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Two YALSA programs at Annual Conference are geared to helping librarians think about and plan for how to connect with teens within the mobile and digital reading environments.

On Sunday, June 23, from 1:30 to 3:30, YALSA will sponsor the program Teens Reading Digitally Going Handheld and Mobile. The focus of the program is on how teens read, write, and learn using digital devices. Speakers include:

• Me, Linda Braun, who will provide an overview of the digital reading environment, what’s available for teens within that environment, and how teens are reading digitally and via mobile interfaces and devices.
• Supervisor of Library/Media Technology at Pinellas County (FL) Schools Bonnie Kelley, who will discuss how one visionary school district in Florida has created a buzz around the world by implementing the first one-to-one Kindle ebook reader initiative in K-12 public education, including digital textbooks, newspapers, and novels.
• Jacob Lewis, co-founder and CEO of Figment, who will discuss how technology enables communities of readers and writers to be participants in the life of a story. Lewis will frame his discussion around the Japanese cell phone novel phenomenon and has lots of information about digital and mobile reading habits and preferences of teens.
• iDrakula author Bekka Black, who will join the panel via Skype and is going to cover why she wrote iDrakula so it would look as if the reader were reading the story on stolen cell phones, how she got the idea for the novel, and how it ended up being available in a variety of formats and for a variety of platforms.

On Monday, June 24, from 10:30 to noon, YALSA is sponsoring the program titled, Trends in YA Services: Using Mobile Devices to Serve Teens. The focus of this program is on how libraries are meeting the needs of teens using mobile devices. The panel of speakers is made up of:

• Jennifer Velasquez, Coordinator of Teen Services for the San Antonio Public Library System, who will start the program with a portrait of how teens are using mobile devices.
• Students at the Patrick F. Taylor Science Academy, Enjoli Gilbert and Courtney Beamer, who will talk about how they use mobile devices as a part of their daily lives and will discuss ways in which librarians might use the devices in order to work with teens successfully.
• Kerrilyn Hurley, Young Adult Librarian at the Mastics-Moriches-Shirley (NY) Community Library, who will cover the ways in which she connects with teens no matter where they are by using mobile technologies.
• Renee McGrath, Manager of Youth Services at the Nassau Library System in Uniondale, NY, will discuss development of a mobile site for providing access to booklists for teens.
• The NYC Haunts project is the topic that Jack Martin, Assistant Director of Public Programs/Lifelong Learning for Children, Teens and Families at The New York Public Library, will cover. This program gives teens the chance to research important places in New York City and then use iPads and the Scavngr platform to take part in a mobile scavenger hunt.
  

Each program is going to be full of useful content and attendees

Figment, the writing community catering to young-adult readers, has raised $1 million from an unidentified investor. Figment CEO Jacob Lewis told paidContent that expansion plans include publishing its own works and creating a marketplace where authors and publishers can sell their titles.

On its launch day in December 2010, Figment attracted 4,000 users. The site now counts 35,000 users and 75,000 pieces of writing. In the fall, Figment will release author Blake Nelson‘s Dream School. Meet a Figment author at eBookNewser’s Digital Writer Spotlight today.

Here’s more from the article: “Lewis…said most of the money it’s raised will go to develop new sales, distribution and marketing models. At the end of this month, Figment will launch a writing contest judged by novelist Paolo Coelho, whose novel The Alchemist sold 65 million copies worldwide. Coelho will post the winning story on his blog.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The community writing site Figment counted 4,000 registered users during its official launch yesterday, building a new site for young adult readers. Today’s guest on the Morning Media Menu was Jacob Lewis, the co-founder and CEO of Figment.

Lewis offered advice for publishers looking to build community and advised readers on how to add their work to Figment. Already more than 3,000 works have been posted on the site.

Press play below to listen. Here’s an excerpt: “When I was a teenager, I wrote a letter to Philip Roth and I never got a response. That’s always sort of bugged me and haunted me. I feel like kids these days don’t stand for that. They expect and demand a response from the authors they love. A lot of young adult writers realize that, and they are looking for a place that can facilitate that. And I think we can be that place.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.