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This is a guest post from Perla Casas, a 2015 high school graduate. She will be part of the panel speaking on Sunday June 28th at 4:30 pm as part of "Empower Your Teens! Civic Engagement Strategies That Work."

The Youth Leadership Council (YLC) is a youth-driven advisory board for the Oakland Public Library. The YLC creates support strategies to improve its service for patrons and promotes the library simultaneously. The YLC is made up of twelve individuals from the ages of thirteen to eighteen. I was sixteen years old when I first stumbled across the YLC application at the TeenZone in the Main Library. I have always enjoyed reading and I am passionate about libraries, so I thought this group would be a perfect fit for me. After a nerve wracking three month application process, I was finally accepted as a member.

The YLC meets for two hours every third Saturday of the month at the Main Library. After my first official meeting, I was given the opportunity to facilitate the next meeting. I received training and multiple handouts on how to properly run a meeting while being respectful towards my fellow members and being an effective communicator. I became more comfortable with the other Youth Leadership Council members after I facilitated my second meeting and I had a better understanding of how we function as a productive team. I was able to identify and recognize the strengths and talents of my fellow members. It was a successful meeting.

The third annual Culture Festival held by the YLC allowed my creativity and organizational skills to shine. I volunteered to be the decorations and activities director alongside my best friend, Julia. After seeing last year’s decorations, we knew we had to completely revamp them. We brainstormed all of our ideas and I created a decorations schedule in order to materialize all of our ideas. Recreating the Great Wall of China for the Oakland Public Library was our greatest accomplishment. Over 100 hours were spent on creating various cultural decorations and we made sure every culture was included. It was an arduous process but at the same time extremely rewarding. Being able to see how our decorations transformed the library was fulfilling and gratifying.

During my time as a member I feel like I have formed a bond with the Youth Leadership Council members (some of which are alumni now), the supervising librarian of teen services, Lana Adlawan, and my amazing moderators, Amy Sonnie and Jeanie Austin. Amy Sonnie gave me the confidence to join the YLC and accomplish things that I thought I never could do before. She taught me how to prosper inside and outside of the YLC. Jeanie Austin, who I have only known for a short time, has become a good friend and has given me support throughout the entire process of my last few months with the Youth Leadership Council. I am thankful and truly blessed for these wonderful, dedicated, and hardworking people in my life. My experience with the Youth Leadership Council has been unforgettable and I am proud to become a YLC alumni in the fall.

Fourteen thousand three hundred acres of forested area destroyed. Five hundred nine homes turned to nothing more than ash and rubble. Two lives consumed by smoke. It is still hard to believe that, just over thirteen months ago, the first spark of the Black Forest fire ignited. The flames may have only raged for nine days, but the impacts it left will remain for years to come, not merely due to the fields upon fields of smoky tree limbs it left in its wake, or the barren earth it helped to reveal. Not even because of the hordes of homes it brought to the ground. The impact goes much deeper than the visible—the smoky plume that licked the sky for days inexplicably changed every life involved. Mine included.

June 11^th had started like any other day. It was summer, so I was free to do as I pleased. At around noon, my younger sister, Jess, and I decided to go out for a walk. Being summer, the bees were buzzing, the trees around me were a vibrant green, and the sky was a cloudless blue—so deeply blue, I remember. As I walked through this summer paradise, Jess was next to me talking about something, I don’t recall what.

And then I saw it: a cloud. It wasn’t the puffy, white kind that a day like this called for. It was grey and dark, but much unlike a storm cloud. It loomed in the distance behind my house. Jess’s voice fell to white noise as I took a step forward, inspecting that cloud.

Then the screams came.

I perked up immediately at my older sister’s thrill screech cutting the air. Suddenly my heart was in my chest as I started racing towards her voice, trying to find her though the trees. In my alarm, I left Jess behind. When I found my older sister, her eyes were wide in panic.

“Where’s Jess?” She demanded. I looked behind me, and Jess was slowly hiking up the hill. My older sister raced forward and grabbed Jess’s hand, tugging her towards the house.

“What’s going on?” I asked as I raced alongside her.

“There’s a fire.”

My stomach dropped beneath me. A fire. One of my worst fears was materializing in front of me. Just the summer before, the Waldo Canyon Fire had eaten away Manitou Springs and Woodland Park. Though it had been a good couple miles from my home, there had been nights I had trouble going to sleep over worry that fire would rage all the way to Black Forest. My fear had been uncalled for. As my sisters and I came closer to my house, I saw that grey cloud for what it really was: a smoke plume, rising high and mighty into the sky. Now my fear was called for.

When we rushed inside, my other sister had her hands tightly wrapped around a phone. I would learn later that we were one of the first responders to the fire. But not at that moment. I raced upstairs to where my parents had our front door open, watching the fire, conversing over what to do.

Eventually, my parents turned to my sisters and I to tell us we had to pack a bag. It was an essay question come to life: there’s a fire, you can only grab a few things, what are they? At the moment, I didn’t know. I was shaking too badly to even think straight. I stood in my room, shaking, looking around at everything, imagining my carpet, my bed, my dresser—everything going up in flames. I couldn’t decide what to bring. I wanted to bring everything, save my whole live somehow. But I couldn’t. In the end, I took my iPod, some money, and a few articles of clothing. It was all I could think of needing.

We packed our cars full of computers, important files, our few bags of clothes, food, textbooks for our upcoming school year. While we were packing, the walk between my car and garage gave me a full viewing of the plume in the sky. The pine trees bordering my house always seemed so tall. They tower over me at a height of at least 75 feet. But this plume stretched to at least seven times their height. I had to lean back just to see the top of it.

After we packed out car, we weren’t sure what to do. The fire, though close, still wasn’t close enough to evacuate. We had called the fire station and asked. They instructed us to stay. There had been hope as we waited around that maybe the fire had been caught early and contained. That was my first miscalculation.

When a police officer finally pulled up our driveway, alerting us to our need to evacuate, we were ready to go. We climbed into our cars and left. Not knowing exactly where to go, we ended up driving to the nearby Memorial Hospital, thinking the parking lot would be a good place to stay. When we arrived, my mother called her parents, and we made the decision to go stay with them.

The next couple of days would pass by in a blur. Watching the news. Watching as houses like mine were literally consumed by fire on TV. Watching police officers give updates. Watching the list of known houses that had burned and the ones that were still safe. Constantly hoping and praying that I would wake up to find my house still in the green.

There is, of course, more to this story than just the fact that it was my house. It had nothing to do with material things, my fear. It had nothing to do with my pictures and my clothes and anything that marked my life thus far turning into ash. It had to do with my father.

While the rest of my family and I were safe at my grandparents’, my dad stayed down by the fire, watching his house. It wasn’t merely that he owned the property: he had built that house from the ground up. He had been there for the foundation; he had laid every piece of tile; he had made every drawer and cabinet; he made every architectural and engineering decision on that house. He even poured the concrete for the driveway.

During those few days, my fear was for my father. Not the house. Fear that this work he had done for ten years would suddenly be down the drain. I couldn’t have that. He would be ruined. It wasn’t fear of my house being ruined, it was my father.

In the end, my house would remain standing. Those 75-foot tall pine tree trees surrounding my home would keep all their pine needles. The ground would remain green and luscious, not blackened to the color of charcoal. And though my living quarters would remain unchanged, I did not escape that fire unscathed.

Like many of the survivors—including those who were lucky and those who were unlucky—I realized how little material things mean. Just the other day, after a cross country practice, I returned home to find that I had left my rain jacket at the park. Though it was one of my favorite coats, I know that whether or not I find it will mean little to nothing. It is a jacket. A few pieces of fabric stitched together with thread. Had the fire taken a change of course and consumed my house rather than someone else’s, I would have lost that jacket a year ago, along with everything else I own.

I guess what has really changed me is not this simple realization, but rather a deeper understanding of the infinite strength of humans. Even though my house was spared, I had a few friends whose houses were not. When I heard of their loss, I couldn’t imagine the shades of grief they were going through. Every time I see them, though, they seem stronger and happier than they were before. I guess it is true that what doesn’t kill you does make you stronger.

It is this motto that made me realize, in the end, my father wouldn’t have been ruined if the house had fallen. Every day there is grief and loss in the world. People lose their jobs after ten years of work, maybe more. Natural disasters strike unexpectedly just like this fire did. And yet not everyone is ruined. Rather, their ability to overcome it is a testament to human strength. It is a testament to the fact that, when our world goes up in smoke, we find a new way to breathe.

Heading into my final year of high school, I realize I have much to look forward to. I’ll be (hopefully) passing my driver’s test in a week and, in addition, have my own car for the year. I’ll be taking many anticipated, higher-level courses that I’ve been thinking about since I was a freshman. I’ll be a leader in many of the clubs and activities I’ve been in for the last three years. Yet, despite all these grand new beginnings to kick off my new year, I know that there is also one grand ending: summer reading.

Having taking honors/AP English for all four years, a part of my summer has always belonged to the written word. Though there are novels I willingly pick up on my own when the warm months roll in, I can’t attest to having always been enthralled by the books handpicked for me. When I first heard about summer reading from my twin sisters, who were just heading into ninth grade at the time, I was appalled. Isn’t summertime designed for children to relax? I argued. To take a break from books and education? Of course, I’d watched movies with characters that had summer reading and even, ironically, read books with this same act of atrocity. But I never thought that I, a measly eighth-grader, would have to suffer through it. It wasn’t even that I hated the idea of reading; as I stated before, I willingly pick up books, quite often in fact. It was more the idea that I would have to read a book that someone else wanted me to read. It was the idea that I couldn’t choose what I wanted to read.

So, in the summer bridging middle school to high school, I begrudgingly opened the letter declaring the books I would have to read that summer. A Separate Peace by John Knowles (which helped me properly learn how to spell separate) and Matched by Ally Condie. Imagine my surprise that Matched was a New York Times Bestselling novel for teenagers. I had been expecting Moby Dick (which would have been a repeat, considering I read sparknoted it in eighth grade) or The Scarlett Letter (that, actually, would come later). A Separate Peace fell into my more expected category of summer reading, but imagine my surprise again as I enjoyed that novel even more than Matched.

Matched—for those of you who haven’t read it—is about a girl living in a world where the government controls her every decision. It’s about choices, really. Choices we have, choices we don’t. It was a very fitting book at the time, looking back on it. Cassia, the main character, feels like she has no choice in her life, and I felt like I had no choice in what book to read. I now know that summer reading is put into place so that reading levels don’t sharply decline, but for those of us who do choose to read, I realize that, just because you have the freedom to make a choice doesn’t mean you will pick the right choice. That’s not to say that teachers and librarians always pick the perfect novels for us to read. Perhaps, however, giving in to reading a novel that we would never pick up ourselves but holds high acclaim for another person is a choice we should be willing to make. Even when it’s not for a classroom, where the books are often connected to a predetermined syllabus, we should be open to other book options from different people, even book critics.

With this new mindset, I approached my sophomore summer reading with open arms (well, okay, slightly less closed arms). Imagine my disgust when the book fell right into my literary summer reading stereotype—The Once and Future King, by T.H. White, was exactly the sort of novel I was afraid of reading. Long and tedious, often dwelling on the most mundane of things, not spending enough time on the most interesting things. I’ll admit, at first I was intrigued. The oldest fantasy of all, before Harry Potter and Twilight ever even had their first word. Merlin, Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table: every common fantasy element started with this very book. What failed me about this age-old story was that, when I finished the last word, there was nothing to take away—no message, no theme. Sparknotes puts up a good argument for chivalry, but is that a message I want a book to leave me with? Chivalry?

I know it’s a classic and I swear I’m not one of those teenagers who tears down classic novels for the sake of tearing down classic novels (I’ll only do that with other teenagers in my presence). And I have certainly read my share of novels that have no basis of a theme whatsoever. But I must admit that I found it rather odd that a book I had to read for education taught me nothing more than about crazy old wizards and unicorns. Perhaps on my own time, yet when I have to type twenty pages of notes (twenty-one, actually) I’d like to read a book with more substance. Even if it is deemed a classic by whomever the classic-deemers are, is it too much to ask for a novel that leaves a classic impression on my education?

The summer of my junior year (a summer I barely made after narrowly surviving Sophomore Lit), this very question was answered. And they say that there are no wrong answers, but my goodness was this question answered wrongly. The novel Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction. That’s more accomplishment that I can say for myself, so who am I to tear down the novel? Well, before I do, let me first put it on a pedestal. I’m not lying when I say this novel did leave me with more substance than The Once and Future King allowed: there were observations Dillard wrote about in her book that were so spot on, so enlightening, I can’t help but to believe she must have been the only true competition for that 1975 Pulitzer Prize. What truly failed me about this book was that there were no characters and no story. I know it is nonfiction. I know that no nonfiction novel contains any sort of story or characters like the ones we fiction-lovers hold dear. But I didn’t even get a name. At least there’s Abraham Lincoln, Steve Jobs, even E. Coli (Biology textbook anyone?). Nonfiction novels may not have the same level of familiarity as fiction does, but at the very least I would like to know a name. When I read a book, I need some sort of connection. My physics textbook always feeds me words and definitions; Annie Dillard’s novel was a far cry from thermodynamics and nuclear physics. In fact, it did feel more fiction than anything. Could it have been so hard to have introduced herself to the audience?

And then there’s this summer. This final summer before my summer reading ends for good. The two books I am currently reading—The Help by Kathryn Stockett and And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini—are exactly what I always hoped for. I would have picked them up by choice, the messages (notice the extra s there on the end) are profound and deep, the stories and characters are engaging and real. It’s no wonder they are both bestselling novels. Not every great novel is a bestseller though, and being a bestseller is hardly a measure of a great novel. Here I am easily ready to judge any book thrown my way, yet I have never had the daunting task of picking out a novel for an entire class to read, learn from, and enjoy. And simply because I am reading, learning from, and enjoying The Help doesn’t mean the student sitting next to me will. What is the formula for a perfect summer reading novel? Does it matter if the students enjoys it, so long as they read it and learn from it? Does it matter if they learn, so long as they are reading and enjoying? All three do make the perfect recipe, but it is rare for any novel, not simply a summer reading novel, to contain all the ingredients. I guess the only thing left to say is for any teacher or librarian or educator that chooses summer reading books—I commend you for being able to make such a tough choice every year.

Check out #bestseller, #summerreading, #summerreading2014

By: Carolyn Chen

As we move into the middle of summer and the stirring thoughts of the upcoming school year, libraries become ever more important as resources for students to take advantage of. In this blog, I want to specifically address two aspects of student life, namely summer work and college prep, that local libraries can assist in. Although most schools do not start until August, almost all students generally have some form of summer work, parts of which include book readings that they must finish beforehand. Usually, summer reading books are fairly popular books or classics, and thus can be found at local libraries. Although some teachers require that students buy a copy of their summer reading texts so that the students can annotate or highlight within the pages, many do not. As a student who generally borrows her summer reading books, I think that librarians can help out in the book-finding process. For example, it may be useful for the library to get a list of summer reading books beforehand from nearby school districts, and then put all of those books that the library has in a certain area. That way, librarians will not have to be constantly finding books for teens that cannot find them right away, and rather can direct them to the summer reading books area. Furthermore, teens can come into the library and find their books much more efficiently. In terms of college prep, I know that some teens do not have the resources to buy all the different prep books for different standardized tests (SAT, ACT etc.). Sometimes, this discourages them from attempting to study much for these tests at all. It would be very useful for these teens if libraries can have more than one copy of SAT or ACT study books, as summer is generally the time when upcoming juniors or upcoming seniors have any time to really study or review at all for standardized testing. Just having the chance to borrow and look over the practice tests on one test prep book is definitely better than seeing the test for the first time when taking it, and these books also include some valuable test-taking strategies as well. These two ideas are just something librarians can keep in mind and students can take advantage of. I hope I can address more resources that libraries can provide over the summer into the beginning of the school year in the next installment!

By: Camille Batiste

A young girl was once told, “Defy the impossible. The word itself says I’m Possible.” This quote would mold and shape her into an inspiring and innovative teen she is today. Simone Batiste (16) a Bay Area native spent the majority of her younger years in the great scientific halls of Chabot Space and Science Center and her local libraries. Since the age of five she has been amazed and intrigued by all of the information she has learned. Inspired by the proverb, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste,” she spent her spare afternoons reading books and learning new things. In the summer of 2013 she had the opportunity to travel to Hong Kong advocating for Chabot’s International Sky Program. Recently, Simone was one of two teens in the nation selected to become the Great American Museum Advocate 2014. Simone and her family were sent to Washington DC to advocate on behalf of all museums, parks, libraries, and public organizations on the West Coast for robust funding from the government. “It was an honor to travel to D.C. and an experience of a life time that I will never forget. I’d like to thank my local libraries and museums for inspiring me when I needed it most and always supporting my education,” said the young advocate in a recent interview. With hard work, deep dedication, and the support of others Simone was able to accomplish more than expected.

As you can see local libraries, museums and other organizations influence the minds of young children that shape and mold them into something inspirational.

What better way to launch the library of the future than with Star Wars characters and a robot ribbon-cutter at the opening ceremony?

The aptly named 21^st century Library recently made its grand debut in Colorado Springs on June 23^rd. Nicknamed the “library of the future”, this contemporary athenaeum boasts sewing machines, 3D printers, and sophisticated computers. Not to disregard the written word, 21c Library has also laid claim to hundreds of fresh new books for curious minds—many more than the closed Briargate branch 21c was upgraded from. Having personally been inside the spacious new building, I can attest to the glowing modernization.

Though the project cost a staggering 10.7 million dollars—including purchasing the new location building, adding renovations to the 120,000 square foot area, and adding in cutting-edge technology—the library holds no debt in its dusty record books. Rather, the opening has led to the creation of 30 to 35 new jobs and has involved much of the Pikes Peak Library District’s administrative workers. Not to mention the generation of innovation and learning it will create.

Originally the small operating budget had forced library officials to consider constructing an entirely new building for the library—a decision that would have cost more money and, by consequence, have left less money for modern amenities at 21c. Fortunately, at the corner of Chapel Hills Street is a building—the once former home of MCI Communications Corp—that has lain dormant for nearly a decade, patiently waiting for PPLD to unload books into its empty halls.

Once the deal was closed and PPLD’s claim was laid, 21c Library was born. Within three short weeks, books, movies, CDs, magazines, and book tapes were loaded into boxes at the Briargate Branch and shipped off to their new home. Having gone to the tiny Briargate Branch for many years, walking into 21c for the first time was a huge shock: to my left was a business center filled with desks and new computers; to my right, a community room and theater seated for 400. There are two levels in the building. The top is geared towards new features less commonly associated with libraries (3D printer anyone?) while the bottom floor contains the usual (Kids Area, Teen Room, and books, books, books galore).

Once I adjusted to the size of 21c, it was really the technology that reeled me in. The 3-day check-outs have experienced an upgrade: rather than just plucking one off the shelf and checking it out manually, hot new DVDs are housed in a kiosk. This may not seem like groundbreaking technology—just like a vending machine for movies, right?—but the kiosk involves a more complicated programming algorithm than hitting a button and receiving the corresponding candy bar. When you first step up to the kiosk, the touchscreen prompts you to slide your library card—a move that inevitably means the kiosk is wired to the library’s vast database. Once you are checked in, there are a wide variety of fresh games, movies, and CDs to choose from. When one is selected, the machine will check it out for you—no other work required—and spit out an encased DVD for your viewing pleasures.

This is actually one of the less advanced parts of the library. There are the Biblioteca check-out stations, which lodge small spaces to put check-out items into. Forget tiredly holding the book’s bar-code in front of that blinking red light—put up to three items in this space and the check-out stations will not only find the bar codes for you, but scan them in as well. Not to mention the 3D printers (which I haven’t yet had a chance to investigate but am eager to do), sewing machines (need to stitch on an extra button?), and spanking new computers with wide, beautiful screens.

Computers are dotted all over the library for convenient use.

Beyond inspiring young minds—or minds of any age, really—to innovate through all the new technology installed, the library is inspiring the old-fashioned way: books. The main book display sitting on the lower level hosts books about technology leaders like Steve Jobs, books about making companies and businesses geared towards creativity and modernism, and just plain old books about technology. And sitting between all those stacks of pages is a computer motherboard (in case someone needed more inspiration). The annual summer reading program PPLD organizes for children is also geared towards the future; the theme—Fizz, Boom, Read!—centers on robotics and awards nifty prizes relating to the subject (robotic arm anyone?)

Speaking of robotics, guess what cut the ribbon to open this new library? That’s right: a robot. After Coronado high school’s student-designed ribbon-cutter opened the doors to hundreds of eager spectators, the team of students held demonstrations throughout the day about robotics and what their team does throughout the year. Though their presentation only lasted for the day, the library will be hosting plenty of contemporary activities year-round to take the ribbon-cutter’s place. There are web design classes in the HTML programming language for anyone interested in getting a website off the ground (eager to start a blog?), Teen Technology Tuesdays, and even a Computer Basics course.

In any case tomorrow’s leaders and today’s thinkers need a break, there are game rooms filled with all the new gaming technology to check out. Technology has been implemented to help advance us—but every advancer needs a break!

While at first I was upset to see my beloved Briargate Branch go, I am inspired every time I walk into 21c to go out and innovate for the future. Library of the future indeed.

Hello, upcoming Juniors! You’ve probably already heard the horror stories. And no doubt your parents and older siblings and guidance counselors have already instilled within you their endless mantra of “Junior year is the most important year”. This may be freaking you out a little about what is to come. It’s true, Junior year seems intimidating. It’s full of standardized testing and AP classes and lots and lots of college preparation. But don’t fear. As a rising senior myself, I offer my sagely wisdom to you.  I will address topics from how to prepare for this upcoming school year to how to end the year ready to tackle the college application process; all from a student’s perspective. I hope you may find my blogs and advice useful to you. As summer is just beginning, this first installment will be about how to best prepare for the year ahead and also be productive this summer.  Let’s begin!

So it’s the summer of Junior year and maybe you’re prepared for a glorious two months of COD or going to the beach or binge-watching Netflix. In other words, you plan on just relaxing and catching up on some sleep. Which is completely understandable. However, in you case you are unaware, High School summers are actually quite important times. They are a great time to volunteer or work, and colleges,  believe it or not, are interested in what you do with such free time. So what should you be thinking about this summer? Well, here are some options.

In terms of working, earning a little cash with a summer job not only goes into your allowance, but it also teaches the valuable lessons of responsibility and cash management. There’s something exhilarating about getting your first pay check. Furthermore, having some sort of working experience before college, in my opinion, is a very good thing. Colleges also recognize an applicant that has had working experience. If you do want to find a job but are unsure where to look, first think about what kind of work you want to do. Many High Schoolers work at restaurants, movie theaters, or retail stores. Do some research as to what places nearby are hiring. If you are interested in a job, call or talk to one the managers. Most likely, you will need to come in for an interview. Some employers may ask for a resume as well, so be sure to have one handy. If you don’t get the job, hey, it’s ok. Try somewhere else. If you do, make sure you can work the hours that are best for you.

If you want to spend your summer in a productive way, but working doesn’t sound appealing to you, volunteering your time is also an option Many places could always use volunteers, from local pet shelters to local libraries. Again, call or visit the location to get more information. Try to find a place or cause that you want to genuinely support. For example, I have volunteered weekly at my local library before because I have always wanted to be a part of place that makes books and learning accessible to everyone, especially children. If you feel strongly about something or just want a new experience, finding a place to volunteer is a great idea. Also, volunteering can help you with potentially choosing future careers.

Keep these tips in mind and hope you have a great summer!

Sincerely,

Carolyn

As seen above, the summer of Junior Year can get pretty busy, but it’s just a foreshadowing of what is to come. This is going to be the first of what I hope will be a series of posts directly addressing Juniors and also tying in how librarians can help them through such a hectic year. Over the summer, many Juniors are looking for ways to get involved with their communities, so encouraging teens to volunteer at library events or even at the library itself is a great opportunity to start off a summer! Stay tuned for future posts about summer reading books for school, SAT prep and more, and most importantly, how librarians can support Juniors as they tackle these topics.

As a teenager, I often receive the label of unable: unable to make a difference; unable to make an impact; unable to make important decisions. Yet when I see two teenage girls start a non-profit organization dedicated to developing robotics programs in their community and beyond, I know the unable labels are wrong.

Stumbling across Robot Springboard was somewhat of an accident: I was actually looking into starting a non-profit organization of my own geared towards robotics community service. When I found their startlingly professional and passionate website, I knew my plans were about to change. Rather than founding a similar foundation of my own, I decided to reach out to junior fraternal twins Hannah and Rachael Tipperman and join forces with them.

Yet the Tipperman twins haven’t needed much help so far. Robot Springboard has been underway for over three years now, starting off in the summer between their ninth and tenth grade year. Most young people at this age are spending summer days lazing about in the sun by a pool but not Hannah and Rachael. In just thirty-six short months, these two ladies have managed to transform a simple idea into a fully functional non-profit organization. In 2013, the Tippermans launched a week-long robotics workshop for middle-school girls at Drexel University. After receiving an AspireIT grant from The National Center for Women and Information Technology, Hannah and Rachael contacted the computer science head at Drexel University. To their delight, the entire engineering department at Drexel was ecstatic at the idea. Within a few weeks, the camp was successfully launched.

Beyond single workshops, they have also managed to supply year-long programs. BrightStart robotics, an expansion of Robot Springboard, is geared towards younger children and their parents. Right now, they are hosting hour-and-a-half long seminars at their local library that include NXT robot kits. The kids design complete robots out of lego pieces before programming them to run through mazes using laptop computers. It is amazing what these young minds are learning and doing through this organization!

Success did not come right away for the Tipperman sisters, however. At first, they were turned down by their local library to even host a lobby display about simple robotics programs for kids. But the twins refused to be derailed. Through much sweat and toil, they are now performing monthly BrightStart robotics demonstrations at their library. Even more, the Tipperman sisters are going global this summer. After doing some research, the girls realized that Costa Rica is not involved in the FIRST Lego League—a middle-school organization geared towards having kids design Lego robots to compete in competitive games. Upon learning this, Hannah and Rachael knew they had to open a camp in Costa Rica to try and bring robotics and technology into young Costa Rican lives. They will be running not one but two camps in Costa Rica this summer.

When they’re not flying down to Costa Rica, Hannah and Rachael are reaching out nationally through their “Robotics in a Box” program. Interested customers can request a box, which includes two NXT Mindstorm robot kits, two HP laptops with included NXT software, and educational books from their NXT robot kit library.

After seeing their intentions to go national, I realized I could help Hannah and Rachael with their incredible mission. Currently, I am trying to bring Robot Springboard and BrightStart Robotics into the Colorado area. As a newcomer, I am facing the struggles that the Tipperman sisters first confronted. The NXT robot kits cost nearly three-hundred dollars apiece, not to mention the cost of laptops. But the thought of inspiring the youth through robotics programs and STEM programs keeps me going.

If you have any old laptops that have been outdated (maybe ones with a Windows XP operating system) or are of no longer of use to you, feel free to contact me at [email protected].

Also, check out the Tipperman’s inspiring website at http://www.robotspringboard.org/about-us-2/about-us.html

With these two girls, the unable label will surely disappear soon.

A weekly short list of tweets that librarians and the teens that they serve may find interesting.

Do you have a favorite Tweet from the past week? If so add it in the comments for this post. Or, if you read a Twitter post between September 6 and September 12 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.

I am currently reading David Levithan’s new novel, The Lover’s Dictionary. This is the first of his novels, at least that I’ve read, that hasn’t been filed in the YA section. As I’ve been reading it I’ve sort of kept a check list of reasons for this in my head, but what I’ve found is that the major rationalization seems to be the age of the characters, who come across as just past young adulthood. My other thought while reading this novel is that it is probably one of the best solo novels I have read by David Levithan.

This got me thinking about cross shelving. My mother is a children’s librarian, and she has told me before that some novels (like the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson books) are shelved in both the Children’s and YA sections. It makes sense to me; some kids are still okay looking for books in the Children’s section, but other kids who might not be ready for everything in YA would still like to start browsing there.

I wonder if the same can’t be done for books like The Lover’s Dictionary, shelving it in both Adult Fiction and YA. While I think that this would certainly work for some books, this seems like a much more difficult endeavor when it comes to content and the comfort level of some patrons. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to browse in the Adult Fiction section along with the YA section and I have found a few books that I think speak to a YA audience, some books that I think teenagers would benefit from reading. I once wrote a post about why I thought it was a good thing to see classic novels in the YA section, and this reasoning is somewhat similar. There are some really great books filed as Adult Fiction that I think teenagers would love and learn from, but that they might not ever find because they are not in the YA section. The problem this time, however, is that instead of the questions raised about how interested teenagers would be in the plotlines of classic novels, there are instead questions raised about the curse words and sexual content in novels shelved in the Adult Fiction section.

So, I suppose the question I’m left with is, is it even worth it? In a lot of cases I would argue yes, especially considering the wide range of interests and intellect present in the YA audience. On the other hand, it certainly seems like a call that needs to be made by each individual YA librarian, and each individual library. The main purpose of this post was to suggest the idea, see if any librarians are already putting it to use, and whether or not it was/is successful or helpful. Maybe a more realistic outcome would be for YA librarians to suggest books in the Adult Fiction section to their older and/or more mature patrons when it seems like they are ready for them.  As a teen patron, this issue has been on my mind because I always worry that I’m missing a good book simply because I’m not looking in the right place.