humanities major and lifelong reciprocate the support and encouragement and continue the advocacy I began at lover of books, I began to consider that I received as a teenager. YouthNoise. As the library assistant in an librarianship. Soon, I realized that One of the organizations I have inner-city public high school in San librarianship involved a lot more than just worked for is YouthNoise, a nonprofit Francisco, I have seen my role as “the books. I found that it was a perfect social networking website for youth ultimate cheerleader” in a teen’s life. marriage between my work experience in activists around the world. At YouthNoise, Whether it is helping them tackle an database management and outreach and we were trying to test how we could essay on a Sherman Alexie novel, guiding my desire to positively impact leverage Web 2.0 tools to empower public them to reliable sites on the Internet for communities. By becoming a librarian, I high school students to take a stand for research, or hearing them out about a began to realize that I could offer access to better education in light of the devastating strenuous friendship in their life, I crucial information—and teach skills to budget cuts proposed for California public cherish the role a librarian offers in a access that information—to communities schools in 2008. As part of this campaign, I teenager’s life. with less access to resources because of coordinated statewide outreach that It is an incredible honor to be a race, class, age, citizenship status, sexual included a two-week van tour throughout YALSA Spectrum Scholar. It is not an orientation, or native language. As soon as inner-city public high schools in Los exaggeration to say that receiving the news I discovered organizations like YALSA and Angeles to allow young people to share about receiving a Spectrum Scholarship REFORMA, which spoke to my personal their visions for a better education on a was like winning the Publisher’s passions of working with teens and custom-built web-based platform. Clearinghouse sweepstakes! The incredible Spanish-speakers, I knew this was the right career for me. My interest in youth services stems CRISTINA MITRA is a Spectrum Scholar and a student at San Jose from having had the benefit of excellent State University’s SLIS. She graduated cum laude from Smith adult mentors who supported my interests College with a degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies. She and ambitions throughout my teen years. lives in San Francisco where she is the Disability Program Adolescence is an incredibly tumultuous time of figuring out so much about oneself Navigator Librarian. In addition to being an aspiring YA librarian, and one’s place in the world. Without she is a trained dancer, amateur cook, and urban biking those adult mentors, I would be a much enthusiast. You can reach her at [email protected].

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 7 Spectrum Scholar

financial assistance allows me to attend my lasting relationships within YALSA, with Mexico, and my parents and grandparents MLIS program at San Jose State other Spectrum Scholars, and throughout did not have the expectation that anyone in University. In addition, I now feel that I other branches of ALA to make a lasting their family would receive a master’s degree have a family of new and veteran library positive impact on youth services and to be able to work as a professional. As a and information science professionals to establish its place within a changing world bilingual Spanish-speaker, I am eager to depend on and learn from to enter my new and difficult economy. find ways to connect with Spanish- career in librarianship with confidence. I I would just like to take the speaking teens as someone who can speak am eager and excited to get involved in opportunity again to thank YALSA for the their native and cultural language. Finally, YALSA in any way that I can and I have opportunity to be a YALSA Spectrum as a member of the LGBT community, it is signed on to become a YALSA blogger, Scholar. I would especially like to thank very important to me to connect with the which I will get to once the semester’s the Friends of YALSA, whose work that youth services professionals have demands die down a bit! I think one of my contributions provided the money for the been doing to include the needs of LGBT strongest skills is in building relationships scholarship. I come from a family of recent and questioning youth and offer the library with people and I look forward to making immigrants, from the Philippines and as another safe space for them. YALS

8 YALS | Young Adult Library Services | Winter 2010 feature School Library Perspective

ALSA has sponsored Teen Tech WeekTM (TTW) as a yearly event Now Is the Time! Y since 2007. This initiative was established to encourage and enable teens to be “competent and ethical users of technologies,” especially those available Teen Tech Week in a through libraries. It highlights librarians as “qualified, trusted professionals in the field of information technology.” This year’s School Library TTW theme is “Learn, Create, Share @ your library,” a theme that speaks to education. School librarians should challenge themselves to find a way to By Kim Herrington participate. When I attended my district’s back- to-school meetings in August, I mentioned that I was on the TTW committee this year and asked some of the other secondary as MySpace and Facebook, to prohibit the the students were interested, she “[felt] like librarians whether they had ever celebrated use of MP3 devices in the classroom, and there should have been something more,” TTW. No one had. Some had never even to restrict the use of blogs and wikis. It is but restrictions on student technology use heard of TTW. The ones who had heard very difficult to overcome these obstacles and access to the Internet prevented her of it complained about the unfortunate and especially frustrating when, as one of from doing more. She pointed out that in timing of the week. We teach in a Texas my school librarian friends put it, schools the years since, TTW has unfortunately district, and since TTW is in the spring, it, “seem keen on teachers being up with conflicted with spring break or state like many other spring activities, falls prey technology, but ban almost all student testing. She ended with this statement: “I to the strict focus on state testing. In technology.”2 love the idea, though, and would like to do addition to the unfortunate timing of I queried some school librarians about more with it.” Most of the school librarians TTW, other librarians complained that their experience, or lack thereof, with that I spoke with echoed her sentiment. the Internet filter blocked all the sites they TTW. Only one of them, a high school Not all school librarians have been might want to show to students and that librarian, had ever done anything for stifled in their efforts to promote TTW. In they doubted that administrators would TTW. Three or four years ago, she the first year of TTW, students from a approve of the promotion of any “bought the posters ...had a book display high school library won YALSA’s TTW technology that was not directly related to of nonfiction/fiction with technology- video contest.4 In the same year, the the curriculum. based themes ...got together with the first-place winner of the TTW display The difficulty that many school [teachers of technology-related courses] contest was a school librarian.5 In 2008, librarians face in promoting TTW is not a and ...had some student projects available high school students won first place and new problem. In February 2008, Frances for viewing.”3 Although she could see that second place in TTW’s promotional song Jacobsen Harris, a former TTW committee member, wrote about the problem in an article for School Library KIM HERRINGTON is the librarian at Pearland Junior High West in Journal. In “Teen Tech Week, despite Pearland, Texas. She is currently a member of the Teen Tech Week Limited Access,” Harris acknowledged the Committee and is on the Texas Library Association’s New Member difficulty that school librarians face because Round Table Outreach Committee. She maintains Breathing in their libraries, “technology is highly 1 Space, a blog that is mostly about books (kimsbs.blogspot.com), controlled and restricted.” The obstacles she identified remain obstacles for most and she tweets as kaykayh about books, the Dallas Cowboys, the school librarians today. Schools continue to Houston Astros, politics, and Houston happenings. She spends block access to social networking sites such way too much time on the Web.

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 9 Now Is the Time! Teen Tech Week in a School Library

contest.6 In 2009, two of the twenty TTW school librarians fear that their jobs will be I was very excited and immediately mini-grant winners were school librarians.7 cut, being seen as a expert and leader on started brainstorming how I could do Of course, two of twenty is not a very high something like this new mandate might something, anything, for TTW this percentage, but perhaps not very many make the difference between being seen as school year. I hope that other school school librarians apply because of the expendable and not. librarians will join me in showing that the aforementioned obstacles or lack of Even technologically challenged school library is a great place to “Learn, technology capabilities in their school school librarians can do something to Create, Share.” YALS libraries. celebrate TTW, whether or not it is to be To those school librarians who have used as proof of compliance with the new hesitated in the past, I say this school year law. For example, they could simply create References is a great time to do something for TTW a display of books about old and new and “to do more with it.”8 Thanks to the technology or fiction books with 1. Frances Jacobson Harris. “Teen Tech Broadband Data Improvement Act, which technology-related themes. They could Week, despite Limited Access,” School was signed into law in December 2008, hand out copies of the YALSA’s “Social Library Journal 54, no. 2 (Feb. 2008): 20. schools that use e-rate funding are now Networking: A Guide for Teens” 2. Elizabeth Allison Owens, e-mail message required to teach students “appropriate brochure, available at www.ala.org/yalsa/ to author, Sept. 23, 2009. online behavior, including online handouts. School librarians with more 3. Irene Johnson, e-mail message to author, interactions with other individuals in social advanced technology skills or access to Sept. 23, 2009. networking websites and in chat rooms more advanced technology could have 4. “Teen Tech Week Video Contest and cyberbullying awareness and students create YouTube videos or Winners.” Young Adult Library Services 5, response.”9 According to my school’s podcasts. YALSA’s TTW information no. 4. (summer 2007): 55. Campus Instructional Technology page (www.ala.org/teentechweek) includes 5. “Teen Tech Week Winners Named,” Specialist, schools not only have to “do links to resources, including the brochure American Libraries 38, no. 6 (June/July some type of Internet safety training/ mentioned above and the TTW Wiki 2007): 18-19. lesson” but also have to “document it and (wikis.ala.org/yalsa/index.php/ 6. “Teen Tech Week Song Contest be ready to produce the material if Teen_Tech_Week). This wiki includes Winners,” Young Adult Library Services 6, audited.”10 Librarians should take links to the current and past years’ wikis no. 4 (summer 2008): 47. advantage of this opportunity and promote and links to resources. The current year’s 7. “2009 Teen Tech Week Mini Grant TTW as part of this new mandate. wiki is a place where participants can share Winners,” http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/ Administrators should be more amenable their ideas and experiences. divs/yalsa/teentechweek/ttw09/mg09.cfm to promotions and activities that can be For the first two years of my school (accessed Nov. 3, 2009). used to document that the school is in librarian career, I was frustrated in my 8. Ibid. compliance with this new requirement. desire to celebrate YALSA’s TTW. Both 9. Broadband Data Improvement Act. S. Administrators, who in the past have said yearsthedatescoincidedwithstate 1492, 110th Cong., Sec. 215. http:// no to students’ blogging or participating in testing dates, and my school, like most in www.govtrack.us/congress/ a Ning group, might be willing to approve this state, put everything except state bill.xpd?bill=s110-1492 (accessed Sept. these activities since they can be used to testing on the back burner for a good 28, 2009). teach students about appropriate online portion of the spring semester. When I 10. Sandy Dickerson, e-mail message to behavior. In addition, at a time when many was asked to be on the TTW Committee, author, Oct. 2, 2009.

10 YALS | Young Adult Library Services | Winter 2010 feature Best Practices

ibraries across the country are creating a wide variety of web- Marketing the L based and in-library homework help centers. Some are manned by adult volunteers, others by student tutors who help younger students. Librarians are Homework Center virtually always involved in creating and promoting the centers. These centers may handle everything from remedial tutoring to hands-on assistance in planning, Digitally organizing, researching and writing papers, and other types of literacy instruction. Whatever the mission or goal of your By Suellen S. Adams particular center, it is not enough to design and build it, whether face-to-face, web- based, or both. Building it does not ensure that “they will come.” Marketing is a joint process between service providers and clientele. It is no longer wish to attract those who do not already l Blogs a matter of having an “us and them” frequent the library. We often think of l Social networking sites relationship, but of having “us and us” as reaching our customers via local businesses partners in the marketing process. Of course such as banks and grocery stores, where E-newsletters for all sorts of groups much more is involved. But the point is that parents might see fliers or other publicity, or and businesses have become popular in marketing is more than just believing that we in places where teens spend time, such as recent years. This innovation allows us to have a wonderful product and trying to teen centers, youth clubs, the mall, and after- convey the same information to roughly the convince others of this so that they will use it. school activities. These channels remain, but same audience as traditional paper Therefore, we must not only make they clearly leave out an important part of newsletters for a smaller cost, since we no users aware of the services the homework the teens’ context, the digital part. longer must consider printing costs and bulk center offers, but ideally give them a voice We already know and use traditional mail rates. On the other side of the coin, in the process, so that we can actually make publicity tools such as brochures, press however, is another whole set of the service work for them. releases, bulletin boards, and giveaways. technological and design issues. As Sevilla We must first determine who the But we need also to consider nontraditional reminds us, e-newsletters, especially those in customers are for our service. Then, since means, such as social networking a text-only format, can have the same design they exist in a rich context, we must applications. The following are some ways problems as the paper variety.1 Sometimes evaluate that context, for instance, the other to reach stakeholders, most importantly writers try to make them more pleasing by stakeholders, including parents, school teens, through technology: using html formats, but not every e-mail personnel, and the community at large. Of application deals well with these formats, course students and librarians are the first l E-mail and electronic discussion and some users do not like them. Some people we think of when developing a groups e-newsletters are sent as mail attachments, homework help center, but there are others l Web pages which can result in technical issues. we also need to reach—parents and school personnel, for instance. To a greater or Suellen Adams is an assistant professor in the Graduate School of lesser degree, most of these people are Library and Information Studies at the University of Rhode Island. increasingly “plugged in” to digital She has published articles on the importance of new media and technologies. So how can we go about using technology to reach these groups? new literacies in libraries. Ms. Adams also has a business Reaching our customers, particularly background and teaches a course that emphasizes marketing and teens, can be a challenge, especially if we outreach to library patrons.

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 11 Marketing the Homework Center Digitally

Because so many businesses and instance. And a library blog of any type one expert commented, “Social organizations now use e-newsletters, many should certainly be linked from the library networking sites are back-and-forth customers have their e-mail boxes cluttered page. Web pages of various municipalities communication forums, not broadcast with such mail and they go directly into the can also serve as an entry to your web page. If media. Annoy or abuse people and junkmail, where they are not opened at all. the local school district approves, perhaps a they’ll tell the world.”2 Exacerbating this problem is the temptation to link could be added to the schools’ web pages l Social networks, like any kind of send mass e-mailings and to send more to the library page or the homework help personal relationship or network, frequent e-newsletters, which may just increase center page. School websites are a particularly require personal attention, and that the number of deletions by customers. good way to reach teens and their parents. means taking time. It is not enough to If the library wishes to send frequent Both may visit these sites for items such as put up a MySpace page or a Facebook updates, and if the customers wish to school newsletters, schedules of events, group and leave it for people to find. If receive them, an electronic discussion list or contact information, etc. If your information you cannot be current, it may not pay blog targeted toward a certain customer is prominent and inviting enough, this to do it at all. Someone must update it population may be a better choice. In either placement can raise awareness of your center often to keep others coming back for case, those who really desire the and increase its use. new content. information can subscribe and there is often One way to think about social l It is important to follow the links and a mechanism for response. This capability networking sites such as MySpace and comments left by people responding to for customer response is a very useful part Facebook is this: from time immemorial, your content, making more personal of many digital technologies and will help people have learned things by word of connections by commenting there, us fine-tune our service and its promotion. mouth through their connections. Even checking their networks to see who Blogs are sites with regular entries of now, one of the most commonly sought you might contact, and so on. This is commentary, descriptions of events, or and trusted sources of information is the wonderful way to reach teens, but it is other material. Entries are commonly peer group, and this is true whether one is a labor-intensive process. displayed in reverse-chronological order so a parent, a child, a teen, or a scientist or readers can see the latest news, but can also engineer. Information reported by a friend Finally, when considering any of scroll down or link to archives of interest. or colleague often carries more weight than these technological strategies, Typically the blog will contain text and a formal source. That is an unhappy particularly blogging and social images, sometimes including videos, links thought for many librarians, but it need networking solutions, remember that it to other pages, or other content. A vital not be. The energy of informal is unwise to jump in because it is “the aspect of maintaining a blog related to your communication can be harnessed online. thing.” All of these things sound glitzy homework help center is the interactive In social networking online we are andcool,butthatmaynotbeenoughof ability for readers to leave comments that is purposely trying to create networks of people a reason to make use of them. We must nearly always a feature of blogs. This gives with whom we can share thoughts and who weigh the time and cost against the us clues about who has interest and what will, in turn, share information about our impact it will have on reaching our they think. Be aware though, once a blog services with the rest of their networks. customers. YALS has been started, it must be kept up. Once When using social networks, there are some the content becomes stale or outdated, the important points to remember: readers will not come back and the References comments that could have helped l We must take care to behave within strengthen the service will dry up. our social networks as we would if we 1. Christine Sevilla. Information Design Someone must be assigned to keep the blog were dealing with people face-to-face. Desk Reference. Menlo Park, Calif: updated and follow the comments on a Just as a positive interaction or a Crisp Publications, Inc.: 2002, 182. frequent basis. negative interaction in person will 2. Bobbette Kyle. “Online Marketing Most libraries now have web pages that make a difference in the information Through Social Networking Sites (Part can be put to good use in promoting new you pass on to others, so will a 2)” WebSiteMarketingPlan.com, 2008. services. A “see what’s new” button with the comparable interaction online. http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/ homework help center logo could be linked l It is important to remember the online/socialnetworking2.htm (accessed to a page specifically about the center, for proper uses of the social network. As June 10, 2009).

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n the library meeting room, an air of controlled chaos reigns. In one corner, Hennepin County I teens are hunched around a computer arguing heatedly about where exactly an audio track should end. In another corner, two teens are discussing the merits of Library’s Teen Tech different supernatural powers as they draw the main player character in the game they are designing. Next to them, a boy enhances a photograph he is going to Squad import into a comic he is creating. The door opens and an elementary school-aged boy pokes his head in: “What y’all doin’ in here?” A teen employee hurries forward to Youth Leadership and invite the boy in and get him started drawing with a drawing tablet. This is Technology Free-for-all what a typical Teen Tech Squad workshop looks like at Hennepin County Library. By Cynthia Matthias Tech Squad a Model for Youth Leadership and Christy Mulligan In 2006, the former Minneapolis Public Library (now merged with Hennepin County Library) hired its first Teen Tech Squad—a group of four paid teen employees who led technology workshops environment for building literacy skills like creating an important and impressive first aimed at teens and school-aged children. collaboration, communication, problem- step on that career ladder. Three years later, the program has evolved solving, and technological fluency. The Teen Tech Squad has now into a model opportunity for youth Workshops focus on using free, open- expanded to three libraries—two within leadership and twenty-first century skill source software programs—welcome news the city of Minneapolis and one in building that can be adapted and used by to libraries as well as participants, who can suburban Hennepin County. Each squad libraries large and small. This opportunity build on and share projects outside of the consists of four teen employees who are is a perfect fit with Hennepin County library program. Finally, thanks to funding supervised by the teen or youth services Library’s priority of helping youth succeed from the Best Buy Children’s Foundation, librarian in their library. Although and preparing them to be vital contributors Hennepin County Library is able to offer a supervision is critical to helping these to our community. Many workshops are much-needed employment opportunity to youth develop both leadership and job informal, allowing kids to drop in and youth in the community. Teen Tech skills, much of the program’s success can spend as little or as much time as they wish Squad interns will frequently say they be attributed to the fact that interns work on a wide range of technology projects would do it for free, but we know this job is as a team to determine and evaluate the from game and animation creation to sound recording and editing, stop motion animation, and more. Although teen interns hosting these programs have received training in many of CYNTHIA MATTHIAS and CHRISTY MULLIGAN are teen services the software programs used, they never librarians at Hennepin County Library. Cynthia works at Brooklyn claim to be experts. This creates a perfect Park Library, and Christy works at Teen Central in Minneapolis.

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 13 Hennepin County Library’s Teen Tech Squad

shaping and adapting the program over the past three years. Team members may learn about a new software program from a workshop participant or receive feedback about activities that should be added to the program. Supervisors discuss these new ideas and help teams determine how new content can be integrated into open labs; they also tailor trainings to help them build the skills they need. The workshops themselves take on a variety of formats. Most are informal, drop-in “Open Tech Labs,” in which Tech Squad members set up laptop computers loaded with a variety of software programs for participants to use. Tech Squad members work with participants to help them try out these programs or work through a project they have already started. Teen Tech Squad members do, on occasion, schedule more formal workshops that focus on teaching a specific program or activity (stop motion animation, for example). These focused sessions are an effective way for Tech Squad members to introduce regular participants to new programs they have learned in training sessions with Science Museum teachers. Some workshops take place in library meeting rooms; others take place at tables in the public area of the library. Workshops are aimed at teens but open to interested participants of all ages. In all cases, Tech Squad members foster an environment where questions are encouraged, collaboration is key, and the goal is to experiment with new tools.

Continuing Education Strengthens the Squad content and structure of the workshops sheets for software programs, prepare they host. examples, and pull together materials they In addition to leading workshops, Tech will need. Each session is followed up with Squad members have monthly continuing Preparing for a briefing session, in which interns talk ed meetings. Continuing ed trainings may a Workshop with their supervisor about successes, be with Learning Technologies Center staff challenges, and ways that the program from the Science Museum of Minnesota or Team members meet before each could be adapted in the future. These simply a chance for the teens to brainstorm workshop to create an outline and tip meeting sessions have been critical to ideas. Trainings from the Learning

14 YALS | Young Adult Library Services | Winter 2010 Matthias and Mulligan

Technologies Center staff allow Tech teen workshop participants. Setting aside Audacity and Art Rage. Users can share Squad members to learn about new time for learning and development is key. their projects with the world on the technology tools, discuss instructional Scratch web site and find answers to their techniques, and share challenges they have Today’s Tools programming questions in the sizable and faced in workshops with experienced of the Trade active online user forum. http:// teachers. In addition to these trainings, scratch.mit.edu supervisors schedule a monthly team Teen Tech Squad programs continue to meeting, in which interns spend three hours adapt and evolve to provide new, Art Rage processing what they have learned, building challenging activities that meet the interests Art Rage is a drawing platform that example projects in new software programs of youth participants. We are not sure emulates physical drawing materials and and setting practical steps for building what they will be using next week, but here implements. Media available include oil learning into workshop sessions. Trainings is a current list of the Teen Tech Squad’s paint, pencil, crayon, and airbrush. with paid instructors require a funding tools of the trade: Finished images can be exported to a source and, as a result, may not be an variety of standard image formats. The full option for all libraries. That does not mean Scratch version of Art Rage is available for that a Teen Tech Squad in your library Scratch is a graphically based programming purchase, but the free trial version contains must go without continuing education. language developed by the MIT Media many of the full version’s functions. http:// Teen Tech Squad interns at Hennepin Lab. Users can create animations, games, artrage.com County have often used monthly meeting music, and interactive art using images and time to go through online tutorials for sounds they create in Scratch. Images and GIMP programs and teach themselves and then sounds can also be imported from external GIMP is an open-source image-editing create teaching outlines they can use with sources or from other programs such as platform. GIMP offers a wide range of

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 15 Hennepin County Library’s Teen Tech Squad

options for manipulating photographs and firewire cable. The software allows the user interact with their Scratch programs. other images as well as a simple paint to change the frame rate, to order and sort Pico Boards have sound and light sensors, program for drawing. GIMP supports frames, to overlay text over the frames, and a slider bar, and serial ports to which most image file formats. http://gimp.org to sync a soundtrack with the frames. The wires with alligator clips can be connected. completed movie can be exported in a http://www.picocricket.com/ Comic Life variety of film formats. http:// picoboard.html Comic Life allows users to format images samanimation.com in a comics-style layout. Users can import Building 21st Century images and arrange and crop them to fit a Junk Boxes Literacy Skills variety of cartoon frames as well as add text One person’s junk is another person’s using standard comics conventions such as treasure—tin foil, toilet paper tubes, Teen Tech Squad workshops at speech and thought bubbles. The free, 30- broken toys, wire, duct tape, paper cups, Hennepin County Library provide a day trial version of Comic Life gives users spools from rolls of receipt printer paper, much-needed opportunity for youth in the access to the entire suite of Comic Life paper clips—these are the building blocks community to create and explore new functions. http://plasq.com/comiclife-win for many of our programs. Workshop media and technology tools. Participants participants can use these materials to at Open Tech Labs probably would not Audacity construct game controllers that can be used describe what they are doing as “building Audacity is an open-source sound-editing to interact with games designed in Scratch 21st century literacy skills,” but that, platform. Users can record, cut, splice, and or creatures that are animated by Cricket really, is the beauty of these programs. mix audio tracks as well as add simple motors. What appears to teen participants to be a audio effects. Audacity is also easy to use to technology free-for-all is a golden convert sound files from one format to Pico Crickets opportunity for youth to learn, another. http://audacity.sourceforge.net Pico Crickets are not free, but they are collaborate, experiment, and share mixed- versatile and appeal to a wide range of ages. media projects in an informal Picasa Crickets are computers that are controlled environment. That alone might motivate Picasa is Google’s digital photograph by programs written with Pico Blocks, libraries to consider offering the programs. manipulation software. Picasa is primarily another graphically based computer Sneak a peek into one of the Teen Tech used to organize photographs online and language developed by MIT Media Labs. Squad workshops, and behind that cloud on the computer, but it also has some basic The programmer writes the program on ofchaos,youwillseethatisnottheonly photograph editing functions. The the computer and beams it to the “brain” of outcome this program achieves. Teen software has an online component for the Cricket. Crickets come with motors participants do not just want to attain sharing images and a computer desktop and a variety of Lego pieces, which can be proficiency in the software programs application for uploading, organizing, and used to construct machines, structures, and available. One of the most common editing images. http://picasa.google.com creatures. http://picocricket.com questionstheyaskis,“HowcanIgetthat job?” Teen Tech Squad interns are role SAM Animation Pico Boards models, and each session brings another SAM animation is a software platform that Pico Boards are not free, but they are a opportunity for them to grow as leaders, allows users to create stop-motion worthwhile investment. Pico Boards are peer mentors, and to be a positive force in animation with a computer and a video or connected to the computer with a USB their community. What more could you still camera connected with a USB or cable and allow users to physically ask for? YALS

16 YALS | Young Adult Library Services | Winter 2010 feature Best Practices

lease come to my program! Please come to my A Year in “P program!” This line seems to be the mantra inside the heads of all librarians who are trying to start a teen volunteer or advisory group. Whether you Volunteering at the are a new or experienced teen services librarian, you will at times feel as if you are begging teens to come to your programs. At some point in your career, you will Library think about or be asked to start a volunteer or advisory board. Volunteer and advisory groups meet the criteria for the Search By Erminia M. Gallo Institute’s forty developmental assets (see www.search-institute.org/content/40- developmental-assets-adolescents-ages-12- 18). These groups meet the criteria for external assets under empowerment and constructive use of time, and for internal local schools require their students to fulfill program that can be repeated year after assets under social competencies, positive service hours, this is a program your library year. identity, and positive values. should provide to meet their needs. Just set Following is the 2008 Year in I’ve had many failed attempts in a time, and teens who want to volunteer Volunteering at the Parma-Ridge Branch, twelve years of trying to start volunteer or will show up. The results will be a Cuyahoga County Public Library for advisory groups. I’ve found that teens love rewarding experience for you and your teen students in grades 5 through 12. (Check to volunteer, but on their own time. Teens customers. the Parma Ridge Branch Student would love to help out shelving books, but I found three key elements for Volunteer Group Webpage for 2009 news: in a union work environment, that is not an successful volunteer projects. First, partner http://cuyahogalibrary.net/ option. When you have to “make up” jobs with the children’s staff. The children’s Branch.aspx?id=12361.) All supply for teens to do around the library and have librarians have lots of programs throughout materials were provided by the Friends of to work your schedule around a student’s the year that could use help, and most the Parma Libraries. school and activity schedule, it really teens love to work with children. Second, creates more work for you! But don’t give find projects that teens can do to help you January: Helping Out up. Finding a way to start a group at your with your programs or teen room. Third, at the Library library can be a meaningful, rewarding learn easy-to-do projects that you can teach activity for teenagers, so persevere! to your teen volunteers and that can easily Think of ways that volunteers can help out Three years ago, I decided to try again be delivered to outside community centers. with your upcoming programs or bulletin and started a Student Advisory Board These elements were helpful to me in board displays. Five students helped out where students met once a month to write developing a successful student volunteer with an upcoming mystery program and a book reviews, work on library projects, preview anime, and fill out surveys. Even though I had a successful start, I found that those who kept coming didn’t really like ERMINIA M. GALLO has been a Teen Services Librarian for twelve watching anime or writing book reviews. years. She has enjoyed serving on various YALSA committees and They didn’t want to “advise,” but they were is past chair of YALSA’s Publications Committee and past chair of eager to help out and work on projects, so I morphed it into a Student Volunteer YALSA’s Division and Membership Promotion Committee. She Group and planned a community service or currently works at the Parma Ridge Branch of the Cuyahoga library project for each meeting. If your County (Ohio) Public Library.

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 17 A Year in Volunteering at the Library

donations. This program will take one and (Note that loose knots may be a a half to two hours, depending on the suffocation hazard for the cat.) number of students you have signed up. 9. Trim back any long pieces of the (Thanks to fellow Teen Services librarians fringes. (Long pieces may be a Brenna Friesner and Nancy Wolfinger for choking hazard for the cat.) the idea and instructions for this project.) 10. When you are done, you should have a cozy cat blanket.

No-Sew Cat Blanket May: Help Children Plant Directions Flowers February heart candy bulletin board. The Materials Needed Six volunteers helped children plant mystery program preparation involved Fabric-cutting scissors flowers outside the library. Volunteers creating crime scenes on a poster board Rulers helped the children dig holes and cover up showing a bedroom, kitchen, office scenes, Permanent markers the plants with dirt. When everything was etc. The mystery program preparation No-pill fleece fabric—cut the fabric in planted, the flowers were watered and supplies included old magazines, furniture twenty-nine-inch square pieces prior to the everyone enjoyed refreshments. Materials catalogs, poster boards, glue, and scissors. program. Eight yards should make ten needed for this program were watering For the valentine bulletin board, I made an blankets. cans, digging tools, marigold and petunia outline of the heart using a marker, and plants, and a place around your library to had the students glue candy hearts on the 1. Place one cut piece on top of a second plant them. outline. Volunteers could also create their cut piece. (Contrasting colors and own hearts. The material needed for this prints make colorful blankets.) June: Summer Reading project is black poster board, candy 2. Make sure the fuzzy side of the fleece Ice Cream Social Kickoff conversation hearts, and glue. faces outward for the top and bottom pieces. Volunteers worked at the various stations March/April: 3. Smooth out the blanket and match up that were set up. Nearly three hundred No-Sew Blankets for the pieces, cutting off excess fabric. people registered for the summer reading Orphaned Cats 4. Cut out a three-inch square at each program. Four students helped with the ice corner of the fleece and remove the cream social. Various stations that were set Five students made colorful no-sew cat four corners. up that day were: blankets that were donated to the local 5. Use a permanent marker to make the animal shelter for orphaned cats and cutting lines, measuring the fringes 1. Ice Cream Station for passing out ice kittens. First, call your local animal shelter three inches long by one and a half cream (ice cream cups, eating utensils, and see if they have any guidelines about inches wide, starting from one corner and a refrigerator were pre-ordered and making your way around the from a local ice cream take-away store) blanket. 2. Topping Station (sprinkles, fudge, 6. On the cutting lines, cut the three- whipped cream) inch fringes (bottom and top layer) 3. Summer Reading Registration Station around the blanket. 4. Prize Giveaway Station 7. Take the top layer fringe and tie a knot with the bottom layer fringe, making your way around the blanket. July: Book Buddies/ 8. Make sure the knots are fairly tight Little Buddies so they cannot come undone easily or leave holes in the blankets. Little book buddies in grades one Knots can be double-knotted. through three were paired with a

18 YALS | Young Adult Library Services | Winter 2010 Gallo

August: Cards delivered to a local hospital for patients in for the USO December. Bookmarks can also be delivered to a local senior center. Four students made cards to send to the United Services Organization for the Water Color Bookmarks troops. Supplies needed for this were Supplies construction paper, crayons, markers, and, if available, a die-cutting machine with Novelty (eyelash) yarn greeting card dies. Watercolor paper Hole punch September: Halloween Watercolor paints (non-toxic) Party Orientation Jagged edge scissors Paper cutter (optional) student who had completed either grade One student attended the orientation for Beads, stickers, stamps (optional) four, five, six, seven, or eight. Little October’s halloween party. We discussed the Cups of water buddies read with their big buddies and agenda for the party, went over their Plastic cloths or paper to cover tables then they participated jointly in participation in the Chocolate Chip Ghost story, activities and games. For the first half and helped prepare decorations for the party. Directions hour, little buddies chose their books and read their book to their assigned big October: Halloween First Session buddies. In the second half hour, little Party buddies played games with their big 1. Use watercolors and paint both sides book buddies. At the end of the session, Four student volunteers hosted a of the watercolor sheets. Use various big buddies and little buddies were given halloween party for children. Thirty colors for colorful/rainbow designs. certificates for their participation. children and parents attended. Volunteers 2. Leave the sheets to dry. Supplies needed were appropriate age- helped with decorating, passing out prizes, level books, educational games, and a refreshments, participated in the Chocolate Second Session timer. Chip Ghost story (based on the book by Meighan Peifer and Phyllis French, 3. When the sheets are completely dry, Puppet Show Leathers Publishing: 2004), taking cut the paper into strips, bookmark pictures, putting together the paper plate size. Eight volunteers presented a puppet witch craft, and cleaning up. 4. Use the jagged-edge scissors and cut showandhelpedchildrenwithacraft. the sides. Volunteers held up their sea creature November/December: 5. Punch a hole at the top of the puppet while the children’s librarian Watercolor Bookmarks bookmark. read the poems in Commotion in the 6. Tie on the yarn. Ocean (written by Giles Andreae and Three students made watercolor 7. Optional: Add fancy beads, stickers, illustrated by David Wojtowycz; Little bookmarks as part of this two-part and library name if donating to a Tiger Press: 1998). program. Completed bookmarks were special organization. YALS

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 19 feature Hot Spot: Teen Tech Week

canlearnthenecessaryskillsandleada workshop on your own. You do not even Bending Circuits need to be highly tech-savvy. Provided that the sight of a circuit board does not cause you to hyperventilate and you are willing to and Making Music experiment,thisisaskillthatiswithinyour reach. I strongly recommend Circuit-Bending: Build Your Own Alien Instruments by Reed Ghazala as a starting point. It covers Teen Tech Week in electrical components, tools, instrument decoration, and more, all with a wonderfully irreverent tone. It also includes step-by-step Downtown Minneapolis instructions for making specific circuit-bent instruments, so if you can find the appropriate raw materials, you can create a By Camden Tadhg fully functional instrument for demonstration without all the trial and error.

Materials Needed Tools. You will need screwdrivers in many he table in the back of Teen Circuit-bendingistheprocessofusing sizes and types, especially one with a Phillips Central resembles a computer electronic sound-making circuits to create head. Look for screwdrivers with long necks T graveyard; plastic casings, circuit sounds and music that the circuits were not to reach the screws. A set of tiny jeweler’s boards, and wires are strewn across the designed to create. Electronic music-making screwdrivers is essential for the interior table’s surface while a group of young toys for children are the most common screws. You will also need wire cutters and people use pliers and other tools to pull instruments; they contain simple circuits and wire strippers. Needle-nose pliers, though not strange groans and wails from the circuits. are designed to make various noises, be they essential, are useful for maneuvering into Library-sponsored cyborg torture? Nope! polka beats or mooing cows. Initially tighter spaces. I suggest skipping the soldering These teens are participating in a circuit- developed in the 1960s, circuit-bending iron; permanent connections are not strictly bending workshop. remains on the cutting edge of electronic necessary and it takes some practice to use the In 2009, Teen Central at the Hennepin music; artists such as Blur and Peter Gabriel iron safely and successfully. County Library—Central in Minneapolis, include circuit-bent instruments in their Supplies. Various supplies all serve the Minn., was honored to be awarded a Teen work.1 Circuit-bending offers an opportunity same basic purpose—to connect points on the Tech Week Mini-Grant, sponsored by to demystify technology hardware and circuit board. Play-dough is the simplest tool, YALSA and the Verizon Foundation. The experiment with music and creativity. and some connections can be made with your grant provided funds for one-on-one training What is great about circuit-bending is hand, but ideally you also want electrical at the Science Museum of Minnesota, where that you can run this activity on your own. components. Test leads (lengths of wire with I learned the basics of this unusual and Experts are a fantastic resource, and if your alligator clips at each end) are the easiest to creative activity. The remaining grant money budget can cover it, I strongly recommend use, but simple pieces of insulated wire will funded a Teen Tech Week circuit-bending hiring an expert circuit-bender to lead also work. LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, add party. workshops. But if that’s not an option, you a visual component to the experimentation. You should also collect various kinds of switches—push button (e.g., computer power CAMDEN TADHG is a Teen Central Librarian at Hennepin County button), toggle (e.g., light switches), and (Minn.) Library—Central in downtown Minneapolis. In addition to potentiometers (e.g., volume controls). teens, technology, and all things geek, Tadhg is interested in Purchasing resistors, capacitors, and transistors correctional and urban librarianship. is optional; although they can make some

20 YALS | Young Adult Library Services | Winter 2010 Tadhg

pretty cool sounds if you find the casual atmosphere. Teens can right connection points, it is more use play dough and wires to difficult to locate those test out different connections connection points. These supplies and see what sounds they can can be purchased at low cost from make without creating any a surplus store. permanent connections. This Your most essential raw also allows you to re-use the materials, however, are children’s electronic toys for multiple toys. For these, I suggest a thrift programs and participants. store, or if you do not have a Test Your Toys. It is best budget, try asking teens and to take apart every one of the your coworkers to bring in toys ahead of time. Because the electronic toys they no longer toys are machine-made, it often need. You want toys that make takes quite a bit of work to music, especially those that can loosen up the screws. The play a continuous tune, like the process requires patience that background beats on a toy your teens may not have during keyboard.Besuretobring the program. Also, it allows batteries and a screwdriver (for you to weed out any toys that those pesky childproof battery have internal problems or cases) to the store so you can make sure the dough is the best place to start; it triggers simply will not open. Just be sure to put toys actually work. Some stores do not mind sounds very easily and the teens can change the toys back together again before your if you switch out batteries in the aisles; others the sounds by mashing the play-dough program so the teens can still have fun require you to bring toys to the cashier or around. For more accurate pinpointing, we taking things apart! Claiming one toy as customer service desk before removing used insulated wires with alligator clips. Last, I your own permanent circuit-bending tool batteries. Check with store staff to ensure had the teens select a few connections that during your initial tests allows you to map you are following the correct procedures. produced interesting sounds and experiment out cool sounds for easy demonstration. If Space. Your ideal workshop space will with the more complicated components. The you have the time and inclination, you can be well-lit and contain a large table with potentiometers were particularly popular even solder a few permanent connections to space for tools and supplies in the center. It because they gave the teens more control in show your teens. is useful to provide heavy objects (some creating various sounds. Plan for the Screws. It sounds a little nice vampire romances or fantasy epics will silly, but this was one of the biggest work!) against which the teens can prop Lessons Learned problems I ran into. Ghazala suggests the top half of their toys. The wires that putting the screws on the magnetic portion are linked between the top and bottom Every new program has its own learning of the speaker, which is a perfect solution halves of the plastic casing are usually too curve. Here are some tips based on my when you are working with one or two short for the two halves to be laid flat. experience of running a circuit-bending toys. When you have six to ten workshop. rambunctious teens working on toys at the The Workshop Set Realistic Goals. Having each same table, however, things get a little participant create their own circuit-bent more complicated. My suggestion: when I organized the workshop around three instrument is a complicated, time- you take the toys apart ahead of time, use a sections. First, we took apart the toys and I consuming, and expensive proposition that digital camera to take a picture of one of explained, in very general terms, how the toys does not lend itself to a casual setting. each kind of screw in the toy and note how work and how electricity passes along the Unless you have a small group of very many of each you need to put the toy back circuit. I had the teens explore the circuits and enthusiastic teens in a closed setting, it is together. When you collect the dozens of test what noises their toys made under normal probably too much to take on for your first screws that will end up under and around circumstances. Second, we moved on to program. Luckily, the experimental nature your workspace, you can use the pictures to experimenting with simple connections. Play- of bending circuits lends itself to a more match each toy with the correct screws.

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 21 Bending Circuits and Making Music

Get Teen Buy-In. For some teens, bending begins and put away before you Our program gave teens leadership the idea of taking something apart and break out the toys. Do not try to scavenge opportunities, exposed young people to messing with the insides will be an easy sell, circuit-board parts from discarded technology, and encouraged interest in the but for others it may be hard to visualize electronics if it involves cutting into or library. The skills and equipment used in what circuit-bending is all about. See if a chipping away at any soldered connections.2 theprogramarebeingadoptedbyour local circuit-bending artist would be willing Our“PartyLikeIt’sTeenTechWeek” Teen Tech Squad interns for use in our to do a demo for your Teen Advisory event was a huge success with our regular monthly Open Tech Lab, where teens Group or bookmark some circuit-bending crowd and with many teens who had never work with a variety of open-source performances on YouTube to give teens a before visited Teen Central. Many software and do-it-yourself electronics to clearer picture. Make connections with the newcomers attended because the program increase their technology skills and activities your teens are already enthusiastic was highlighted on a local morning news express themselves creatively. We are very about, like remixing and creating beats for program. Some of the most enthusiastic grateful for this opportunity to extend the hip hop and electronica or creating eerie circuit-benders were actually younger technical literacy skills of our teens and background music for anime music videos. siblings and relatives who accompanied the engage them in exciting, enjoyable If you have access to a microphone, try to teen attendees. The circuit-bending aspect of programming. YALS work a recording element into your plan so the party was designed to tie in with existing teens can follow through on those ideas. programs in the library, so teens were able to References Be Safe. Whenever you are working move from one activity to the next and get a with circuit boards, keep in mind that there sense of the programming available at Teen 1. Reed Ghazala, Circuit-Bending: Build Your is often lead in the solder used to attach Central. Our Teen Advisory Group set up a Own Alien Instruments (Indianapolis: John components on a circuit board. You and Wii Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament. Wiley & Sons, 2005), 4–6. your teens should wash your hands Our Teen Tech Squad interns created a 2. Brittany Forks, Kilobyte Couture (New thoroughly after circuit-bending. Any temporary local-area network on which to York: Watson-Guptill Publications, snacks should be served before circuit- test open-source multiplayer games. 2009), 19.

22 YALS | Young Adult Library Services | Winter 2010 feature Hot Spot: Teen Tech Week

ith all the technology tools available for little-to-no money, Free Online Tools W planning technology programming for teens at the library can be overwhelming. But don’t despair! As you begin to plan your Teen Tech Week, for Serving Teens remember these four verbs: advocate, communicate, educate, and create.

Advocate Four Verbs to Live By If your teens and their advocates do not know what you are doing at the library, are you really and Great Technologies serving them? Step One of great technology programming is getting the word out! to Try Wow Them with Web Sites and Work Wonders! If you do not have a library web page, it is By Mary Fran Daley time to get one. Try Weebly.com or Yola.com to set up your free ad-free web site. Remember to make one of the pages a news blog with an RSS feed. When your teens subscribe to your RSS, they will get automatic updates in their e-mail or their Communicate brainstorm library futures. Weebly.com reader about your news postings. and Yola.com have built-in blog features, Teens have a lot of media competing for but you can also make a standalone blog on What Do They Want? their attention. If you are lucky enough to Wordpress.com, Blogger.com, Why Not Ask Them? get a moment of their time, make it count. Livejournal.com, and many others. Some A great way to keep business booming at Make your messages manageable, great blog posts are soapboxes, whereas the library is to fulfill your patrons’ needs. If accessible, and meaningful. others are about prompting a great you are not a psychic librarian, get yourself conversation. Experiment to find out what a gmail.com account. Then check out Hot Off the (Word)Press! appeals to your teens. Whichever route you http://docs.google.com. Go to “New” then Blogs are a great place to share library go, be sure to enrich your posts with great “Form.” This opens a survey template. This happenings, discuss literature, or photographs, video, and audio content. is your chance to ask all kinds of questions. Once you publish this survey to the web, Google will automatically import answers into a nice GoogleDocs spreadsheet. MARY FRAN DALEY is a library media specialist and technology teacher at the Alexandria Middle School in Pittstown, N.J. She is a Newsletters with Pizzazz, recent MLIS graduate of Rutgers University where she served as Not Papers the local student ALA branch president. Her family includes her Make a nice newsletter in Word, Publisher, husband and a 100-pound shelter dog named Lucy. When she is not PowerPoint, or as a pdf file in Adobe. Then publish it on wwww.yudu.com or helping teenagers build catapults in the school library, she can be www.scribd.com. Either way, you will have found moonlighting for the Youth Services Department of the a beautiful digital product that can be Somerset County Library. She can be e-mailed at e-mailed and archived on your new web site. [email protected]

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 23 Free Online Tools for Serving Teens

Show Them What You Mean Virtually Visit show with some music and you have more Do you need to share something If you cannot fly your favorite author out than a thousand words; you have a story. wonderfully tech-y? Does it make any sense for an hour-long program, Skype them in There are more tools than we can count to when you write it out? Save yourself time instead. Skype.com is an online portal create and edit images and photographs, so and save your teens frustration by through which you can talk, chat, and we will limit it to four favorites. Fotoflexer expressing exactly what you mean through videoconference with just about anyone. is an awesome easy site that allows for easy a screencast. Voicethread.com and Authors and other special guests can visit editing of your photographs. You can turn Jing.com both have great tools for creating your teens without the hassle of your class photograph into a line drawing simple videos that will capture anything on reservations or a carbon footprint of an or your favorite pet picture into a Warhol- your screen that you need to show your airplane ride (and most likely for far less esque masterpiece. Once you have a groovy teens, including images, videos, and web money in these times of smaller budgets photograph collection together, make an pages, all while you narrate your cast. and increased expectations). awesome music video an Animoto.com. Screencasts are great for tutorials and so Make your music video with your own much more! Create photographs and music or choose selections from Animoto’s library. Add a Educate It does not need to be summer reading time few captions and you have got yourself one to get creative at your library. There are fancy slideshow. Basic free accounts are Our teens are growing and learning all of the several ways you can make these fun tools limited to thirty-second clips, but time. We should be, too! There are many available to your teens. Consider choosing a educators can apply for free accounts for virtual venues for learning and teaching. few for the public computer terminals. longer videos at http://animoto.com/ Offer classes in others. If you can do education. Additionally, Gimp.org offers a Weave a Web for nothing else, at least link them to your web more advanced (but still free!) tool for Understanding site so your teens can know about them. photograph editing and authoring, and You could create a simple webliography or Microsoft Photo Story 3 offers the ingenue links section on your web site, but it would Get Your Groove On! videographer more control over their not pack nearly as much punch as a The teenage years generally involve quite a slideshows with image editing features, Delicious.com or Diigo.com page. These bit of music (listening to music, dancing to soundtracks, and special effects. bookmarking tools allow you to collect music, getting dissed by your friends for links, tag them, organize them, and share your quirky tastes in music...). Albums and Get Your Game On! them more easily. Each has a toolbar you bands have given way to iPods and Guitar Do your teens love video games? Scratch is can download directly on to many browsers Hero. Although some things about music the fantastic and free video game and each allows users to subscribe to are still the same, there are many new authorship program from the excellent changes in your bookmarks through RSS. things in music to explore. One of the people at the Massachusetts Institute of neatest tools you and your teens can play Technology. Most people start by creating Wow Them with Wikis with is Jamstudio. Jamstudio is an online images, although you can use a number of Do you have a lot of content you need to avenue for composing music. Tunes, beats, stock images provided by Scratch. From manage? Do you need help building a site and various instruments can be arranged in there you can create little animations with with a lot of content? A wiki is the way. infinite combinations to craft and perfect your images. Once you master that, you Wikis are pretty much web pages that a original compositions. As an added bonus, graduate to making these elements into team can build collaboratively. Sometimes teachers can apply on behalf of their full-fledged video games. Scratch has anyone can edit or comment on a wiki, but students for grants that provide numerous recreational and educational many providers allow for monitoring of complimentary all-access passes that possibilities that can be further explored at contributions. Some leading sites include include more features than the regular free www.learnscratch.org. Wikispaces.com, Wetpaint.com, and version. PBWorks.com. You can build content Do Not Wait! with text, audio, and video formats, and Storytime...Online Don’twaitthesetoolsaretoofunandlife the community can provide feedback in the A picture is worth a thousand words. Put is too short not to try them. It can be very comment fields. your favorite photographs together into a intimidating to explore new things,

24 YALS | Young Adult Library Services | Winter 2010 Daley

especially in the technosphere. Just Online Tools www.delicious.com remember that, in most cases, if you press www.diigo.com the wrong button, your computer will not www.weebly.com www.wikispaces.com explode. Start small, then go ahead and www.yola.com www.wetpaint.com try to make your forty-three-photograph www.gmail.com www.pbworks.com slide show for back-to-school night http://www.docs.Google.com www.skype.com played to none other than your school www.yudu.com www.jamstudio.com marching band’s winning performance. www.scribd.com www.fotoflexer Once you try a few of these things, www.wordpress.com www.animoto.com starting a new one is intuitive. It does get www.blogger.com www.gimp.org easier. Once it gets easier, you will find www.livejournal.com www.microsoft.com/photostory your flow, and this is where the real fun Voicethread.com http://scratch.mit.org happens for you and foryourteens. www.jing.com www.learnscratch.org. YALS

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 25 feature Hot Spot: Teen Tech Week

sections on facts about the author such as his or her inspiration, songs picked by the Where Are All the author to accompany the book, questions to reflect on and discuss after reading the book, suggestions for hosting an event to Teens? discuss the book, and so much more. Guys Lit Wire (http://guyslitwire. blogspot.com) exists to provide teen boys with a place to discover books that they Engaging and want to read. What is great about this blog is that the books reviewed are from a variety of genres and are both old and new. Empowering Them The reviews are then given labels that enable site visitors to search for books based on categories like “dystopian” or Online “books that kick ass.” The one thing that seems to be absent from these sites, however, is the teen voice. By Laura Peowski Not that there is not the opportunity for teens to express their opinions or join in discussions on these sites, but that the focus is not the teens’ voice. This is where public and school librarians and even teachers have the opportunity to fill a gap. t is no secret that more teens are encourage teens to discuss books, gaming, Some public libraries, like the Public connecting with one another online or even their favorite technologies while Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton I than ever before through online simultaneously teaching them how to County, have already begun to fill this gap. gaming, social networking sites, blogs, create and maintain blogs, wikis, and so on. The Cincinnati library’s Teenspace is a great YouTube, and a variety of other social The Internet is brimming with blogs example of how a library can work with its media tools. These teens have grown up and web sites about YA literature, but young adult community to meet their needs. with video games and the Internet not just something is missing: teen voices. As part of the library’s web site, Teenspace as tools for entertainment, but also as is home to all things related to teens, platforms for learning, creating, Successful Online Book including a section dedicated to book collaborating, and effecting social change. Communities reviews written by teens. The reviews are Therefore, it only makes sense that if you typically brief, a few paragraphs at most, and want to reach out to this community and Readergirlz (readergirlz.com) and its blog include the name, age, and the general forge relationships that foster cooperation, (http://readersgirlz.blogspot.com) are geographic location of the reviewer (no collaboration, understanding, and lifelong perfect examples of successful online book home addresses here) as well as a rating of learning between the generations, the way communities that offer young adults a one, two, or three stars. The one-star rating to do it is through the Internet. These place to go to read book reviews and so has an exceptionally fun tag line that says, connections have the potential to become much more. With each book review “more fun than throwing up, but not much.” communities within communities that posted, the site contributors include Who has not read a book like that before? Who is actually using this site, you ask? The answer is young adults, and lots LAURA PEOWSKI resides in Connecticut and is an MLS student at of them. The contributors seem to range in Simmons College. She is focusing on YA librarianship in public age from approximately 11 through 25. It libraries and is currently a member of YALSA’s Teen Tech Week looks like most of the reviews come from Committee. teens who genuinely want to contribute,

26 YALS | Young Adult Library Services | Winter 2010 Peowski

but there is also at least one school using The key to creating successful sites With Facebook, a group can be created the site as an educational tool. One of the like Hennepin’s Teen Links or Cincinnati’s that is closed, which means that people titles was reviewed by thirty-eight students Teenspace is starting the process by may only join the group by submitting a from the same school of the same age; communicating with teens in the request to the group’s moderator. Having a looks like a class assignment to me. What a community. If you log on to Facebook and closed group also hides the identity of the great way to engage students in reading do a search for teens and library, you will members from those who are not members. while teaching them how to write for a web find a number of groups that are sponsored For instance, the Saline County Library site. Overall, this portion of the Teenspace by libraries and run by librarians. These are has a closed Facebook group with 31 web site seems to be very successful. often used to get information to the teen members, but I cannot see who they are Another public library that seems to community but usually have a relatively because I am not a member of the group. be successfully bridging this gap is the low number of fans or followers. Maybe Wikis and blogs can be protected so that Hennepin County Library of Minnesota. this is a result of the fact that a number of no unauthorized individual may add The Teen Links section, like Cincinnati’s teens in the given communities are not content to the site. Wikis used in Teenspace, is dedicated to all things teen. online, but it is much more likely that these educational settings can also be protected From the main Teen Links page, teens can teens do not know their library has a group so that very little information is public- choose from things like “At Your Library,” on Facebook. Simply deciding to create a facing and the majority of the content is “Do Your Homework,” or “Read On.” group and then doing it is not enough; the located behind a password. Blog hosts like From the Read On link, teens can find teen same goes for blogs, wikis, and the like. If Blogger also offer the option of making book reviews, book lists to help them the teens do not know you are out there, your blog private. If a blog is set as private decide what to read next, and information chances are they are not going to find you. only people allowed by the creator would on organizing book clubs. Teens between So before you even create a site, talk to be able to view the site. the ages of 12 and 18 are welcome to your community. Form a TAB or TAG for Creating an online community for submit book reviews that are then posted the project. Go to your local schools and teens is also a great opportunity for to the teen book review page of the web talk to the students. Ask them what they librarians, teachers, and other community site. The book reviews are brief and come want. Is it a blog where they can just leaders to meet with one another and share with a one- to five-star rating given by the discuss books and submit reviews or do ideas and stories. Librarians are not the reviewer. they want a place where they can discuss only ones who can engage with teens online The library also has a link to a list of books, gaming, and their favorite and empower them to create publishable book club kits, which each contain enough technologies? Getting teens to share their content. Here are some ideas for engaging books for up to eight to ten members as ideas can be akin to pulling teeth at times with and empowering your young adult well as a list of possible discussion so it may be a good idea to go into your community to communicate, collaborate, questions. I sat down with my 14-year-old discussions armed with ideas or examples and create online. sister and a few of her friends last year to of what can be created. Once you interview them about reading habits and determine the purpose of the site, it is time l Work with teens to create online book preferences. Through our conversation I to figure out what kind of site will work groups so they can get together and discovered that all of the girls were avid best. Is it a Facebook fan page, a blog, or talk about books with their friends readers (except when required by a maybe a wiki? Again, talk to the teens. and even peers they might not teacher) and had even tried to organize What are they most familiar with or what normally interact with. A major their own book club, but they did not do they want to learn? Maybe they are obstacle for young adults is know where to turn for book suggestions. most familiar with Facebook but would transportation and this would When they were able to find a book they love to learn how to create and manage a definitely help alleviate that issue. wanted to read, they could not find enough blog. l This one is a bit more involved, but what copies at the library or the bookstore for all Of course, another very important about creating a school wiki or blog of them. These book club kits would have aspect to take into consideration when much like the school newspaper? A been perfect for them; they would have all choosing a format is safety. Blogs, wikis, teacher or the school librarian can oversee been able to read the same title and then and Facebook are all very public in nature, the project but allow the students to either get together in person or online to but there are ways to ensure privacy if it is manage it. This could be an after-school discuss what they had read. a concern for your library or classroom. club that is strictly voluntary or it could

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 27 Where Are All the Teens?

be a for-credit course that students sign The blog could have separate pages for option to create their own online book up for each term and get graded on. It different genres and teens with varying groups as a class project. could be a place for students to discuss reading interests could be involved. l Work with young adults to create a books, technology, gaming, and anything l As an assignment, have students join blog or wiki based on technology. else they may be into. an online book group that matches They could discuss things they own l Create a blog with young adults in the their interests on GoodReads like iPods or game consoles, video community that would give them a (www.goodreads.com), LibraryThing games they love or hate, free web- safe place to discuss books they have (www.librarything.com), Facebook based tools they use, or they could read that they have taken out of the (www.facebook.com), or another site even help organize a group of teens library, suggest titles the library should and submit a required number of posts who would enjoy a gaming night or purchase, and anything else they want. that can be graded or give students the afternoon at the library. YALS

28 YALS | Young Adult Library Services | Winter 2010 feature Hot Spot: Teen Tech Week

t seems that every time we turn around, we are faced with statements Teens Talk Tech I in the media about teens and technology: They spend all day texting, Twitter is the hot new thing, and so on. I wanted to hear from local teens who use our By Mari Hardacre library. What do they think about technology? What products do they use? What do they wish the library offered? To find out, I surveyed teens in the library during the month of September 2009. Eighty-three teens completed the survey. Some of their responses cleaner, more professional and just generally “Heck, yes!” or “Duh! Of course I do.” For were expected and others were rather more acceptable than MySpace. Although I comparison, these figures are much higher surprising. Our awesome Teen Advisory guess I shouldn’t really be answering because I than those found by the Pew Research Center Board (TAB) was happy to offer insight don’t have a MySpace....” in 2009. They reported that 38 percent of during a follow-up conversation. For Emily Arnold added: American teens sent text messages daily, reference, the Allen County (Indiana) Public whereas 58 percent had sent at least one.2 A Library serves 250,000 residents in the city of “Facebook is much easier to navigate. You few of our teen nontexters stated that they Fort Wayne and an additional 100,000 can become fans of different Web pages would text if they had a phone, but others residents surrounding Allen County. Fourteen and keep informed of your friends’ were opposed to the idea with TAB member percent of the population is between the ages activities through your phone when they Kelley Brenneman stating, “Nope. Phones are of 10 and 19. update their status. You can get MySpace evil!” The majority of TAB members, updates sent to your phone as well, but if however, disagreed with this assertion, saying Facebook versus you log onto MySpace, your page does not that for those that can afford it, a cell phone MySpace notify you of the updates or comments; with a plan that includes texting is one of the you have to remember them all on your most important accessories for the modern In 2007, the Pew Internet and American own.Themajorityofpeopleintheirteens teen. Emily explained: Life Project released a study called “Social use Facebook instead of MySpace as well, Networking Websites and Teens.” They so it is much easier to keep in touch with “Texting is the most useful found that “fully 85 percent of teens who your friends through Facebook.” technological thing I have ever come have created an online profile say the profile across. If you don’t have time to call they use or update most often is on Luke Fallon stated, “Last.fm is the new someone, or you are busy doing MySpace, while 7 percent update a profile on Facebook.” When asked to clarify, he multiple things at once, texting is a good Facebook.”1 Of course, at the time Pew was explained: “My friends and I are trying to get way to stay in touch. You can carry on a gathering data, Facebook had only been open people to sign up for Last.fm. You can learn a conversation without dropping to all for a couple of months. I asked “What lot about people from the music they listen to.” everything to talk.” Tara Olivero was websites do you use for socializing with also enthusiastic: “I love text messaging friends?” and 47 percent of teens replied Text Messaging Is because it’s a quick and easy way to keep “Facebook.” MySpace came in second with Ubiquitous...Almost in contact with my friends.... You can 35 percent. Some respondents use both sites. also use texting to update your Twitter A full 20 percent said that they do not When asked “Do you use text messaging?” 71 status and to get other people’s statuses, socialize with friends online. Even more percent of survey respondents said “Yes” or which I love.” surprisingly, Twitter was mentioned by only three teens. Gaia and World of Warcraft MARI HARDACRE is Young Adults’ Services Manager at the Allen each scored a couple of mentions. TAB members almost universally County (Indiana) Public Library. She is a member of the Teen Tech preferred Facebook. Why? Teen Becca Week committee and chairperson of the AASL/ALSC/YALSA Kaufeld said, “Facebook is way better. It’s Interdivisional Committee on School-Public Library Cooperation.

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 29 Teens Talk Tech

When asked if they would like the library had language software that was their team finding the items and library to offer text messaging reference free and had a variety of things, you completing the goofy challenges. Teens will service, TAB members were not keen since wouldn’t be able to pull me off for the take turns filming and being filmed. most cell phone plans still charge for each world on a silver tray.” Eliyah Kemp liked the idea of a “video text. They liked the idea of IM reference or mystery program.” Adapt a favorite even Facebook reference better. Many of Emily added: “Nowadays people can’t mystery book or mystery kit by having them would like to receive library notices by afford to go out and get a tutor or buy the TAB members act out scenes. Then play text since they don’t check email regularly, software themselves so if they had access to the scenes at a mystery party for the but not if they had to pay for the notices. it, it would be helpful.” general public and make the videos available on the library’s website. What Can Libraries Do? Which Tech Gadget Alex Maiden suggested a “robotics Would You Most Like To workshop”. Find a local expert who can TAB members thought the library catalog Own If You Had Enough teach a robotics workshop, perhaps using could be improved to be more intuitive for Money To Get It? Lego Mindstorms robots. searchers to use and more accurate. Said Sadie Sial thought a “video editing Eliyah Kemp: “Sometimes when I type in the In the last two years the library has used grant class” would be appreciated. Find a staff exact title, the book still doesn’t come up.” money to give away laptops as raffle prizes— member or local expert who can teach a Sam Osterkil added: “I don’t really care all those who finish the program are eligible to basic video editing class on Windows Movie which system the library uses as long as it receive a ticket. This year the question came Maker or one of the free online tools. works.” Sam attended a demo of one of the up: “Is there something the teens would like Even though my survey did not receive as discovery layer interfaces the library is better?” Thirty-three percent of teens many responses as I would have liked, and I considering for purchase and said: “It’s got surveyed stated that a laptop is the number have thought of several questions I wish I had neat features: tagging, search term cloud, one tech purchase they’d make if they had the asked, I did learn some valuable information to rating and reviewing books (I really like this), money, so chances are the summer reading pass on to our summer reading committee and the ability to pull from a lot of different committee will stick with laptops. The iPhone to our IT department. And I have received sources of information, and to add your own.” came in second with 18 percent of teens some good ideas for Teen Tech Week wanting to own one. Tara said: “If I had the programming and, hopefully, some willing Databases, money, I would want to buy an iPhone with a TAB members to help plan and present the What Databases? video camera in it. Right now, I have two events. Most of all, surveying our teens was a different iPods, a cell phone, and a camera. It fun way to get know our patrons a little better I had not included a question about the would be so much easier if I could carry one and to begin a dialogue on technology, an library’s databases on the general survey but device around instead of several.” Other important facet of their lives. YALS decided to ask TAB which ones they found survey responses included various video most useful. I was disheartened to learn that gaming systems, a 100-inch plasma screen References only about half of the TAB members knew TV,andasoneteensaid,“Allofthem!” about the databases, but it made me realize 1. Amanda Lenhart and Mary Madden, that we need to promote these resources more Teen Tech Week “Social Networking Websites and Teens,” heavily. Home-schooled siblings Becca and Joe Events—What To Do? Pew Internet & American Life Project, Kaufeld requested that the library offer a Jan. 2007. www.pewresearch.org/pubs/ Web-based language learning program in TAB members were stumped for a minute 118/social-networking-websites-and-teens addition to reference databases. When asked or two when asked for technology program (accessed Sept. 30, 2009). why, Becca elaborated: ideas. But then ideas began to pop up. 2. Amanda Lenhart, “Teens and Mobile Billy Jones recommended a “video Phones Over the Past Five Years: Pew “I’m a languages teen. I want to go into scavenger hunt.” Make up a wacky Internet Looks Back,” Pew Internet & linguistics. So I always want to familiarize scavenger hunt and equip teams of teens American Life Project, Aug. 19, 2009. myself with a language I’ve never tried with camcorders or digital cameras that www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/ before. Like over the summer, I looked take video. Instead of collecting the items 14-Teens-and-Mobile-Phones-Data- into Gaelic. Fascinating language! If the on the scavenger hunt, the teens will film Memo.aspx (accessed Sept 30, 2009).

30 YALS | Young Adult Library Services | Winter 2010 YALS Professional Resources

Gorman, Michele and Tricia Suellentrop. Connecting new recommendations. Drawn from books selected from classroom Young Adults and Libraries: A How-to-do-it Manual, and library use, professional reviews, and award lists, this annotated 4th ed. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2009; bibliography is divided into eight genres, from classics and picture ISBN-13: 978-1555706654; 389p; $85. books to contemporary fiction and traditional literature, with an evaluative introduction to each. With the exception of the classics, The big pink bible of young adult (YA) services is back and better most of the books were published after 1994. Arranged than ever. In the 4th edition, Michele Gorman and Tricia Suellentrop alphabetically by author, the entries comprise recommended grade take what began with Patrick Jones’s 1st edition in 1991 and bring levels, an engaging description with possible uses in a classroom or both the foundations and new topics back in the format that has a library setting, list of awards, related subject areas, and character reputation for being easy to use and inspiring. From the history that themes (e.g., friendship, survival, or humor). This resource is a Patrick shares in his foreword (that he terms a “backward”) to the very helpful starting point for librarians who need to start a collection end that includes a enormously useful and handy CD-ROM tool kit for elementary and middle school age children and teens. Young featuring adaptable forms, lists, and surveys, this resource is literally adult (YA) librarians will find it less beneficial, as the authors packed with information that no library resource shelf should be selected only contemporary fiction titles that “portray daily life with without. Broken out into manageable sections allowing users to either its challenges while ending with hope.” As a result, edgier YA read cover to cover or pick and choose as the need arises, Gorman and authors, such as Chris Crutcher, Ellen Hopkins, and Terry Suellentrop offer up background details, research, statistics, Trueman, do not appear, nor do any of the Michael L. Printz suggestions, and advice on topics such as booktalking, programming, Award winners. Although an effort was made to include youth involvement, and technology (just to name a few). With easy- multicultural titles, books that feature diverse cultures in more to-follow, natural, and practical language (and also a glossary of YA contemporary settings will need to be supplemented. In addition to pertinent terms and acronyms), users of this resource will feel better librarians, educators and parents will find Core Collection for equipped to serve and advocate for teens with each chapter read and Children and Young Adults a good place for discovering some of the statistic and figure studied. Included are the results of an online survey best children’s literature available —Angela Leeper, Director, of teens from libraries all over the country on “reading habits and Curriculum Materials Center, University of Richmond, Virginia. perceptions.” (Full disclosure: This online survey was linked on the teen page of the Fairport N.Y. Public Library Web site, and teens from Fairport responded.) It is hard to imagine any library that wants Dougherty, Richard M. Streamlining Library Services: to do a better job of understanding, serving, and embracing teens not What We Do, How Much Time It Takes, What It Costs, having this book, even if they have every other edition. It is invaluable and How We Can Do It Better. Scarecrow Press Inc., 2008; beyond the few words that this review has space to include. The CD- ISBN-13: 9780810851986; 270p; $45. ROM tool kit alone makes this resource worth its purchase. With dozens of ready-to-use forms to adapt, users will feel inspired to either In this day and age of budget cuts, libraries are looking for ways to start or expand their focus on making their libraries even more inviting save time and money—to make their work more efficient while and relevant for teens. Highly recommended for new and seasoned maintaining and improving library services. Richard M. Dougherty librarians alike. —Stephanie A. Squicciarini, Teen Services Librarian, offers this highly readable tool to help them do just that. Fairport (N.Y.) Public Library. Dougherty has worked as a consultant for organizational change in libraries since the 1990s and has given numerous workshops on change management. He shares his expertise in this revised 3rd Schwedt, Rachel E. and Janice A. DeLong. Core Collection edition of Scientific Management of Library Operations (2nd ed., for Children and Young Adults. The Scarecrow Press Inc., 1982), which is recommended for libraries of all types. Dougherty 2008; ISBN-13: 9780810861152; 218p; $50. encourages all library staff to consult Streamlining Library Services, but it will be most useful to administrators and teams charged with In a follow-up to their Core Collection for Small Libraries: An examining library services and workflows and implementing Annotated Bibliography for Children and Young Adults (1997), change. Although some of the statistical and data collection tools librarian Schwedt and English professor DeLong offer over 350 are a bit dry, Dougherty manages to make them relevant—even

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 31 Professional Resources

interesting—by using real examples from the library workplace. Rivard, Head Librarian, Bullitt Central High School, Shepherdsville, Not only do they bring the tools to life, but they also illustrate Kentucky. some of the problems identified and changes made in actual libraries. Strategies for conducting your institution’s own research, studies, and data collection are included, and also detailed Gallaway, Beth. Game On! Gaming at the Library. Neal- explanations of the various kinds of tools that can be utilized. Schuman, 2009; ISBN-13: 9781555705954; 306p. $55. Dougherty recommends the inclusion of library staff at all levels (from analyzing the work they perform to brainstorming solutions, Intended as a beginner’s guide to video games in the library, Game improving workflows, and enacting changes). Dougherty’s On is designed as a game for the reader to complete, with six suggestions for “doing it better” are rather broad, but can be “levels” instead of chapters. Unfortunately, the levels are of widely applied to any number of situations and are well worth varying quality. Level 2, for instance, is a model of disorganization. implementing—eliminate unnecessary steps, combine processes Ostensibly about how to advocate for gaming in the library, it and operations, assign the most appropriate staff to perform the presents arguments against gaming (and challenges them, though work, investigate outsourcing, etc. In other words, “Reduce! often not directly enough) alongside overbroad generalizations Reduce! Reduce!” and “Keep It Simple!” After reading this book, about the personalities of gamers. Level 3, on nongaming services you will immediately want to get your staff and coworkers thinking that libraries can provide to gamers, is better organized, but it about ways they can improve their efficiency, service, and work seems to be out of place. And the very brief levels 1 and 6, on the environment. —Karin Thogersen, Young Adult Librarian, Huntley history and future of games, never seem to get off the ground in (Ill.) Area Public Library. their discussions. On the other hand, levels 4 and 5, which address the specifics of putting on gaming programs and purchasing games for the Carlson, Chris, and Ellen Brosnahan. Guiding Students into collection, are a tour de force of lucidity. Gallaway provides step- Information Literacy: Strategies for Teachers and Teacher- by-step instructions on how to create a gaming program and how to Librarians. Scarecrow Press, 2009; ISBN-13: put together a game collection, either for library use or for 9780810859746; 96p. $35. circulation, together with a generous collection of case studies of library programs, and a detailed list of important games to collect. As school districts have focused to an ever-increasing extent on Levels 2 and 3 certainly contain much valuable material, and standardized tests and scores that affect the funding and readers who are willing to work will find some excellent tools both administration of our schools, professional educators everywhere for defending gaming and for providing library services to gamers. have witnessed the decline of research as a component of the Nevertheless, someone should probably have reminded Gallaway curriculum. As important as these scores have become, it is also that the earlier levels are supposed to be easier to get through than apparent that the decline of information gathering is leaving the later levels. —Mark Flowers, Young Adult Librarian, Solano students without crucial skills for lifelong success and information County Library, California. literacy. In view of that problem, this book could not be more timely. Although the above philosophy is clearly elucidated by the authors, this is not a treatise on the condition of modern education Younger, Beth. Learning Curves: Body Image and Female but a highly practical manual for teachers and teacher-librarians to Sexuality in Young Adult Literature. Scarecrow Press. use in designing research projects that are effective in promoting 2009; ISBN-13: 978-0810859869; 166p. 35?. the cognitive skills acquired by engaging in the research process rather than the dreary, poorly presented skeleton of facts that No matter what the decade, girls have been concerned with their result from so many forays into the library. Eminently practical, bodies. Beth Younger examines how teen fiction, including “chick the manual addresses the design of projects, the typical problems lit,” portrays body image, sexuality, teen pregnancy, and lesbian encountered by both teachers and students in completing them, relationships. Younger shows that body image goes beyond the main and many very practical forms for facilitating the process from characters; she examines supporting characters to show how these beginning to end. Laid out in order from designing to completing a issues permeate entire novels. She also shows how issues of body project, this book is an invaluable resource for teachers and image and the characters’ sexual behavior are intertwined. Giving librarians who are dedicated to students’ learning and utilizing the examples from seven decades, Younger shows us how far certain process of research and developing information literacy. —Peter views have come while also reminding us how far we have yet to go.

32 YALS | Young Adult Library Services | Winter 2010 Professional Resources

The writing is clear, and the text gives many examples. At experience between them, firmly bridge that gap to equip readers times I wondered whether the examples were the nit-picking of an with practical advice along with academic information, instilling author trying to make a point. Does a reader really remember the confidence in one’s ability to provide instruction in information father in Forever making a comment about the size of his wife’s literacy. The authors consider information literacy in the context of thighs? I came to realize that these asides were the point; comments history, developmental psychology, teaching stylistics, instructional like this are common in our culture, and although we don’t always planning, and classroom management in clear, concise terms that remember them, they do make an impact. Although the chapters waste not a line of more than three hundred pages. A CD of do build on each other, since they are on different themes they can support materials, including a searchable index and bibliography be read separately. Reading the introduction is beneficial, as it with active website links, along with sample exercises to illustrate states the purpose of the book. This book is academic in nature and chapter highlights, adds to the practicality of this title. The chapter would be a great read for both people working in the field with on assessment is of particular value, as the need for this element of teenagers or researching their lives. —Sarah Granville, Teen Services instruction and planning is pressing, but it is not widely discussed Librarian, Barberton (Ohio) Public Library. in practical terms. Information literacy (IL) standards are addressed, as are tests that measure IL skills; however, the book does not address the Standards for Educational and Psychological Grassian, Esther S., and Joan R. Kaplowitz. Information Testing (1999) or key contributors to the educational Literacy Instruction: Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. Neal- measurement field Lee Cronbach and Samuel Messick. In this text, Schuman, 2009; ISBN-13: 9781555706661; 412p. $75. test validity is couched in an older definition than the one that Cronbach and Messick support; validity must be concerned with This book is the most comprehensive and detailed look at the use of assessment results, rather than the abilities measured. information literacy, from historical to classroom contexts, The authors do well to focus on the necessity of continual revision available. Many textbooks offer grounding in theory but leave the and improvement of information literacy instruction as a natural student adrift as to how to realize this theory as teaching practice. part of the educational process. —Kerry Sutherland, Akron-Summit Grassian and Kaplowitz, with extensive teaching and research County (Ohio) Public Library. YALS

Guidelines for Authors

Young Adult Library Services is the official publication of the Young practice relating to teen services and spotlights significant activities Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American and programs of the division. Library Association. Young Adult Library Services is a vehicle for For submission and author guidelines, please visit www.ala continuing education of librarians working with young adults (ages .org/yalsa and click on “Publications.” twelve through eighteen) that showcases current research and

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AASL ...... cover 3 HW Wilson...... cover4 ALA Editions ...... 8 University of Illinois ...... 15 Evanced Solutions ...... 25 YALSA ...... cover 2, 22, 28

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 33 LITERATURE SURVEYS AND RESEARCH

Peer Influences on Young Teen Readers An Emerging Taxonomy By Vivian Howard

Purpose of the Study 1. What role does reading for pleasure teens and adults to maintain the pleasure fill in the lives of young teens (ages 12 reading habit. In her year-long study of Tom Peters recently proclaimed that the to 15)? class of American seventh-grade students, future of reading is very much in doubt, 2. What are the main barriers to reading Beers classifies participants as dormant stating, “In this century, reading could soar to for this age group? readers, uncommitted readers, new heights or crash and burn.”1 However, 3. What are the main motivators to unmotivated readers, and avid readers.5 although adult book sales are in decline, teens reading for this age group? Similarly, in her study of Australian youth are buying books at a record rate. Publishers and their reading habits, Nieuwenhuizen Weekly/Institute for Publishing Research This paper describes one particular identifies four parallel classes of teen (PW/IPR) Book Sales Index reports that aspect of the broader study: the role of peer readers.6 Both Beers and Nieuwenhuizen although adult trade sales are expected to fall influences in supporting or motivating explore the characteristics shared by by 4 percent in 2009, juvenile and teen book teens’ recreational reading habits. members of the avid reader group and sales are expected to increase by 5.1 percent.2 conclude that avid readers tend to have the Although teens represent the future of reading, Literature Review most highly educated parents and the very little is known about their reading habits greatest amount of preschool exposure to or what influences their reading choices. Reading Motivation books and reading. Beers and The research study discussed in this Several researchers have observed that Nieuwenhuizen also note the importance paper examines the role of recreational or children and teens whose parents are of freedom of choice as a key motivating pleasure reading in the lives of 12 to 15-year nonreaders are more likely to be factor; subjects in both studies disliked old residents of the Halifax Regional nonreaders themselves.3 Heather also assigned reading and preferred to select Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. The study noted that a tendency to share books with their own reading materials, which were as a whole was guided by three key research friends was a positive encouragement for often comics or magazines. These questions concerning the pleasure reading pleasure reading.4 Several researchers have conclusions are consistent with those of habits of young teens: attempted to identify factors that motivate Krashen, who stresses that three factors are key motivators of pleasure reading: free VIVIAN HOWARD is an Assistant Professor in the School of choice, opportunity for recreational Information Management at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, reading, and access to preferred materials.7 Canada, where she has been teaching since 1996. Her Ph.D. dissertation, completed through Aberystwyth University, Wales, Everyday Life investigated the role of reading for pleasure in the lives of young Information Seeking teens. Howard is also the editor of the YA Hotline newsletter and Research into teen everyday life an avid reader of young adult fiction. See Vivian Howard. “Peer information seeking (ELIS) yields some Group Influences on Avid Teen Readers,” The New Review of relevant findings. Poston-Anderson and Children’s Literature and Librarianship 14, no. 2 (2008): 103–120 Edwards asked twenty-eight teen girls for a more detailed analysis of the avid reader group. about the role of information in helping

34 YALS | Young Adult Library Services | Winter 2010 HOWARD

them deal with their life concerns.8 Few of of people when seeking information. In at junior high schools in the Halifax the participants believed that libraries fact, the interpersonal networks of Regional School Board. All students could help them solve their problems, and students appear to determine the volunteered to participate; they and their they turned to family, friends, or teachers framework in which all information parents or guardians were given a written for information instead. In a later study seeking takes place, therefore information sheet and signed a consent examining how teen girls find information emphasizing the role of interpersonal form prior to the discussions. about jobs and education, Edwards and interactions in gathering information as Seventy percent of participants were Poston-Anderson found that their subjects a critical component in the instruction girls and 30 percent were boys. Structured performed little or no formal information process. Because students rely so heavily questions were used to permit the cross- seeking; instead, they turned to their on people as information sources, comparison of responses between groups. mothers and, significantly less often, to librarians should seize opportunities to All focus group discussions were tape their fathers, for advice.9 Julien’s deepen students’ understanding of recorded, but confidentiality of examination of Canadian teens’ people as information resources. respondents was assured, and the names of information-seeking for career decision- Librarians can promote themselves as individual students, schools, and school making showed a similar pattern: the teens accessible and valuable information districts were not given on the transcripts. in her study felt overwhelmed by decision- resources. They can also integrate Pseudonyms are used in all reports of focus making and did not know where to turn to themselves into students’ interpersonal group discussions. Transcripts were get information or even what questions to networks, working with parents, imported into QSR NUD*IST software ask to obtain the information they teachers and others to develop and for coding and analysis. Overall, analysis wanted.10 market programmes that focus on proceeded using a grounded theory Latrobe and Havener conducted a students’ needs and the interpersonal approach in the manner of Glaser and study of the information-seeking behavior aspects of information-seeking Strauss and that of Glaser, in which data of eighteen eleventh graders in six behavior.12 central to the focus of the inquiry were categories of information need: course- gathered through a series of focus group related activities, current lifestyles, future Agosto and Hughes-Hassell’s discussions, and themes emerged from the plans, relations with others, health, and investigation of the ELIS of inner-city data set itself, through a process of general information (current events, American teens develops a theoretical inductive analysis.15 QSR was used to politics, religion, etc.) The researchers did model in which teens’ developmental needs assist in shaping understanding of the data, not examine recreational reading per se, are at the center of their information to create categories out of the data and to but their findings still provide some useful seeking.13 This study also confirms the link and explore these categories to form data on information preferences of this work of previous researchers (see Edwards and test theories “grounded” in the data. small group of teens. In five of the six and Poston-Anderson, Latrobe and The qualitative phase did not begin with categories, people were identified as the Havener, and Julien) in that the teen any a priori hypotheses or speculations best sources of information. One teen participants preferred human sources of about the likely outcomes of the focus respondent explained her preference for information whenever possible: “The group discussions. human information sources in this way: participants decided which people to “When asking people, I consider their consult based on established human Results and Analysis expertise. If you don’t understand what a relationships, question topics, and the person is saying, you can ask them [sic] to locations of their information seeking.... During focus group discussions, explain it a little further. You can’t ask a The participants evidenced general participants were asked to reflect on the book to explain what it means right now. I tendencies toward relying on easily reasons why they choose to read for go to people because of their interactive accessible, familiar sources and channels.”14 pleasure rather than engaging in another nature.”11 Latrobe and Havener conclude: favorite leisure pursuit. In addition to more Methodology predictable reasons for pleasure reading The findings of this study illuminate (escapism, imaginative outlet, relief from the central role played by people as Data collection consisted of a series of nine boredom, and so on), many young teen information links and providers. focus group discussions with a total of readers systematically described how their Students relied upon a broad spectrum sixty-eight twelve- to fifteen-year-olds, held pleasure reading takes place in a social

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 35 PEER INFLUENCES ON YOUNG TEEN READERS

Table 1. Taxonomy of Teen Readers talking about it and you couldn’t Avid Occasional Reluctant read you wouldn’t know what was Social communal Avid social communal Occasional social communal Reluctant social communal going on, you’d be left out.” Kate offers similar reasons for reading: Detached communal Avid detached communal (Occasional detached communal) (Reluctant detached communal) “I like reading books my friends Solitary Avid solitary Occasional solitary Reluctant solitary have recommended or read so that if they’re talking about the book I can get in on the conversation context, as an effective strategy to cement Communal Readers rely on peers other rather than sitting there and not saying peer friendships. These teens actively than their immediate friendship group for anything.” sought to read the same materials as their reading encouragement and support. Like the teens in the studies by closest friends and used reading (talking However, although Detached Communal Poston-Anderson and Edwards and by about reading, exchanging reading material, Readers could, theoretically, be Avid, Latrobe and Havener, these readers express following the same series) as a form of Occasional, or Reluctant Readers, this a strong preference for face-to-face social bonding. pattern was only actually observed for very personal reading recommendations and do To obtain a more detailed analysis of avid readers. Table 1 describes the not report using library catalogues or the theroleofpersonalinfluencesonreading emerging taxonomy of teen readers. Internet to find reading material. Overall, choices, a detailed analysis of focus group By examining the intersection of the this group has fairly unsophisticated transcripts was conducted. First, transcripts codes for self-assessed reading habit and level selection strategies, but their lack of a well- were coded for participants’ self-identified of peer influence, a richer and more layered developed heuristic is not problematic, as reading frequency. Active readers were view of teen readers emerges that more clearly their reading choices are largely determined classified into two subcategories: Avid (those reveals the importance of reading community by their friendship group. For Social who read for pleasure daily or several times a for various types of teen readers. Teen readers Communal Readers, reading exists within a week) and Occasional (those who read for in each of these categories exhibit unique mutually accepted comfort zone of shared pleasure weekly). Participants who indicated feelings and attitudes toward the act of reading choices; these teens exhibit little that they read for pleasure less often than reading for pleasure. risk-taking or experimentation in their weekly were classified as Reluctant Readers. reading selections and read within a fairly Thirty-eight participants self-identified as limited and homogeneous range of themes Avid Readers, twenty as Occasional Readers, Social Communal Readers and genres. They approach reading as and ten as Reluctant Readers. consumers, choosing currently popular Second, transcripts were coded for Avid and Occasional Social materials with appealing covers. Trendy participants’ self-identified feelings about Communal Readers series fiction, particularly of the “chick lit” the importance of their peers as an Avid and Occasional Social Communal variety, is especially in style with this influence on their reading choices. Teens Readers experience a clear and mutually group, as series books simplify selection who rated friends as a “very important reinforcing relationship between friendship decisions and lend themselves well to influence” or “some influence” were initially and reading and differ only in their communal reading: books can be shared coded as Communal Readers; teens who frequency of pleasure reading. For these among the group and, in many cases, do rated friends as exerting “no influence” teens, reading exists in a “virtuous circle” in not need to be read in strict sequence. were initially rated as Solitary Readers. which friends encourage reading for However, this preliminary bipartite coding pleasure and shared reading experiences Laura: One person will start reading a scheme was insufficient to capture the full solidify friendships. These readers want to series and if they like it they’ll tell range of focus group responses, and after read the same materials as their friends to everyone and then we all read the same careful analysis of the transcripts using the reinforce their membership in the group series. One person will recommend constant comparison technique, the and to avoid the feeling of being left out. something and word gets around that Communal code was refined into two As Cal notes: “I read mostly because if my it’s good. subcodes: Social Communal Readers rely friends have read a book I want to read it on their immediate friends for reading to find out what it’s really about....If Social Communal Readers don’t just encouragement and support, and Detached your friends had read a book and were share recommendations; they also

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frequently exchange the reading materials did not appear to read for aesthetic feel that they will continue to read, even if themselves among members of their enjoyment and made little emotional infrequently, in the future and even express friendship circle: connection with what they read. Neither the hope that their reading engagement may Tanner nor Devon reported using the become stronger as their reading skills and Ellie: Yeah, I do that [share books] all library or the Internet for reading advice, selection strategies improve. the time with one of my friends. Like nor did they describe any positive adult the Madison Finn books, she loves them reading mentors. However, they each just as much as I do. I have almost all of spoke at length about the powerful Detached Communal Readers the Madison Finn collection so we’re influence of friends in encouraging and Detached Communal Readers share several always trading books back and forth. I’ll maintaining their reading habit, weak features with Social Communal Readers: read one and give it to her and she’ll read though it was. In the case of Tanner, one both groups indicate generally high levels it and give it back to me. particular friend encouraged him to keep of positive adult (usually parental) reading, whereas Devon’s reading habit was encouragement to read and are regular Social Communal Readers were almost encouraged by a larger peer group. Both public library users. Detached Communal exclusively female (only one male teens acknowledged that they would be Readers, however, exhibit some significant participant, Cal, rated his friends as nonreaders if it weren’t for their friends’ differences in their attitude to reading and important influences and was classified as a influence. in the role of personal influences. These Social Communal Reader). They all readers tend to consider themselves more indicated high levels of positive adult Devon: [I don’t really like reading “serious” readers than Social Communal (usually parental) encouragement to read, because] you’re just looking at a page Readers and see their reading choices as and all were regular public library users, with a bunch of words on it and it’s the intimately linked to their identity: they although they were dissatisfied with the same thing over and over again. My dislike the predictability of series fiction library’s often incomplete collection of series friends are the biggest influence. They and read a wide variety of themes and books and with the long waiting lists for keep telling me about books and genres, often deliberately selecting current popular books. They also felt that encouraging me to keep reading, keep challenging or “edgy” titles. Most of the the library should provide a more social reading.... We have a book report teens in this group self-identify as very atmosphere, so that teens would be coming soon so I asked my friends for strong readers, often reading well above encouraged to spend time there, reading and suggestions on what book to read and their grade level, and read a mixture of socializing with their friends. They were all they gave me some good ideas.... adult and young adult titles, both fiction confident that they will continue to read Sometimes the beginning of the book is and nonfiction. avidly in the future and that reading will good and you think you’ll like it but In contrast to Social Communal continue to be a social, shared activity. then it gets boring but my friends Readers, Detached Readers are adamant in encourage me to keep reading it. their dislike of receiving reading recommendations or advice from their Reluctant Social Tanner: The reason I don’t read that friends. They resent the fact that a friend, Communal Readers much is that every time I start to read I’ll particularly someone with less Reluctant Social Communal Readers were start thinking of doing something else and sophisticated reading skills, might want to a rarity among the focus group I’ll be too anxious to do the other thing so influence them in their reading choices. participants. Only two teens, Devon and I’ll stop reading. It’s hard for me to get Detached Readers tend to view reading Tanner, fit into this category. Both teens into reading....Myfriendhassimilar recommendations from friends as had generally negative views about reading, taste to me. I read the same books that he unwanted pressure and, potentially, even a stating that they found it boring, much less reads. When I’m at his house and we’re threat to their friendship, as the following absorbing than other leisure activities such bored, sometimes we’ll read. discussion among a group of detached as sports, and that they had considerable readers illustrates: difficulty both selecting and finishing Their engagement with reading is weak books. They both described a functional and they report reading fairly infrequently, Isobel: Yeah, I had a friend recommend approach to reading: they usually read to but they do read for pleasure, thanks to peer a book to me and I just didn’t want to gain some needed information, but they support and encouragement. These teens read it because she had said it was so

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good.... Yeah, if someone says this is favorite books. This is the best way, Miriam: Book club is nothing like the best book ever, I just won’t get because they are around my age and school. We don’t have to be all serious around to it ...ever. they like the same things as me and I and “right”; we can just talk about what know them. I have hundreds of friends we liked and what we didn’t like and no Nicola: If someone tells me it’s a great on Facebook but a lot of them are one’s right and no one’s wrong. book, it’s like it’s their book, and that people who don’t go to my school, makes me not want to read it. I want to people I don’t see all the time, and I’ll These “detached” reading communities find books for myself. I have to find my just pick someone at random and read function as safe spaces for these Avid own books. I’ve got to be a rebel. about their favorite books. Then I’ll go Readers to discuss and share their reading to the library with their list of good interests with peers without threatening Miriam: I agree. If someone books and look at them myself and see their primary friendship relationships. The recommends a book it’s more likely that if I want to read them. I never tell them relative anonymity of these reading I won’t want to read it. that I’m doing that unless it’s a book I communities gives Detached Readers the really like. peer encouragement and support they Some Detached Readers see desire,aswellastheopportunitytogiveand themselves as trendsetters or opinion Rebecca: A person who has influenced receive reading recommendations in a risk- leaders and enjoy dispensing reading me a lot is someone I met online free environment. Detached Communal recommendations to others; these teens through Facebook. She puts book Readers are very satisfied with their reading view themselves as gatekeepers to reading, recommendations on her Web site and community and are confident that they will and they enjoy discovering new titles or I’ve read most of them and they are all continue to read avidly in the future. new authors and passing on this really good. We’ve never met, we just Detached Communal Readers are information to their friends and, know each other online. One of the predominantly female, although two males sometimes, to their families. Others, such other ways I choose books is through also fit this profile. Detached readership as Roslyn, consider gatekeeping a further this Web site called Buzznet. You can appears to be unique to the Avid Reader potential for rejection and disappointment type in your favorite book or movie and group, probably because of the extra effort if the recipients of their advice fail to enjoy it will tell you who else liked that book, that is required to find and join a detached the suggested title. so then I can look at that person and see reading community: no Occasional or what books she or he has listed as Reluctant Readers were identified as using Roslyn: I don’t like lending or favorites, and I read them. this strategy. recommending my books to other people because sometimes I will love the Several other Detached Readers were book and my friend will say “it’s just members of a teen book club run by a local Solitary Readers okay” and that frustrates me. I want my independent bookstore: friends to love it too. Avid Solitary Readers Isobel: Joining book club was the best Focus group participants were initially DetachedReadersthusavoid thing I ever did. We meet once a month classified as Solitary Readers if they developing a reading community with their and talk about the books we read that indicated that their friends exert “no immediate friends. Instead, they actively seek month, not just the “assigned book” but influence” on their reading. Avid Solitary other, more distant, opportunities for peer all the books we read. It’s great. If I Readers simply do not see any reason to support for their reading. Several Detached hated a book and someone else loved it, share or discuss their reading with their Readers established a virtual reading we can argue about it. No one gets mad peers. Male and female readers are evenly community through social networking tools. if you don’t agree. I use book club for represented in the Avid Solitary Readers lots of recommendations about what to group; however, there are some significant Kim: I use the computer a lot.... [On read. I heard someone talking about differences between male and female teens Facebook profiles], there’s a lot of how much they loved Uglies and so I in terms of the role of adult mentorship of personal information and one of them is went right out and read that book. I their reading habit. The male teens in this favorite books. I look on my friends’ might not have found it if it hadn’t been category report high levels of positive adult profiles and see what they list as their for book club. encouragement to read, whereas female

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teens feel they have received low levels of moved in, since he retired from the they could name exemplary book titles that adult mentorship. For example, Mark military, all he does is sit on his butt and they had particularly enjoyed, but they describes his father’s role in the play videogames or play on the computer. reported having particular difficulty finding development of his love of reading: He just wastes his time. I watch him and more titles of the same type, and this I swore I wouldn’t be like that, so I read. frustration reduced their incentive to read. Mark: My dad recommends books to In other words, their weak selection me. He got me reading Terry Pratchett, The lack of early positive strategies and lack of support from a his adult books. They’re really good. He reinforcement for their reading habit reading community markedly discouraged also likes Elmore Leonard and he got me appears to make girls less likely to use their their reading behavior. reading those books, too. My dad has pleasure reading as an opportunity to make really encouraged me to read more social connections later in life. The solitary Julian: I don’t browse. I usually go to challenging books.... Like Sherlock nature of their early reading experiences the library to find one book that I want Holmes and Patrick O’Brian. My dad appears to persist into their teen years; for and if it isn’t there, I get frustrated and likes books that were written a long time these teen girls, reading has always been I’ll take another book but it won’t be ago and the language is different, the and continues to be something they do for something I want and I won’t like to English is different, and it’s interesting pleasure, but in isolation, and it is not a read it. It’ll be really boring to me and to read and you learn different words. habit to be shared with either friends or I’ll be disappointed and mad....IfIgo family. to the library and they don’t have the In contrast, three female Avid Solitary Both male and female Avid Solitary book I want I’ll get mad and say I’m not Readers describe the start of their pleasure Readers have effective selection strategies going back to that stupid library again. I reading habit: and feel confident and self-sufficient as get frustrated. readers: they enjoy reading, but it is Josie: My family really doesn’t like to read something they keep to themselves. For the Adam: Most of the books that I’ve read but I love to read. I remember in boys in particular, this preference for I’ve found on the floor. Someone elementary school a teacher read a really solitary reading could be a reflection of the dropped it there and I picked it up and good book to the class and then I got it “socially unacceptable” nature of male liked the look of it. and read it and it was fun. And that’s how pleasure reading: some boys may be I started reading on my own. reluctant to share their reading with their Ruth: Usually my problem isn’t finding friends because reading for pleasure is not a book that I will like to start to read; Jessica: My family doesn’t read at all. My recognized as a valid male pastime. it’s finding a book that I can finish mom says she doesn’t have time for Although male Avid Solitary Readers do without getting bored of it. I usually reading and my stepdad said the last book not join in a peer reading community, they look at what size it is and how long, and he read was in college. My mom doesn’t are confident that they will continue to if it’s a topic I’ll be able to read about for understand it when I go to my room and I read avidly—and solitarily—in the future. a long time. I usually read nonfiction. I read for like four hours because I’m stuck have a hard time reading fantasy in a really good book. I think I became a because it’s not real and I can’t relate to reader because when I was younger my Occasional Solitary Readers it very much. I usually read books about sister would always have the TV, she’d Occasional Solitary Readers are war and stuff because I find it more have the remote so I couldn’t watch my predominantly male, although two female interesting and I learn from it. shows, so I started reading. It was kind of teens also fit this profile. All appear to be self-defense. solitary readers by choice. Although teens Occasional Solitary Readers did not classified as Occasional Solitary Readers report reading series books and many Mandy: For me, reading is solitary are quite sanguine about their lack of a peer relied on their mothers to select their because my friends don’t read the same reading community, all teens in this group reading material, but they note that these kind of books that I do. They read spoke about the difficulty they have finding selections are not always very appealing. magazines and watch TV and surf on the books and other reading material that they These teens do not report using the net for 6 hours a day....Eversincemy enjoy. Occasional Solitary Readers all library OPAC, the Internet, or other parents divorced and my stepfather exhibited very particular taste in reading; alerting sources for reading advice, but

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 39 PEER INFLUENCES ON YOUNG TEEN READERS

most describe positive adult and they have no plans to change their do now. They feel that reading for pleasure encouragement to read. reading habits in the future. They read is an irrelevant activity, one that is enjoyed only when they are bored and have by other people, but not by them, and that Joshua: My mom knows what kinds of absolutely nothing better to do; otherwise in the future, when they have more books I like, adventure stories, not too they avoid reading as much as possible. independence and control over their own long. I don’t like extremely long books. I Similar to Reluctant Social Communal time, reading will be increasingly irrelevant. only like one long book, Eragon. Readers, adult mentorship and early exposure to books among teens in this Conclusion Darcy: My mom really influences me. group were irregular and infrequent, and She read A Million Little Pieces before I when Reluctant Solitary Readers do read, The findings of this study suggest that there did because she heard about it on they do not make an emotional connection is considerable diversity in the role of peer Oprah, so she told me I should read it with what they read. In the following groups in supporting teen pleasure reading, because it’s about drugs and stuff. quotations, Reluctant Solitary Readers and library programming that acknowledges compare reading negatively to other leisure and responds to this diversity will be most In summary, Occasional Solitary activities, such as watching television or effective in serving the widest range of teen Readers appear to be at a crossroads in playing sports. readers. This study found that teens’ their reading behavior. They recognize the attitudes toward peer influence on their potential value of reading in their lives, Makenna: It takes a long time to get pleasure reading was quite complex. have specific and clearly identifiable through the book and it’s easier just to Although some readers found that their reading tastes, and would read significantly watch the movie or whatever. I’d rather immediate peer friendship circle was a key more if they did not find it so difficult to be outside, being physically active, doing factor in encouraging them to read for find appealing reading material. On the sports. You can’t be active when you’re pleasure, this was not the case for all teens. other hand, without peer encouragement reading a book. Careful analysis of focus group transcripts and with further negative reading resulted in a taxonomy of teen readers based experiences, their reading habit could Tamsin: You have to think [when on the intersection of two key factors: self- decline and they could become Reluctant you’re reading]. I don’t like that....If identified reading frequency (Avid, Readers. you’re hyper, you don’t like to sit still Occasional, and Reluctant Readers) and the and read. role of peer influence (Social Communal, Detached Communal, and Solitary Reluctant Solitary Readers Generally, Reluctant Solitary Readers Readers). By examining the intersection of Reluctant Solitary Readers report reading dislike their perception of the solitary nature the codes for self-assessed reading habit and only very infrequently. They appear to be of the reading experience; for these teens, level of peer influence, a complex view of solitary by choice and do not seem the lack of reading community discourages teen readers emerges that more clearly uncomfortable or distressed about their their reading habit. Makenna describes her reveals the importance of reading lack of reading community. In fact, they see feelings in the following passage: community for various types of teen readers. no need for such a community: Teen readers in each of the categories Makenna: It is a lot easier just to watch identified exhibit unique feelings and Tamsin: I don’t share books with my a movie and you really have to be attitudes toward the act of reading for friends. We don’t talk about books. focused when you’re reading a book pleasure and the role of peer influence on whereas you can be watching a movie or the pleasure reading experience. This Makenna: My friends and I don’t share watching a TV, you can be talking to taxonomy effectively accounts for the books. your friends at the same time. If you’re complex role of the peer reading community reading a book, usually you want to do in encouraging teen pleasure reading in a Angus: I don’t share books with my it in a quiet place with not very many way that prior classification schemes do not. friends. distractions. Reading is more solitary. Finally, these findings highlight some critical gender differences in the role of Reluctant Solitary Readers have These teens feel that they will personal influences in encouraging the negative feelings about reading and readers, probably read less in their future than they reading habit. Focus group discussions

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reveal that all active (Avid and Occasional) Usherwood, Checking the Books: The Value about Education and Jobs,” Library and male readers describe positive early reading and Impact of Public Library Book Reading Information Science Research 18 (1996): experiences and adult encouragement to (report of research funded by the Arts and 207–223. read. In contrast, female Avid and Humanities Research Board; Sheffield, 10. Heidi Julien. “Barriers to Adolescents’ Occasional Social Communal and Avid United Kingdom: Centre for the Public Information Seeking for Career Detached Communal Readers report Library and Information in Society, Decision Making,” Journal of the similar high levels of positive adult Department of Information Studies, American Society for Information Science encouragement and positive early reading University of Sheffield, 2001). 50, no. 38 (1999): 48. experiences, but female Avid Solitary 4. Pauline Heather. Young People’s Reading: 11. Kathy Latrobe and W. Michael Havener. Readers describe a very different set of A Study of the Leisure Reading of 13-15 “The Information-Seeking Behavior of experiences, ranging from adult indifference Year Olds (Sheffield, United Kingdom: High School Honors Students: An to adult discouragement of their reading Centre for Research on User Studies, Exploratory Study,” Journal of Youth habit. These findings suggest that adult University of Sheffield, CRUS Occasional Services 10, no. 2 (1997): 197. mentorship is a critical factor in encouraging Paper No. 6, 1981). 12. Ibid., 199. young boys to become active readers, but it 5. G. Kylene Beers. “No Time, No Interest, 13. Denise Agosto and Sandra Hughes- is less significant for girls. Girls who lack No Way! The 3 Voices of Aliteracy, Part Hassell. “Toward a Model of the Everyday adult mentorship may become active, even 1.” School Library Journal 42, no. 2 (1996): Life Information-Seeking Needs of Urban avid, readers but they do not view reading as 50–54. Teenagers: Part I, Theoretical Model,” an opportunity to reinforce social 6. Agnes Nieuwenhuizen. Young Australians Journal for the American Society for relationships, as do many of their female Reading: From Keen to Reluctant Readers, Information Science and Technology 57, no. peers. For these girls, reading has always 2001, www.slv.vic.gov.au/pdfs/aboutus/ 10 (2006): 1314–1403. been a solitary and rather isolated activity, a publications/yar_report.pdf (accessed 14. Denise Agosto and Sandra Hughes- hobby not shared with family members or Sept. 27, 2009). Hassell. “Toward a Model of the Everyday with friends and peers. YALS 7. Stephen Krashen. The Power of Reading: Life Information-Seeking Needs of Urban Insights from the Research (Englewood, Teenagers: Part II, Empirical Model,” References Col.: Libraries Unlimited, 1993). Journal for the American Society for 8. B. Poston-Anderson and S. Edwards. Information Science and Technology 57, no. 1. Tom Peters. “The Future of Reading,” “The Role of Information in Helping 11 (2006): 1425. Library Journal 34, no. 18 (2009): 18. Adolescent Girls with Their Life 15. Barney G. Glaser and Anselm L. Strauss. 2. Carol Fitzgerald. “What Do Teens Want?” Concerns,” School Library Media Quarterly The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Publishers Weekly 256, no. 43 (2009): 27. 22 (1993): 25–30. Strategies for Qualitative Research (Chicago: 3. See Frank Whitehead et al., Children and 9. S. Edwards and B. Poston-Anderson. Aldine, 1967). Barney G. Glaser. Basics of Their Books (Schools Council Research “Information, Future Time Perspectives, Grounded Theory Analysis (Mill Valley, Studies, 1977), and Jackie Toyne and Bob and Young Adolescent Girls: Concerns Calif.: Sociology Press, 1992).

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 41 the YALSA update Association news

Find the latest YALSA news every Friday at the YALSA Blog, http://yalsa.ala.org/blog.

Promote YALSA’s (Ticketed Event– YALSA Member: In addition, YALSA offers plenty of Awards @ your library $195; ALA Member: $235; Non- interesting programs (see the full list at Member: $285; Student/Retired http://bit.ly/yalsaac2010) and ticketed As this issue mails, YALSA will be Member: $195.) Friday, 9-5. Have events, including the 2010 Printz Reception, announcing its award winners at the Youth you ever found yourself worrying theYAAuthorsCoffeeKlatchandmore. Media Awards at ALA’s Midwinter about how best to address critical but Early bird registration ends March 5. Meeting in Boston, Mass. The sensitive adolescent topics through Find more details about registration and announcement will take place Jan. 18 your teen services and collection? housing at the ALA Annual Web site, (watch for reproducible lists to distribute Topics like sexuality, abuse, privacy www.ala.org/annual. For the latest details in the spring issue of YALS!). and others can be difficult for on YALSA’s Annual schedule, visit the After the awards announcement, visit librarians to address with teens &/or YALSA Annual Conference Wiki, http:// www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists to find their parents and caregivers. Hear bit.ly/yalsaac2010 downloadable tools to promote winners at from experts in the field of adolescent your library! You’ll be able to download development, along with authors and 2010 ALA/YALSA customizable bookmarks featuring the librarians, about how they have Elections winners of the 2010 Alex, Edwards, managed to successfully maneuver this Morris, Nonfiction, Odyssey, and Printz difficult landscape. Explore strategies YALSA’s Nominating Committee has Awards. We’ll also offer press releases, for collection development, services submitted the following slate for 2010. which you can customize and send to local and programming relating to these YALSA members will vote for president- publications to let teens know that award sensitive issues. elect, a one-year board term (choose one), winners are available at your library. l Promoting Teen Reading with Web Elections will be held March 16 to April So check it out at www.ala.org/yalsa/ 2.0 Tools (Ticketed Event-$99) 23, 2010. The 2010 election will take place booklists! Friday, 12:30-4:30. The participatory entirely online. Details on the 2010election web has transformed adolescent can be found at www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/ Join YALSA at ALA literacy, as young people create and governance/alaelection/index.cfm. consume a new range of online content. Annual Conference! Are you ready for it? Learn how YALSA 2010 Slate libraries can use free web 2.0 tools to Early bird registration ends YALSA President March 5 connect teens with reading and writing opportunities within and beyond your Sarah Flowers YALSA has big plans for Annual 2010— library collection. Librarians, reporters, Sarajo Wentling join us in Washington, D.C., June 24-29! and academics will explore teens’ daily YALSA Board of Directors YALSA will offer two preconferences use of technology and the interaction of on June 25: Details available at http:// digital and print reading channels, 3-year Term bit.ly/yalsaac2010. including fan fiction and gaming. YA Shannon Peterson authors will discuss leveraging Chris Shoemaker l It’s Perfectly Normal: Dealing with readership through social networking Priscille Dando “Sensitive” Topics in Teen Services channels. Alexandra Tyle Annen

42 YALS | Young Adult Library Services | Winter 2010 1-year Term l those that plan YALSA events, president-elect to find the best fit for you. If Jerene Battisti including initiatives and conferences, you already submitted a volunteer form, but Gail Tobin such as Teen Tech Week, either weren’t appointed or missed the Angela Carstensen WrestleMania Reading Challenge, deadline for appointments for your particular Jack Martin and Local Arrangements committee request, your forms will be turned l those that help YALSA govern itself, over to the next president-elect. Forms are Printz Committee such as Organizations and Bylaws, only kept on file for one year, so it’s important Joy Millam Strategic Planning, or Nominating; that you fill one out each year that you would Todd Krueger l those that spread YALSA’s messages, liketoserveonacommitteeorjury. Patricia J. Campbell including Publications, Web Advisory, Erin Helmrich and Division and Membership Timeline Elizabeth Saxton Promotions; and Turn in your volunteer form between now Drue Wagner-Mees l many more. and March 12. Look for an email confirmation Ian Rosenior from YALSA after you turn it in. Gail Zachariah What to Know Before You The President-Elect will make the appointments between March 12 and May 7. Edwards Committee Volunteer If appointed, your term begins July 1, 2010. Susan Fichtelberg Before you volunteer to serve on a Amy Chow committee or jury, you’ll want to learn what The Fine Print Jonathan Hunt the group does and what your Walter Mayes responsibilities will be. You should contact ALA is in the process of revising its policy Emily Dagg the chair directly, explain that you’re regarding committee participation. It is likely Kate Pickett interested in serving and then ask questions that committees and juries may have more about what your involvement will entail. virtual members than in the past. Please Nonfiction Committee Names and contact information for all the check with Kim Patton if you have questions Mary Burkey chairs are available by clicking on the about specific committees or juries. Jennifer Hubert Swan “Governance” link on YALSA’s homepage. Appointments are for either one- or two-year Megan Fink Be sure to attend the “All Committee terms, depending on the committee or jury. Diane Colson Meeting” on Saturday during Midwinter If you’re not appointed specifically as a Michael Cart Meeting or Annual Conference to meet with ’virtual member,’ then committee members Mary Anne Nichols the chair and members. You’ll have a chance are expected to attend committee meetings at Elizabeth Burns to learn more about the group, and establish both the Midwinter Meeting and Annual Eva Volin an important contact with the chair, who Conference. YALSA does not pay travel helps fill seats as they become vacant. expenses for committee or jury members. Build Your On the YALSA Web site you’ll also Some groups are very popular and may Professional Skills! find information about each of the group’s receive dozens of volunteer forms for just two functions, size, and more. Just click on or three available spots. Your membership in Update your skills, get leadership and “Governance.” Lastly, be sure to read YALSA must be current in order for you to networking opportunities and be a part of through YALSA’s Handbook, especially be eligible to serve on a committee or jury. moving YALSA forward by joining one of the sections that list responsibilities for Questions? Please contact Kim our process committees or juries. President- committee members. It’s online at Patton, YALSA’s President-Elect, at Elect Kim Patton will be appointing www.ala.org/yalsa. Just click on [email protected] or YALSA’s committee and jury members to 2010 - “Handbook” from the left menu. Membership Coordinator, Letitia Smith, 2011 process committees and juries that at [email protected]. help the association advance its mission and Complete the Volunteer Form For other ways to build your the profession. Interested in being more professional skills and/or get more involved involved? Read on to find out how. To be considered for any committee or in YALSA, please visit http://tinyurl.com/ jury, you need to fill out a volunteer form. YALSAgetinvolved A Guide to Process It is available online (go to www.ala.org/ Committees & Juries yalsa then click “Handbook” and “Forms.” Choose the Process Committee, Jury, and Mark Your Calendars YALSA has two types of committees: selection Taskforce form). When you fill out a form, Learn Create Share @ your committees, which select specific library materials please be sure to include the name of the library this Teen Tech Week or choose YALSA’s awards and process committeesorjuriesonwhichyou’dliketo committees, which help carry out the work of serve. If you don’t indicate a few that you’re Make sure to register for Teen Tech the association. Process committees include: interested in, it is very difficult for the Week! Registration for the annual event

Winter 2010 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 43 closes on February 8. This year’s theme is YALSA names Spectrum YALSA Snapshot Learn Create Share @ your library. The Scholar, 2010 Emerging YALSA’s Revenues general theme for Teen Tech Week is Get Leaders Connected. Teen Tech Week 2009 will be YALSA is a not-for-profit organization that celebrated March 7-13. As part of its commitment to furthering leverages dues, donations, and revenue from YALSA is a nonprofit organization young adult librarianship, YALSA will various products and programs to fund that depends on its members for support. again sponsor a Spectrum Scholar and two efforts that support the mission and goals of By registering, you are letting us know that Emerging Leaders for 2010. Cristina Mitra the association, as outlined in YALSA’s technology literacy is important to you and (see article on page 7) is YALSA’s strategic plan. In the 2009 fiscal year, money your teen patrons. By registering, you are Spectrum Scholar, and Anna Koval and came from the following resources: telling YALSA that this program is Amy Barr are its 2010 Emerging Leaders. valuable and worth continuing. Koval and Barr will receive funding to l Dues ($216,082): includes student, attend the American Library Association’s regular, organizational, corporate, and Support Teen Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference lifetime memberships for Literature Day in 2010. YALSA’s participation in the approximately 5,800 members Emerging Leaders program is supported by l Sales ($83,795): includes award seals, Love young adult literature? Tell everyone the Friends of YALSA. advertising for periodicals and self that YA lit matters on Support Teen Established in 1997, the Spectrum published books Literature Day on April 15, celebrated in Scholarship Program is ALA’s national l Meetings ($186,425): ticketed events conjunction with ALA’s National Library diversity and recruitment effort designed to at Midwinter, Annual and the YA Lit Week (April 11-17, 2010). address the specific issue of under- Symposium YALSA will again participate in Opera- representation of critically needed ethnic l Donations ($143,000): Corporate spon- tion TBD on Support Teen Literature Day, librarians within the profession, while serving sorships, promotional partnerships, Friends along with the Readergirlz (www.readergirlz. asamodelforwaystobringattentionto of YALSA and Leadership Endowment com) and Guys Lit Wire (http://guyslitwire. larger diversity issues in the future. l Royalties ($18,372): includes books blogspot.com). This year, we’re working with If The Emerging Leaders program published with Neal-Schuman and ALA I Can Read, I Can Do Anything: A National enables newer librarians from across the Editions, TRW products, TTW prod- Book Club for Native American Children. country to participate in workgroups, ucts and other products sold through YALSA and its partners will distribute donated network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA Graphics (pamphlets, bookmarks) teen books to tribal libraries and schools, ensur- ALA’s structure and have an opportunity to l Continuing Education ($45,860): ing those teens have access to quality reading serve the profession in a leadership capacity. includes regional licensed institutes materials that speak to their experiences. To Emerging Leaders receive up to $1,000 and e-courses learn more (and see who is participating) visit each to participate in the Midwinter http://bit.ly/operationTBD2010. In 2008 and Meeting and Annual Conference and each One hundred percent of revenues go 2009, Operation TBD donated 20,000 books participant is expected to provide to years of to support the work of the association and donated by publishers to pediatric hospitals service to ALA or one of its units. More its members, including: nationwide and in Canada. than 100 librarians will get on the fast track Support Teen Literature Day aims to to leadership in ALA and the profession in l member stipends & grants raise awareness among the general public that the 2010 program. l book awards and lists of recommended young adult literature is a vibrant, growing reading genre with much to offer today’s teens. l Teen Read Week Support Teen Literature Day also seeks l Teen Tech Week to showcase some award-winning l advocacy efforts authorsandbooksinthegenreaswellas l continuing education opportunities highlight librarians’ expertise in connect- l best practices and research ing teens with books and other reading dissemination materials. Many of these activities can be l and more. featured throughout National Library Week or simply featured on Support In 2009, the YALSA Board of Teen Literature Day. Directors also voted to transfer $25,000 Support Teen Literature Day in funds from the operating budget to will also be the official launch of YALSA’s new Leadership Endowment YALSA’s 2010 Teen Read Week to begin generating interest that will be initiative, which will be celebrated used for future mentoring, training, October 17-23, 2010 with the theme scholarships and other leadership offer- “Books with Beat @ your library.” ings for members. YALS

44 YALS | Young Adult Library Services | Winter 2010