Recently my library system decided to start a YA blog.  Previously we did not have much of an online presence for our teens and this will hopefully mark a change in the right direction.   We have it ready, but we will not be officially launching it until the end of the summer.  I wanted to share some of our goals and thoughts behind the blog so they might aide other librarians, but also so those of you who already have one can advise us on what will and won’t work.  So let the comments fly.

            In regards to content, we decided we wanted to model it after a blog called The Atrium.  The Atrium is the blog for the Grand Rapids Public Library system and it is one of my favorite library blogs.  The thing we liked about The Atrium was that the bloggers discuss more than just books and events.  They talk about anything on their minds, from the weather, to knitting, and everything in between.   Then they find a way to tie it to the library.  I have seen a lot of teen blogs that talk about programs and or books, but not too many that go beyond those topics.  We wanted something a little more versatile so we could talk about the things that really interest our teens.  We plan to write about anything and everything, from sports, to music, movies, or books.  Basically anything that interests us and would interest our teens.

            This then presented a small problem.  How do we make this blog applicable to the library if we are not necessarily talking about library events or items?  Well we have two answers to that.  The first is that almost every topic we could write about can be tied to the library.  If we write about the latest movie in the theatres, we can link to our catalog showing some movies we carry with those actors.  We could write about playing fantasy baseball and give a plug for a new sports book, or mention an upcoming program with a local athlete.  Secondly we decided that every other blog entry should directly tie to a library item or event.  This should not be hard, because, as mentioned above, almost anything can be tied to our collection or programs. It does, however, provide a reason for us to stay on task and it also helps us defend the blog if our board or administration is skeptical about its purpose.

            So, we have our content ideas ready, what about commenting?  We were unsure what, if any, rules we wanted to have for commenting.  After consulting the 12 laws every blogger should know found on the Aviva Directory and reading the comment guidelines on a variety of other blogs, we came up with the following guidelines, which will appear on the comment form.

• Please use appropriate language.
• For your safety, comments containing or requesting personal information, including phone numbers, will be deleted.
• Feel free to speak your mind, but please be respectful to others; offensive and inappropriate comments will be deleted.
• Comments are moderated; CADL is not responsible for the content of posted comments.
• CADL reserves the right to delete comments at any time for any reason; comments not directly related to the discussion will be deleted.

Most of these guidelines are probably not necessary but we wanted to make sure that we had the right to moderate the comments if a need were to arise.  They basically just give us the right to not post a comment, or to delete a comment, and they explain why we might do that.

            That is where we are right now.  The blog is ready to launch and we are simply waiting on a name.  We have decided that a fun way to launch the blog would be to have a contest, in conjunction with our summer reading program, to name it.  For the next month or so our teens will hopefully be emailing us possible names.  The winner will receive a gift card for a book store, in addition to having the name selected for the blog.

            Hopefully these ideas help any other folks out there starting a blog.  I would love to hear from those of you who have been running a teen blog for a while now.  What has worked for you and what hasn’t?  What do you write about?  Do you moderate comments at all?  And of course how have you attracted your teens to it?

Gaming and libraries seems to be a topic on the tip of everyone’s tongue here lately. Shifted Librarian, Jenny Levine has been blogging notes about the Gaming, Learning and Society conference which took place in Madison, Wisconsin last week and I imagine the biblioblogshere will soon be buzzing about the much anticipated ALA TechSource Gaming, Learning and Libraries symposium taking place later this month on July 22-24. All this recent attention on gaming and libraries has brought a shift in focus from viewing gaming simply as a recreational activity to acknowledging its potential as a literacy/educational tool.

At ALA this past June, OCLC Vice President George Needham conducted a presentation called Gaming, Information Literacy and the College Student, which ultimately attracted a lot of stimulating discussion and criticism. Although the focus of this presentation was directed more towards academic libraries, I think there is a lot here that would make for some interesting discussion amongst teen librarians also. Relying on recent research (2003 Environmental Scan: Pattern Recognition, Pew Internet and American Life Project, Marc Prensky) Needham’s presentation attempted to encourage librarians to think ahead a few years and consider the information literacy needs of the graduating class of 2010. Pegged with a multiple of descriptive, if not stereotypical names (net gens, millennials, gen y, gen me), this generation is especially known for its video gaming enthusiasm.

According to Needham’s presentation, gamers believe:

• there are multiple paths to victory
• failure along the way is to be expected
• leaders can’t be trusted
• life should be fun

Taking these traits into consideration, Needham suggests that we design library tools with gaming technology in mind so users can essentially learn on their own (remember: multiple paths to victory, failure to be expected, life should be fun) without having to turn to the “information priest” (leaders can’t be trusted) for assistance. He does not necessarily advocate that we completely forfeit our role of helping students find information, only that we allow them the opportunity to “play” first and ask when they feel they need the help.

Needham said that in this environment, librarians should focus on “in demand training,” helping students when they hit an obstacle, not before they start. Even then, he said, librarians shouldn’t say that they are providing formal training, but should say things like “let me show you a short cut,” the kind of language students use with one another all the time.

Many critics have since taken issue with Needham’s use of metaphor (digital native vs. digital immigrant, librarian as information priest), while others have take issue with his attempt to make gaming behavior synonymous with information seeking behavior. There is a lot of concern that allowing for “failure” is the same things as lower expectations and as such would be detrimental to the learning process. There also seems to be a lot of concern about taking the “librarian” out of the process and diminishing their role to mere “shortcut pointer-outer”. Would designing library technology tools so they are more game-like, more intuitive and trial-by-error be better for teens? Would this be considered the same as speaking to them on their own terms or is it simply “lowering the bar”?

When mulling over this myself, I can’t help but think about a presentation I saw at PLA last year called Making Traditional Library Services Teen Friendly. Mary K. Chelton was among those presenting that day. Well known for her research on teens and information seeking behavior, one of the things she kept repeating was how librarians tend to suffer from an “ideal user” syndrome. Attitudes need to change, she said, we need to start treating teens according to who they are, not how we wish them to be. I have since come to believe that this philosophy is key to providing successful services to teens; however, critics may still view it as another example of lowering standards. Reference-anxiety is another thing that needs to be taken into consideration here. Can we really expect teens to admit that they can’t do something and to come for help?

Current research on teens and information seeking indicates that whatever information literacy we are teaching them isn’t working very well. They make errors when they search and have difficulty combining word variations. But research in this area is incomplete and I have yet to see anything that really substantiates whether other tools such as podcasting or vodcasting might actually help in this area. So what do ya’ll think? Is it time to push for more alternative, non-traditional methods when it comes to teaching teens how to find information? Does the answer rest with gaming technology? Or do we need to take this thing back to the drawing board?

Transparent: Love, Family, and Living the T with Transgender Teenagers
By Cris Beam

Here is a nonfiction story that pops like a novel. This book is amazing and everyone—not just teachers, librarians, and parents—should read it. Beam writes nonfiction like a dream. She renders real people in a raw and realistic, yet literary way, with a flair for dialogue and descriptive details. Her characters are as big as life.

Beam taught briefly at Eagles Academy, a GLBT school where she met the transgender teenagers whose lives she documents. Her main subjects are Foxxjazell, Domineque, Ariel, and Christina, my favorite. Christina is destructive, smart, intense, and heartbreaking; she made me laugh and cry (no, really.) When she cries she hiccups and “sounds like a fish tank” and when she’s scared she curls up in the kitchen sink and eats Doritos. Christina burns brightly and will stick in your mind long after you’ve finished the book.

Navigating through our rigid world is fraught for transgender people. Obtaining employment, education, medical care, a driver’s license, a passport, using public bathrooms, and finding a safe romantic partner are all daily struggles. Because Transparent’s teenagers have been locked out of our limited story of gender, they can astutely critique its absurdities and constrictions. They’re pretty clear that they know what’s up with their bodies and their identities. It’s the rest of us who are confused and fighting so hard to keep everything “normal.” This book shows that transgender people aren’t reinscribing stereotypical gender roles. Being transgender is much more complicated than playing dress-up.

Beam has created a seamless narrative of transgender history, the personal lives of modern transgender teenagers, and the medical and legal travails of most transgender people. I hope this book changes minds and burrows into hearts. That’s why I’m writing this review. At my big city library transgender teenagers are treated with hostility and contempt. We need to work to protect all teenagers, especially the most vulnerable, from harassment and abuse. This book will arm its readers with more information and compassion to fight the good fight. We must keep in mind that “the pervasive self-doubt or self-hate born of a dismissive larger culture will squeeze itself out from the soul’s crack’s somewhere.”

With the start of June, our clientle increased to include the summer teens. As I’m sure you’ve experienced these pent-up Energizer rabbits who gather and demonstrate their restless spirits, let me share a few RA practices. Aha! I’ve discovered that their boredom and too much free time make them sitting ducks for listening to book topics. Of course literature is broached after a couple of weeks spent chatting on summer plans, new schools, friendships, relationships, the skatepark, and parents, but eventually I’ll introduce a few literature characters into the foray. For instance, I’ll dramatize a particular character say Lauren from Bloom.

When Lauren plays her flute she loses herself in the music. Reading the flight of notes dancing across the pages allows her momentary bliss as she temporarily forgets that her best friend Katie wouldn’t understand this passion for music nor why she’s unhappy in her relationship with Dave. Then again, Lauren doesn’t share her feelings with anyone, so it’s understandable the world considers Dave + Lauren the perfect couple. Dave treats her with respect and love but Lauren feels no passion in return. To Lauren, their relationship has become too routine.

Except that’s how it feels. Like I’m watching a movie. Looking at his hand holding mine, I don’t feel much of anything except worry that I don’t feel more of anything…Now I know exactly what he’s going to say, and “6:30″ is out before he’s finished saying, “What time should I pick you up tonight?”

Tension develops in Lauren’s life when she begins to fall for the new transfer student Ethan. From the beginning it is clear how this young love story will play out. Regardless of this forseen fraction, Bloom conjures character emotions that are on par to the swooning romances found in The Truth About Forever and What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know. Teens with weakspots for tender romances can sympathize with Lauren’s indecision and may also enjoy a similar situation found in If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where’s My Prince: Lucy feels shafted by a father who has remarried, relocated, and left her alone and out of favor with a stepmother and two evil stepsisters all of whom seem to delight in spending her father’s money, not to mention her bedroom has only a blowup mattress for furniture. *inhales deep recuperating breath*

If teens feel indifferent towards Lauren and Lucy. Perhaps quoting Seuss and holding races on Fox in Socks readings will open a window for a favorite childhood book discussion. And for fanactics, vehemently discuss Harry Potter predictions (using the voice of Jim Dale’s Trelawney, of course) or propose the question found on the MySpace Twilight group “You know you’re obsessing over Twilight when…” We’ve still another month to attempt to reach reluctant and gung-ho readers before the start of school, so good luck, I hope these ideas may assist you in your endeavors.

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A couple of years ago I bought myself a copy of Connecting Young Adults and Libraries. As a paraprofessional serving teens, I found the book to be a good introduction to teens and libraries. It covers all the basics from teen volunteers and advisory groups to collections and services. It was only natural for me to bring up this resourceful read to a coworker who also served teens.

ME: So have you read Connecting Young Adults and Libraries? I bought a copy and it has some good tips on starting a teen advisory group.

HER: You mean the pink book?

ME: Yeah, that one!

HER: But of course, over here we call that the YA BIBLE!

So a couple of days ago when I got an e-mail about the new YA BIBLE, I felt compelled to share the announcement on this blog.  It turns out that a new edition is being published and the editors need your feedback. Please fill out an online survey by July 24th to shape what’s to come in the new book.

Read the full message below:

Subject: We need your feedback to make the 4th edition of Connecting Young Adults and Libraries the best, ever!

Hello teen librarians, LSTs, youth advocates, library school professors, grad school students, and anyone else who might have an interest in helping shape the next edition of Connecting Young Adults and Libraries, the book that Mary K. Chelton claims “has everything—clear philosophical goals for the service grounded in developmental assets; an incredible list of how-tos by authors who have been there, done that; a lively text; and a rock-solid understanding of the real kids who need us, not the fantasy kids we often confuse with them.”

If you have read or used the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd edition of our professional book, Connecting Young Adults and Libraries, we need your feedback to help make the 4th edition as comprehensive and practical as possible. We will be collecting all survey responses on Monday, July 24.

If you have a copy of any edition of Connecting Young Adults and Libraries, it might be helpful to have it in front of you as you answer these questions. It’s not necessary, just helpful. When you’re ready to begin, click on the link below to get started with the simple 10 question survey. If you’d like to leave the survey at any time, just click “Exit this survey”. Your answers will be saved.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=eXKBV1NeIp9SQ_2bkv6lHj_2fQ_3d_3d

Thanks for your input – we appreciate it!

Michele Gorman and Tricia Suellentrop

Co-authors of Connecting Young Adults and Libraries, 3rd edition
comixlibrarian@aol.com; triciasuellentrop@gmail.com

This past week, I joined the ranks of teen librarians attending the American Library Association annual conference in Washington, DC. The majority of the conference was spent networking, participating in meetings, and attending programs such as the To I-Pods and Beyond Presentation and Video Games as a Service: Hosting Tournaments @ Your Library.

One of the empowering aspects of the Washington DC trip was the tour of Capitol Hill that I worked into my schedule before the flight home. There I began reflecting on freedom and democracy while absorbing the sight of the Lincoln and World War II memorial. My thoughts drifted to all the soldiers that have died to secure the safety, culture, and democracy of the United States. You could say these people died for our freedom and I think the best way to repay them is to get involved with making the world a better place. I like to imagine that the soldiers would be proud to know that some of us are not taking our freedom for granted and are instead actively contributing to the progress of society.

By working with teens, I think this activism translates into several things. It’s about empowering teens and providing them with programs that support their developmental needs. It’s about being a friend when a teen needs someone to talk to. And sometimes this means being the only person in your library that is a teen advocate.

Activism is also about contributing ideas to national organizations like YALSA, so that it is relevant to all types of teen librarians. One of my colleagues complained to me that YALSA isn’t relevant to them and lacks the types of resource they want. So I encouraged this friend to take action by joining YALSA and attempting to start something new or at least get involved on some level to make a difference.

But even so, we still need outlets that aren’t tied to national organizations, where we can discuss teen library services without fear of a public relations stigma or having to express our ideas within Robert’s Rule of orders. Online communities such as the listservs and blogs can in many ways provide this type of grassroots forum. I hope that in some ways Alt. Teen Services can also be that type of resource.