Many librarians spend a lot of time plotting and scheming ways to get teens in the door. It is sort of a “develop the programs and they will come” mentality. That is nice, but let’s be honest. What we really dream is having our teen spaces be hangout places; spaces teens feel comfortable spending free time. The main way to make this dream a reality is to build a sense of community within your teen department. There are several ways to jump-start the process:
1. Create a Welcoming Space
The first step is to create a place in which teens will want to gather. Often, our library buildings are older and were not created with specific teen spaces in mind, so spaces have been carved out of nooks, corners, and crannies. If you have a teen specific space, Hooray! It should be easy to make your department teen friendly. If not, here are two tips to help make your space appealing to teens: Make sure teens can be a little loud, without disturbing other patrons and make sure teens have a feeling of privacy. Notice I said Feeling of privacy, not complete privacy. While teens need to feel comfortable enough to relax, it is probably unwise to give them a closed off corridor far away from any adult eyes.
2. Build on Existing Communities
The simplest and quickest way to develop community is to build onto an existing community! Several YA authors and books have sparked interest groups that have developed into powerhouse communities. Though there are many such communities, two in particular are Nerdfighteria and the Harry Potter Alliance. Nerdfighteria sprung up around the YouTube vlog of John Green (2006 recipient of the Michael L. Printz Award and author of Looking for Alaska and other best-selling titles) and his brother Hank Green. Nerdfighters are people who try to decrease “world suck” and increase awesome. The Harry Potter Alliance mission statement says they take “an outside-of-the-box approach to civic engagement by using parallels from the Harry Potter books to educate and mobilize young people across the world toward issues of literacy, equality, and human rights.” You can let teens know the library has meeting space available for their group, or, depending on your libraries policies, your TAG could recruit other teens to help start a chapter of HPA or other group.
3. Use your Teen Advisory Group
Another way to build a sense of community is to use your Teen Advisory Group. Of course, you should meet to develop programs and plans for world domination, but you can also meet just to hang out. Get your teens to bring a friend to a meeting. When the newcomers see how much fun everyone is having, they will want to be a part of the group too!
4. Create a Common Goal
Whether it is a reading challenge, a fundraising activity, an outreach plan, or even a fitness challenge, having a common goal is a great way to create a sense of belonging.
5. Give them a Voice and Listen
All of your planning and hard work will be for naught if the teens in your community don’t feel like they are being heard.
If you have tried everything and you still can’t Pay teens to linger in your fabulously designed department, Don’t Give Up! Keep trying different ideas to see what resonates with the teens in your area. My hope is that by creating a sense of community among the teens in our libraries, we will create a greater community for our cities and towns.
As always, I would love to hear what You are doing in your library. What things have worked for you? What has failed miserably, but you think would work for someone else?
Title: Bluefire Reader
Platform:
iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch with OS 3.0 or higher
Android app is coming soon!! According to MediaBistro AND Bluefire Facebook page
Cost: Free!
As a school librarian, summer is one of my favorite times to catch up on professional development and read as much as possible. This year I was lucky enough to attend ALA Annual (post on this coming soon) where I was showered with galley after galley of upcoming summer, fall and even winter titles. I left New Orleans with an entire extra suitcase full of finds.
Only occasionally during my rounds through the exhibit hall was I reminded of the great service NetGalley, which allows “professional readers” (i.e. librarians and other eligible persons) access to DRM and DRM-free Galleys of upcoming titles.
The list of publishers in NetGalley’s arsenal is long, and I’ve found out about many great titles through this service. I turned a few books down when I discovered they were on NetGalley…less to carry.
Upon my return from ALA, I learned that the iPads we ordered for the coming school year were in, so I picked one up with plans to try it out. I’ve put several different reading devices on the iPad; Kindle, Copia, Stanza, Bluefire have all been added, to name a few.
All are free apps, and all have their benefits,* but I’m highlighting Bluefire for a few reasons:
Imagine this: all your life, you’ve been underestimated. You’ve been patted, petted, cooed over and kept in an imaginary cage. Always back by curfew, only had one boyfriend. You’re never allowed to do anything “cool”, and you go to one of the most prestigious academies in Massachusetts. Oh, yeah- and your family calls you “Bunny Rabbit”.
That’s the life of Frankie Landau-Banks. And she’s had her fill of it.
This year, all that is going to change.
Reason Number One: Thanks to kind genes, Frankie now has some oomph to her figure. The best part? The greatest catch at Alabaster, of course: Matthew Livingston.
Reason Number Two: Matthew is part of a secret society. An all-male society. A VERY EXCLUSIVE all-male society.
Reason Number Three: Frankie isn’t about to take “no” for an answer. Again.
Join Frankie, Matthew and the rest of the dogs as the war over Alabaster begins– and ends.
–Becca Kaufeld, ACPL Teen Advisory Board
Teens may vote for the Teens’ Top Ten through September 18th at the Teens’ Top Ten voting page.
Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith, a novel set in the same parallel world as her previous book Tantalize, is not the typical vampire romance. Instead it is a breath of fresh air as it explores a new fantastical pairing.
The story is told by Miranda, a high-schooler turned vampire (”Eternal”) princess, and Zachary, her adoring guardian angel. After Miranda joins the legions of the undead, she is adopted by the King of the Mantle of Dracul, otherwise known as the reigning Dracula. Because Zachary reveals himself as an angel while attempting to protect Miranda the night she is taken, he is stripped of his wings. The only way to regain his heavenly powers is to complete a mysterious assignment. Zachary is led to Dracula’s castle, where he soon accidentally interviews to be the Eternal princess’ personal assistant. As he finds himself face to face with Miranda, his long lost girl, he makes it his goal to save her soul. Miranda realizes that she is falling in love with this strange human as they work together to plan her Father’s Death Day gala, although soon she discovers that Zachary isn’t as human as she thought.
Their love story, one of a vampire and an angel, has never been told in such an amusing fashion. With a cast of vibrant and contemporary characters, Eternal is a must-read. Smith employs the perfect combination of wit and sincerity, making for an enthralling tale that is almost impossible to put down. Eternal will keep readers entertained through the very last page. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romance, and even to those who don’t. I doubt that anyone could be disappointed after reading this amazing novel. — Tara Olivero, Allen County Public Library Teen Advisory Board
Eternal is one of 25 Teens’ Top Ten nominees chosen by teen advisory groups from around the country. Read all about TTT here.
