What do you do when a teen comes into the library and they’ve read all their favorite author’s books and they’re still hungry for more? Of course there’s book-lists, read-alike lists, as well as staff and teen recommendations, but how about offering up a short story collection that includes a story by a teen’s favorite author?

Short story collections often slip under the radar, but they’re a great way to engage teen readers by providing the hook of a story by a well-loved author, paired with work by other writers they may not have been exposed to.

For the rabid Stephenie Meyer fans, I’ve been sharing Prom Nights From Hell (2007) hoping that that if they haven’t already discovered the other authors in this collection that they’ll return looking for books by Meg Cabot and Lauren Myracle.

Plus, what’s especially fun about short story collections is the element of theme that many collections use to draw the stories together, like the way holidays can alter romantic relationships in Let it Snow: three Holiday Romances (2008) or how just one night can change things in Up All Night (2008).

And short story collections are perfect for teens easily daunted by thick books (Imagine, a whole story in just twenty pages!) as well as busy teens trying to squeeze leisure reading into the time between sports, work, homework, school, and everything else.

Books Mentioned

Let it Snow (2006)
John Green

Maureen Johnson

Lauren Myracle

Up all Night (2008)

Peter Abrahams
Libba Bray
David Levithan
Patricia McCormick
Sarah Weeks
Gene Luen Yang

Prom Nights From Hell (2007)

Meg Cabot
Kim Harrison
Michele Jaffe
Stephenie Meyer
Lauren Myracle

We are going collective!

In December, there will be a virtual meeting for those that want to get involved with shaping the Alternative Teen Services project.  We are looking for people that want to be involved with shaping the blog, or want to support it so that this project does not die. All that is needed is some ideas and a desire to keep the blog going, and a willingness to help out in some capacity, whether it be with feedback at a virtual meeting or taking over an aspect of the blog project. If you want to be a part of the project, then please respond to this blog post with your e-mail or contact teenservices@yalibrarian.com. Details about the meeting time/date will be arranged after we know who we are working with and can arrange a convenient time for all involved.

Some technical changes

• WordPress, 2.6.3 is now installed on the blog. As a reader, you will not see much of a difference, but the bloggers will notice the improved functionality when they create new posts.
• intense debate is our new comment system on the Alternative Teen Services blog. Readers are able to use an avatar with comments, rate user comments, and respond directly to other comments.
  Intense Debate also supports Open ID,  which means you do not need to create a brand new account if you already have an account with blogger, livejournal, flickr, or yahoo. Go ahead, try out the new features by commenting on this post!

Halloween in your libraries!

Below are some photos of Halloween-esque fun for teens in libraries.

Nightfall Dinner Party @ Alice Baker Library

Gock Puppets @ La Mesa Public Library

Halloween Cosplay Winners @ Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library

This is not a political endorsement, but rather a quick video about   YA authors connecting with their readers about the 2008 presidential election.

http://yaforobama.ning.com/

http://yaformccain.ning.com/

Ya nader ? Ya McKinnney. ummm… ya third party?