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