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Are you a Gleek? A Directioner? A Lovatic? A Belieber? There are hoards of teen tribes roaming the Internet and meeting up at pop culture events. Nowadays, every teen icon has its own posse that has often mobilized independent of the artist — and... Read the rest of this post

Today we bring you another installment of the latest youth research available for sale or download. Remember if your company has comprehensive research for sale that focuses on youth between the ages of 8 and 24, email us to be included in the next... Read the rest of this post

We chatted with Naomi Hirabayashi and Chloe Lee at DoSomething about their new anti-bullying effort — a bullying census on Facebook tied with the release of the documentary “Bully.” They’re hoping not only to get an accurate picture of... Read the rest of this post

We probably sound like a broken record saying that boy bands are back, but it’s true as male pop groups including the British band One Direction are topping the charts, selling out concerts, and producing record-breaking albums. If you... Read the rest of this post

If you open up most calendars, you’re not likely to find April 1st listed as an official holiday, but that doesn’t stop most of the western world from celebrating it in one way or another. Though the true origins of the day remain... Read the rest of this post

In the past week, the media has been captivated by a study on Millennials by San Diego State University’s Jean Twenge, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Twenge has conducted research among students for the past few... Read the rest of this post

Ypulse was lucky enough to host an advance screening of “The Hunger Games” yesterday, and the response from the crowded theater was unanimous — the film is amazing! As many readers would be, I was nervous to see one of my favorite books of... Read the rest of this post

If you somehow haven’t noticed, March Madness is going on right now. Not only is it one of the greatest spectacles in sports, it’s also a sort of fashion show for sneaker heads. From Creighton’s Gregory Echenique’s hot pink kicks in honor of... Read the rest of this post

We recently chatted with Dave Deluca about his new role as Head of Campaigns for DoSomething, how to motivate teens to get involved, keep campaigns fun, and how organizations can spark the interest of teens. Among his key goals are listening to... Read the rest of this post

Today we bring you another installment of the latest youth research available for sale or download. Remember if your company has comprehensive research for sale that focuses on youth between the ages of 8 and 24, email us to be included in the... Read the rest of this post

Katniss. Barbie. Those two names couldn’t summon more disparate images. Katniss — the main character from “The Hunger Games,” if you’ve been living under a rock — is a badass warrior who could care less about her appearance and just... Read the rest of this post

It’s official, boy bands are bringing sexy back! No, we (sadly) don’t mean a ‘N Sync reunion, but rather a resurgence of male, mostly pop musical groups that tweens, teens, and even twenty-somethings are embracing. Call it boy bands 2.0 if... Read the rest of this post

Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign against childhood obesity has some very positive aspects, and some very negative aspects. As Youth Advisory Board member Camilla Nord points out, encouraging exercise and healthy eating is great, but... Read the rest of this post

4 STARS Phillip Isaac Penn, who goes by the nickname “PIP,” shares a week of his error prone life where he seems to hear his name as more of a shout than anything else.  He awakes to the sounds of his mother calling out, “Pip!” Then dad chimes in with “Pip.” And then sister yells [...]

5STARS An Arabian Nights Tale for the Twenty-First Century  Yeats Trafford, age 12, visits his grandmother, who lives in a creepy house, which has more than the usual creeks and moans.  The garden seems able to sense Yeats presence, especially near the old wishing well.  From that weird experience, Yeats uncovers an old pirate bookend [...]

5stars Trina is worried about the Earth.  She knows that the Earth inhabitants, we Earthlings, do not care for our home as well as we should.  We hurt the Earth by throwing away too much, making the air dirty, and wasting power.  Trina thinks we Earthlings should do what her mother says, “Clean up your [...]

Today we have an exclusive ethnographic study on the back-to-school shopping scene, highlighting how retailers and marketers are reaching Millennials as they get ready for another school year. I, a Millennial myself, braved department stores, mass... Read the rest of this post

Today we have an exclusive ethnographic study on the back-to-school shopping scene, highlighting how retailers and marketers are reaching Millennials as they get ready for another school year. I, a Millennial myself, braved department stores, mass... Read the rest of this post

We’re thrilled to have a guest post from Ms. Twixt, an expert on all things tween. She attended an event about how girls and women are portrayed in the media, and the facts are surprising and, frankly, a little depressing, considering the... Read the rest of this post

Today’s guest post comes from our friend Derek Baird who spoke with Mike Schmid, a talented singer-songwriter and highly sought-after musician who has worked with some of the biggest acts in the music business.   In addition to playing... Read the rest of this post

Across the country, public libraries have come to the realization that we’ve been giving an entire segment of our service population short shrift in terms of programming.

Yep, I’m talking about those kids who are too old for storytime and and too young for teen programs – the tweens!   Definitions differ, but let’s say they are between 8 and 11 years old.

We’re good at providing books for this group, and that certainly benefits the readers among them, as well as kids doing their homework.

But when it comes to providing enticing year-round programs – well, we sometimes neglect this age group.

There are plenty of articles, webinars, conference sessions, and blog posts about tween programming; anyone looking for great ideas will find plenty of them.

But what I’m pondering is how to fit tweens into our overall library mission in order to ensure that service to this age group becomes and remains an integral part of what we do.

Here are my questions and musings:

1. Who will provide the service – the children’s librarians or the YA librarians?

Really, it could be either one.  A 9-year-old is too old for traditional “kid programs” and is starting to think that the teen programs look much cooler – but she probably still reads books from the children’s collection.   So why not make Tween programming a collaborative effort between children’s and YA librarians?

2. How will tween programming fit into our library goals?

Two of the big initiatives at my library system (Los Angeles Public Library) have to do with “investing in new readers” and “helping students succeed,” geared at little kids and teens respectively.  So where do tweens fit in, since they’ve already learned to read but probably aren’t ready for (or interested in) our study skills workshops?

Tweens, like teens, want a meaningful relationship with their library.  Sure, they want to be entertained, but more than that, they want to be engaged.  And engagement means active participation, and active participation leads to creative thinking and leadership opportunities.

Creativity and leadership!  These are qualities that certainly contribute to school success.  And studies have shown that kids who use the library regularly tend to do better in school.

3. So how do we keep tweens from drifting away from the library during the years when they’re too old for storytime and too young for teen programs?

Engage them, engage them, engage them!

• Ask them for their input – start a Kids’ Advisory Group (Port Washington has one!  Anyone else?)  Give the group some real decision making power – how should the summer reading club be run?  What kinds of programs would they like?  Should kids be allowed to work or read off fines?  They could even draft a Kids’ Library Bill of Rights!
• Give tweens a forum.  Like teens, tweens like to share opinions, so why not let them blog for you?  Check out Ernie Cox’s ALSC Blog post on the topic.  Or even a branch newsletter would be fun.  Let the tweens help you create it.
• In general, adding transliteracy* or science elements** to programming are not only extremely fun and engaging for tweens (and librarians), but they also strengthen vital 21st Century skills – and that’s sexy to stakeholders and donors.

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By: Anastasia Goodstein, on 1/31/2012
Blog: Ypulse (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Fashion, Tweens, Youth Marketing, Add a tag

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By: Anastasia Goodstein, on 2/1/2012
Blog: Ypulse (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Collegians, Hardware & Software, Mobile, Teens, Tweens, iPad, kindle fire, mobile technology, nook color, nook tablet, tablets, Add a tag

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By: Beth, on 2/6/2012
Blog: YALSA - Young Adult Library Services Association (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Conference, Film & Video, Technology, Teen Services, YALSA Info., 2012 ALA Annual Conference, teens, Tweens, Add a tag