Teens Save MA Libraries

From Library Hotline:

"A group of teens from Milford, MA may have been too young to vote on Election Day, but their efforts to save their state's public libraries have paid off big time. They and other library supporters around the state embarked in a massive campaign to get voters to reject a ballot proposal -- and it worked. Some 70 percent of Massachusetts residents shot down a referendum to eliminate the state income tax, a move that would have had dire consequences for public libraries."

The teens of Milford put together a 3 minute video describing what their library means to them. Check out the responses that helped save their community libraries...



--. "Teens Helped Save MA Libraries Campaigning Against Tax Cut." Library Hotline. 17 November 2008.

College Now Unaffordable?

From New York Times Online:

The rising cost of college — even before the recession — threatens to put higher education out of reach for most Americans, according to the biennial report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

For more information on this significant issue in education, check out the related article:

Lewin, Tamar. "College may become unaffordable for most in the U.S." NYTimes Online. 3 December 2008.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/education/03college.html?_r=1&ref=education

Using the Kindle with Teens in the Library

The Horn Book for November/December 2008 has an article by a teacher about how he uses the Kindle in his middle school language arts classroom that I thought might be adaptable to the public library.

He downloaded sample chapters of twenty young adult novels he thought his students would like and then watched in delight as they browsed on the Kindle in their free time and then went to the library to check out the actual book.

Even the kids who don't usually read much loved trying out the new gadget which made him feel it had the potential to hook a reluctant reader.

It isn't difficult to master the Kindle, so when you have a group of kids waiting for the computers or waiting for the program to start at your library, you could share the Kindle that belongs to the library district for which you have spent some time choosing chapters to download.

At the present time Pamela Bagby has the Kindle and there is a signout sheet on the Z drive under AST. Let Pamela know you would like it sent to you and thenb try it out for a week or two. It is free, easy to do, motivating to kids who want to see the new gadget and who probably already know that digital reading is here to stay.

Teen Literature Awards

Below are a few of the more popular literary awards that recognize stellar publications for young adults. If you have any related recognitions you follow, please post the information about that in response to this article :)

ALA Micheal L. Printz Award
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/printzaward/Printz.cfm

YALSA Teen Top Ten
http://www.ftrf.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/teenstopten.cfm

National Book Award: Young People's Literature Awards
http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2008.html

Colorado Blue Spruce Award
http://www.cal-webs.org/bluespruce/

Virginia Library Association Jefferson Cup Award
http://www.vla.org/cyart/jefferson_cup/2008.htm

Coretta Scott King Award
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/emiert/corettascottkingbookaward/cskpastwinners/cskpastwinners.cfm

Edgar Allen Poe: Young Adult Literature Award
http://www.theedgars.com/nominees2.html#YA

Posted by Monica Owens, Youth Services Librarian.

Great adult titles to recommend to teens from bookseller Alison Morris:

Morris, Alison. "New Adult Books to Give to High School Students." PW. 12 November 2008.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/blog/660000266/post/490035849.html

Digital Safety Legislation

From the ALA American Libraries Online News Archives.

New Federal Law Requires Schools to Teach Web Safety

Signed into law October 10 by President Bush, the Broadband Data Improvement Act (Public Law 110-385) requires schools receiving federal e-rate discounts on telecommunications services and internet access to educate their students “about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking sites and in chat rooms and cyberbullying awareness and response.”

The legislation establishes an Online Safety and Technology Working Group to evaluate safety education efforts, parental control technologies, and filtering and blocking software. The Federal Trade Commission is charged with carrying out “a nationwide program to increase public awareness and provide education regarding strategies to promote the safe use of the internet by children.”

The legislation effectively supplants the Deleting Online Predators Act, introduced in 2006 and passing the House but stalled in the Senate. DOPA would have required schools and libraries to block access to social networking sites and chat rooms. Many education groups, including ALA, opposed that bill, arguing that teaching children about safe and appropriate online behavior was a better approach.

However, Lynne Bradley, director of ALA’s Office of Government Relations, told American Libraries that the Association is reacting cautiously to the Broadband Data Improvement Act because the e-rate provision was attached hastily and no funding has been appropriated for the education program.

Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), sponsor of the bill, which also calls for tracking the penetration of broadband service, said it is the first step toward nationwide broadband access.

Posted 11 November 2008.

http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2008/November2008/broadbandactpasses.cfm

"Brimming with Self-Esteem"

Today an article was published in the Washington Post titled "U.S. Teen Brimming with Self-Esteem." The article outlines the inflated sense of self in high schoolers, observed by researchers from Psychology Today. The author of this article and the researchers from the work she cites propose that over-confidence in everything from relationships to school to careers to general competencies makes the transistion in the "real world" even more difficult for these teens than teens of previous generations.

What are your thoughts on this ongoing self-esteem movement for younger generations? Can you recall your transistion into adulthood and the impediments you encountered in that process? What do you think a balanced sense of esteem should look like for this age? How can a library provide well-rounded support to ground that confidence in actual skills and knowledge for these emerging adults?

Mundell, E.J. "U.S. Teen Brimming with Self-Esteem." Washington Post. 12 November 2008
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/12/AR2008111200962.html

Services to Older Teens / Combat to College

Much of library services offered to older teens revolve around preparing for college. We cater these services and programs to teens and their parents, many of the students having been already perceived as "college bound" from a young age.

So how do we create these types of programs for people who maybe don't have the parental support? How do we organize them for those are a little older and overwhelmed by the process? As libraries are beginning to explore what focused services should be offered to the 18 - 25 (or even 18-30), it might be reasonable for people in teen services to alter existing programs into something that works for this unique user group.

Below is a link to an interesting and somewhat painful article about young veterans returning to war and starting college. This may highlight a more pressing information need than we are consistently responding to. However, it does make evident some of the ongoing concerning for people seeking social mobility without the foundation to pursue the training or education that will provide that.

Alvarez, Lizette. "Combat to College." New York Times. 30 October 2008.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/education/edlife/vets.html?pagewanted=2&ref=edlife

More on Surge of YA Lit...

Link to recent article in Writer's Digest titled "On the Edge: Teen Reads" from October 22, 2008:
http://www.writersdigest.com/article/teen-reads/

The Disconnected

Posted by Gwen Proctor, YAST-Koelbel Library.

Quote from earlier post by GP: "3.8 million people, aged 18 - 24 nationwide are no longer in school, nor do they have jobs. Since that article was written, this number has probably risen significantly. These young people are single moms, high school dropouts and and other at-risk folks who use the library frequently for internet access, storytimes, GED programs, entertainment and job searching. They don't loudly demand teen services, because they see themselves as adult library users. How libraries provide services to this population in the future aligns with the real need for a "third" (space) for this large group. Libraries can contribute to the future success of "The Disconnected" and to the overall health of the communities where they live by providing programs, personnel, and a purpose. Please read more to get motivated to explore our roles as library staff who make a difference to teens and these older young adults by providing a consistent evolving and welcoming place to come!"

Degyansky, Kathy. The Disconnected: Who these 3.8 million people are, and why libraries need to help them. Library Journal. July 2008.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6573334.html

VOYA Non-Fiction List 2007

VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) offers a number of great booklists for teen readers. In one of their most recent journals, they published a list of non-fiction honor titles recommended for this age group. Non-fiction titles are great for recommending to teens who have difficult time getting into fiction titles or reluctant teen readers who may have interest in specific topics that relate to their personal hobbies.

Link to the VOYA Non-Fiction Honor List:
http://pdfs.voya.com/No/nfi/NonfictionList2007.pdf

Bonus:
Wyatt, Neil. "Keeping Up With Genres." From LJ Series Redefining RA.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6606486.html

YALSA YA Galley Project

YALSA offers a great program for teens interested in reviewing books called the "YA Galley." Gwen Proctor (KO-AST) researched this unique opportunity in the past year to explore the possibilty for her teen book club and the other book clubs she helped to start around the district. Below is some more information from the YALSA website!

YA Galley is an ongoing project in which publishers of young adult books provide copies of their recent titles to teen book discussion groups in libraries. In exchange, teen readers evaluate books for the publishers. The selected libraries will receive review and galley copies of new young adult titles from the more than 20 participating publishers, in exchange for providing the publishers with important feedback.

The 15 libraries receive galleys and review copies for their own use and act as nominators for the Teens’ Top Ten list of the best new books for young adults. Teens are responsible for creating a national list of new titles that is voted on by teens during YALSA’s Teen Read Week, held each year in the third week of October. Voting takes place at www.ala.org/teenstopten.

YA Galley and Teens Top Ten Participants
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/yagalley.cfm

Here is the link to an article about one of the chosen groups, San Leandro Novelteens:
http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/ci_10848302

Random Sites Talked about Today :)

AOL's beRED
http://www.bered.com/

Teen Reads
http://www.teenreads.com

YALSA Booklists
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/booklistsbook.cfm

ALD Teen Booklist Page
http://teens.arapahoelibraries.org/go2.cfm?pid=6187

Alternative Teen Services: Post on Teen Book Discussion Blogs
http://www.yalibrarian.com/wordpress/2006/08/teen-book-discussion-blogs/

Making Libraries the "Third Space" for Teens

From Wikipedia: "The third place is a term used in the concept of community building to refer to social surroundings separate from the two usual social environments of home and the workplace. In his influential book The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg (1989, 1991) argues that third places are important for civil society, democracy, civic engagement, and establishing feelings of a sense of place.

Oldenburg calls one's "first place" the home and those that one lives with. The "second place" is the workplace — where people may actually spend most of their time. Third places, then, are "anchors" of community life and facilitate and foster broader, more creative interaction. All societies already have informal meeting places; what is new in modern times is the intentionality of seeking them out as vital to current societal needs. Oldenburg suggests these hallmarks of a true "third place": free or inexpensive; food and drink, while not essential, are important; highly accessible: proximate for many (walking distance); involve regulars – those who habitually congregate there; welcoming and comfortable; both new friends and old should be found there. (58)"

How do we make the public library a "third space" for our teens?

Using Video Games as Bait to Hook Readers

A recent article in the New York Times highlighted the use of video games and related promotional materials to get reluctant readers into the library and more engaged at school. Through "utilizing the visual medium," teachers and librarians are hoping to connect digital and print literacy. As states in the text "(P)ublishers and authors suggest that some projects may push creative boundaries, helping to extend storytelling beyond the traditional covers of a book." Below is the link to the article.

Rich, Motoko. Using Video Games as Bait to Hook Readers. 5 October 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/books/06games.html?ref=education

Problems, Paperbacks and the Printz

Roger Sutton is the current editor for the acclaimed children/teen book review publication Horn Book. In 2007, he offered a great lecture at UIUC on the topic of recreational and informational reading for teenagers. He outlined that maybe sometimes adults misunderstand the reading interests of teens and what actually makes one become an avid, life-long reader from this age on. Below is a link to the audio version of the lecture (much preferred, as he is a great speaker). The transcription is included in Horn Book May/June 2007.

Problems, Paperbacks and the Printz: 40 Years of YA Books (audio)
http://waterfall.lis.uiuc.edu/dl/classes/auditorium/suttonmar02_07_1.ram

Latino Heritage MonthSept 15 - Oct 15

Cultural heritage months give us the opportunity to highlight the contributions specific groups have made to the world of literature and to our society in general. Sept 15 - Oct 15 is Latino/Hispanic Heritage Month. Nearly 20 percent of Colorado residents identify themselves as Latino / Hispanic (U.S. Census) ; that is 5 percent above the national average! I encourage you to find a unique way to celebrate this month in your library... instilling pride in the latin@ teens of our communities. Below are some resources to help enable you to do so.

Brief History of Latino Heritage Month:

Hispanic Heritage Month is the period to recognize the contributions of Hispanic Americans to the United States and to celebrate Hispanic heritage and culture. The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988 on the approval of Public Law 100-402.

September 15 was chosen as the starting point for the celebration because it is the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. They all declared independence in 1821. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively." Public Law 100-402 authorizes and requests the President to issue an annual proclamation designating September 15 through October 15, as "Hispanic Heritage Month." October 12, Columbus Day or Día de la Raza, also falls within this 30 day period. (wikipedia.org)

Hispanic or Latino? by Richard L Vázquez (losculturas.com)
http://www.lasculturas.com/aa/aa070501a.htm

Need quick picks for a display? Check out these authors:
Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Isabelle Allende - Julia Alverez - Rudolph Anaya - Laura Esquivel

Barnes and Noble Book Lists for Latino Heritage Month
Latin America and Caribbean
Mexican and Mexican American
Multicultural Short Stories Collections

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
Schloastic Teacher's Resource
http://teacher.scholastic.com/ACTIVITIES/hispanic/index.htm

ABCs of Latino Heritage Month
Teaching Tolerance from the Southern Poverty Law Center
http://www.tolerance.org/teach/activities/activity.jsp?ar=709

ALA Banned Book WeekSept 27 - Aug 4

From the American Library Association website:

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year. Observed since 1982, this annual ALA event reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted. This year, 2008, marks BBW's 27th anniversary (September 27 through October 4).

BBW celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them. After all, intellectual freedom can exist only where these two essential conditions are met.

For more information, click on the following link:
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bannedbooksweek.cfm

Not surprisingly, Wikipedia offers one of the most comprehensive list of books banned internationally. Here is a link to that resource as well:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banned_books

Need some BBW garb? Look at what Cafe Press has to offer:
http://shop.cafepress.com/censorship

ALD Teen Corps!

ALD Teen Corps is the new teen service organization starting next month throughout the district. Each month the teens and their staff mentors will be addressing interesting and relevant topics, possibly creating service projects to benefit their communities as a by-product. Below are the monthly themes. I will be posting more information on the topic at the beginning of each month.

September : Welcome to ALD Teen Corps
October : Multiculturalism and Diversity
November : Technology
December : Community Contributions
January : Environmental Issues
February : Literacy and Education
March : Library Programs and Practices
April : Mentoring and Leadership
May : Censorship and Info Exchange
June / July : Summer Reading
August : Recruiting and Revision

The Appeal of Vampires

Article submitted by Elizabeth Perille, Koelbel Library

All of us are aware of the increasing popularity of teen vampire literature, particularly the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer (now hailed as the "next J.K. Rowling"). What makes these stories appealing? Here is one individual's take on this topic.

Author Donna Freitas attributes much of the interest to the romantic tension that exists between Bella and Edward, stating it reflects the experience of those who choose to wait for physical involvement. In her words, the book "has (girls) demanding that young men behave like gentlemen" and "waxing poetic about what sounds a lot like abstinence."

http://wsj.net/public/article_print/SB121815501342422553.html

Your Local School Districts

Public libraries and public schools ideally should be working hand-in-hand to provide the best resources and services to facilitate the education of our local community. A good way to keep informed of the different activities taking place in the local schools is by viewing the local school district websites and/or signing up for school email lists. Below are links to a few of the different school districts we serve :

Aurora Public Schools
http://www.aps.k12.co.us/

Byers School District
http://byers32j.k12.co.us/

Cherry Creek School District
http://www.ccsd.k12.co.us/

Deer Trail School District
http://www.deertrail26j.k12.co.us/

Denver Public Schools
http://www.dpsk12.org/

Littleton Public Schools
http://www.littletonpublicschools.net/

Sheridan School District
http://www.sheridank12.org/

Mindset List from Beloit College

Article submitted by Melissa Depper and Monica Owens, Youth ASTs.

Since 2002, Beloit College has published a list of "cultural touchstones" pertaining to the incoming class of freshman that colleges will be welcoming in this school year. This resource, dubbed the Mindset List, provides insight to the life experience of coming generations that will shape their approaches, viewpoints and interests, ultimately affecting their future contribution to our society.

http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2012.php

Looking over the list, what do you think are the most significantly affecting components of this generations' personal/social circumstance? Do you see details that parallel or differ from your own experience starting college and/or approaching adult life?

Teens Actually DO Read

Article submitted by Kara Rusch, Castlewood Library.

In light of the recent posts concerning teens not reading or accessing reading resources only in digital format, Kara submitted a great article about the amazing increase in teen books being purchased as of late. Some hail this recent teen book publishing period as the "new golden age of young adult literature." This article addresses the statistics that highlight how teens are, in fact, reading and how bookstores are accommodating to this trend.

Goodnow, Cecelia. "Teens buying books at fastest rate in decades." Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 7 March 2007.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/books/306531_teenlit08.html

Video Games are Good for Your Brain

One of our new Teen Program Contacts, Mark Mullis (SG), has been contributing some interesting articles to the ALD Get Your Game On blog. As the topic of gaming is becoming something more common in libraries and we ourselves offer a number of sucessful gaming programs throughout the district, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with new gaming options and ways of advocating for their use. Check out these articles concerning Xbox Live and how gaming can actually help develop cognitive skills for people of all ages.

Braid, or "Why Video Games are Good for Your Brain"

Geometry Wars, or Metro 2 Evolved

Feel free to post your responses on both blogs!

Teen Read Week 2008 : October 12 - 18

Teen Read Week is a national literacy initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association. It's aimed at teens, their parents, librarians, educators, booksellers and other concerned adults.

Teen Read Week 2008 will be celebrated at thousands of public and school libraries, classrooms, and bookstores across the country. Although teens realize the importance of reading, they have a huge menu of activities to choose from when deciding how to spend their free time, and reading gets lost in the shuffle. Reading skills get rusty when they are not used. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reports that over the last 20 years there have been only modest gains in reading achievement. And although there are many active literacy campaigns, very few efforts focus on teenagers.

YALSA is a nonprofit organization that depends on its members for support. By registering, you are letting (them) know that teen literacy is a concern and you are willing to do something about it! By registering, you are telling YALSA that this program is worthwhile, and (they) will continue to sponsor the week. (ALA Teen Read Week Website)

For more information about the literacy campaign and information on how to register your library branch, click on the following link:

http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/teenreading/trw/trw2008/index.cfm

Professional Literature: Sex, Brains and Video Games

Pierce, Jennifer Burek. Sex, Brains and Video Games: A Librarian's Guide to Teens in the Twenty-first Century. Chcago: American Library Association, 2008

In this insightful guide, Jennifer Burek Pierce provides a fascinating look at today’s teen through the lens of neurological, psychological and educational research. Putting this research in the context of library services, she challenges librarians to question their assumptions about teen patrons and provide new answers based on research finding. Much like early literacy research informed library services to youngest patrons, this provocative book outlines what others who work with adolescents have learned from their professional activities and how that knowledge can encourage new priorities and partnerships in youth services. (promotional description)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/141482854

A New Kind of Reading

Article submitted by Amy Catbagan, Koelbel Library.

It is very common for teens today to access both informational and recreational reading resources online. Some people question whether this form of reading should be viewed in the same light as reading physical resources such as books or print journals.

This article explores the difference of engaging with text in print versus digital formats, presenting multiple perspectives on the topic and exploration of reading styles themselves. It is a great resource for examining the affect of digital media on the reading and learning styles of teenagers.

Rich, Motoko. "Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?" Times Online. 27 July 2008.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/books/27reading.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin

Digital Natives / Digital Immigrants

Article submitted by Lisa Chipouras, ALD Answers.

The teens we serve in our libraries today are considered "Digital Natives." This generation has grown up with the Internet as a common feature in their day-to-day life. Because of this, teens of this era encounter and process information in a different manner than the many generations that have come before.

Below is the citation and link to an article concerning the topic of generational differences in information access. Post a response about your experience with this generational difference or how you relate to the type of teen talked about in the article. If you disagree with the premise, outline where you think the author is misguided.

O'Brien, Catherine. "How the Google generation thinks differently." Times Online. 9 July 2008.
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article4295414.ece

NATIVES v IMMIGRANTS

Digital natives:
Like receiving information quickly from multiple media sources.
Like parallel processing and multi-tasking.
Like processing pictures, sounds and video before text.
Like random access to hyperlinked multimedia information.
Like to network with others.
Like to learn “just in time”.

Digital immigrants:
Like slow and controlled release of information from limited sources.
Like singular processing and single or limited tasking.
Like processing text before pictures, sounds and video.
Like to receive information linearly, logically and sequentially.
Like to work independently.
Like to learn “just in case”.

Interest Group Introductions

Hello Everyone! During our last meeting, we shared information about our high school experiences with partners and the larger group. Often times, our early experiences in life shape the decisions we make in the future (such as career choice).

Write a post about why you have chosen to work in libraries, the experiences you have had in the library you work at now, and any additional information on how your earlier life experiences continue inform your work serving the public (particularly teens). Use this post as a way to introduce yourself to the group. I look forward to hearing from everyone! : )

Logistics of posting:

1) Click on Comment link included with this post

2) Login with your existing Google account or Create a Google account

3) Write a comment

4) Sign into your account on the comment page

5) Select Publish Your Comment

Teenage Brain : Under Construction

Adolescence, that mystifying transition between childhood and adulthood, has managed to confuse parents and educators for generations. As teenagers passionately bob and weave their way though the slippery slopes of puberty and identity formation, they leave confusion, exasperation, and sheer amazement in their wake. The combined research of psychologists, educationists, and neuroscientists sheds exciting new light on why this passage in life is
unique and holds such critical potential. (VOYA 2008)

For more on this article, check out the following link....
http://pdfs.voya.com/VO/YA2/VOYA200806TeenageBrain.pdf