Making lasting connections with teens in the library
- 1. P R E S E N T E D B Y : T H E R E S A F O S T E R ~ O C L T E E N L I B R A R I A N C A R L Y S H I L L I N G ~ O C L C H I L D R E N ’ S & T E E N L I B R A R I A N Making Lasting Connections with Teens in the Library
- 2. Theresa Foster, Teen Services Barnegat Branch of OCL for 2+ years Prior to OCL, worked as the Virtual Branch Manager of ACLS Monthly • Anime Club • Teen Advisory Board • T(w)een Maker Night • Other notable monthly celebrations Weekly • Tuesday Night Drop-In Gaming (DiG)
- 3. Carly Shilling, Youth & Teen Services Long Beach Island Branch of OCL for 3+ years Has worked with OCL for 9 years Yearly Autism Awareness in April Monthly • Teen Advisory Board • Teen Craft • Gaming Fun Weekly • Family Programming/Drop In Crafts
- 4. Keep Them in the Library! Having a strong, unified youth services team (YS & YA) can help you home-grow children who already love the library into tweens and teens who will love the library too Ageing out – Going from juvenile tween teen 18+ Remember – they are growing into adults The importance of tweens School visits is a must!
- 5. Communicating with Teens… in the Digital Age • Be where the teens are: in the library, in the community, and online • Digital natives • Follow the trends • Word of mouth still works • Find a linchpin • Do your best to tap into their needs
- 6. Popular Social Media • Facebook – The trademark name in social media • Twitter – Micro-blogging, short messages only, follow others and share your own • Tumblr – Micro-blogging, long messages, photos, videos, etc. follow others and share your own – More teens are on Tumblr than Facebook • YouTube – Video-sharing, mostly user-generated clips • Instagram – Photo-sharing for photos sake, can include messages • Pinterest – Photo-sharing, pin board style of themed collections • Skype and FaceTime – Video chat, different platforms
- 7. Communicating with Teens…in the Library Tweens and teens look up to their library staff advisors as objective adults who care about their needs, who want to listen, who they can have fun with, and who will encourage them to grow into lifelong library users
- 8. The Teen Zone No matter the size of your teen area…teens need a sense of ownership The Teen Zone in a large/medium sized branch:
- 9. The Teen Zone The Teen Zone in a small sized branch: The Long Beach Island library’s Teen Zone takes up a corner of the branch.
- 10. YA Displays Theme your displays with books & multimedia • Let the teens give you the ideas • Let them help choose the books • Let them be creative • Post the pictures online • Reuse as much as possible
- 11. Popular Materials for Tweens/Teens Hook them into the right book and they become lifelong readers! Know what’s popular in: Books Graphic Novels/Manga Magazines Music Multimedia How can you do this? Read YA! Or keep abreast with news publications, such as YALSA, SLJ, VOYA, or even Entertainment Weekly
- 12. Popular Materials for Tweens/Teens Get your teens interested by: Booktalking Booktrailers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBenU9-0yYc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldyMb9cneAQ
- 13. Comics & Graphic Novels Superhero • American Standard since 1930’s • DC Comics & Marvel are the Big 2 • Superman • Batman • Spiderman • Wonder Woman • The Avengers • Justice League Non-Superhero • More often Graphic Novels • Fiction, Non-fiction, Anthologies • Real Life & Life Lessons • Classics • Biographies / Memoirs • Non-Fiction / History
- 14. Manga – Japanese Comics • Originally published in Japan • Major part of Japanese publishing industry since 1950’s • Also refers to cartooning AKA Anime • Shonen AKA Adventure / Fighting • Shojo AKA Romance / Feminine • Fantasy, Science Fiction • Slice of Life • Historical • Sports, Games
- 15. Popular Materials for Tweens/Teens Guide your teens with: Booklists Stickers on book spines Displays
- 16. YA Programs/Clubs Anything with FOOD! Hair chalking Glitter tattoos Beauty Anything DIY Magazine Bowls Anything “about me” Performers/Presenters **System Programming** Pinterest http://pinterest.com/
- 17. YA Programs/Clubs Crafts: • Gear towards a wide age • Repetitive • Reinvent the old standard
- 18. Crafts Continued… • Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle • Find crafts that allow them to tap into their interests and express themselves
- 19. Gaming @ the Library • Library isn’t a quiet place anymore, but with limitations • Let them do the work • Have an assortment of game types, i.e. video, board, open, retro • Organize tournaments • Keep it T-rated • Don’t stress on stats there is a lot of competition • Homework • Sports • Jobs • Etc.
- 20. Volunteer Opportunities TAB (Teen Advisory Board)
- 21. TAB What we do: TAB meets once a month to come up with program ideas, crafts, games and sometimes just to hang out! Teens need to know that the library is an active social hub where they are always welcome TAB members accrue community service hours for: National Honor Society Religious requirements College applications Resumes To stand out in a competitive academic world
- 22. How to Grow Your TAB It’s like tending a garden First, plant the seed Recruit members. Spread the word/build interest among regular teen library users and new users Feed and water Meeting times (same time each month is best) Elections Set ground rules Snacks are a must! Have an agenda for each meeting Plan social activities Make time to enjoy each other Work with a budget – Friends/Library Budget
- 23. How to Grow Your TAB Watch your TAB grow Maintain your TAB group You will also lose members, but gain new ones too Keep a membership list (names, email addresses, cell phone numbers) Communicate with members via email or phone calls. Membership Perks Charisma and enthusiasm can go a long way Remember: Teens are discovering their individuality. They are looking for a place to belong with others like themselves. The elements of a TAB can be an important life-experience for teens
- 24. Justifications for Having a TAB Gives teens a sense of “ownership” The benefits of mixing tweens and teens in a TAB Develops lifelong readers and library users Teaches teens responsibility Grooming future library assistants/librarians? Yes!
- 25. TAB Differences and Similarities Between… What works for a medium/large sized branch: • Monthly meetings with President, Vice, etc. running meeting • 1 hour of meeting content, then socialize • Have them choose the programs and age groups targeted • Let them “own” their ideas • Sub-committees as needed • Have guest speakers • Reward as needed • Snacks a must, food as leverage • Find what works for you and your teens
- 26. TAB Differences and Similarities Between… What works for a small sized branch Long Beach Island library has more tweens than teens in TAB
- 27. General Teen Volunteering Teens can come into the library to accrue community service hours without having to join TAB Have a wide variety for both shy and outgoing personalities • Book Reviews that go on display • Adopt-a-Shelf • Monthly programs & activities in the Summer • Have opportunities geared to their interests, ask them what they like S.A.I.L
- 28. Working Off Fines Teens who have fines can “work them off”
- 29. Professional Relationships with Teens Incorporate your personality Be fun, but professional Keep it PG-13 They are NOT your friends on Facebook, etc.
- 30. The Do’s & Don'ts with Teens Do – snacks, snacks, snacks! Do – music Do – restricted access only Do – you know the old saying: treat them the way you would want to be treated ___________________________________ Don’t – be intrusive Don’t – be a pushover Don’t – let them interfere with your work Don’t – tolerate bad behavior
- 31. Drama Queens & Know-It-Alls When teens go bad Innocent until proven guilty Bad behavior traits: o Rubber band slinging o Cursing o Horse play o Ignoring authority
- 32. Questions?