Teen Series

There have always been a plethora of series in young adult fiction, but it seems as if lately the ratio of standalone books to series has doubled (or even tripled).  I wonder why?  Is this something about teen fiction that I am just now noticing as I fully enter into the realm of adulthood (albeit kicking and screaming) or is it a new phenomenon?

Series have always been a handy way to get reluctant readers to become invested in a story and WANT to read.  Book series have become more and more popular in adult fiction as well in the last decade.  I think that perhaps the correlation lies in the increased popularity of reading for fun, especially with our teens and tweens.  If more people are reading, we need more books for them to read.

Some may not like the recent upsurge in paranormal romance series, but if it gets the kids reading, can it be all that bad?

The Time Crunch

Now that your library has it's brand new teen section (we hope!) how do you make time to reach your patrons outside of your programs or advisory interviews?  Our friends from England have put together a comprehensive list of all the little things you can do to up the ante on awareness for your collection.

Spend Time in Your Teen Section
Don't hover like a creepy vulture and swoop down on visitors to your teen section, but make sure you spend some time there interacting with the clientele.  Ask them questions, figure out if there is anything that you are currently lacking.

Outreach
Spend some time visiting other institutions like schools in your area or youth clubs.  Present current programs  and use the youth population as a sounding board for ideas.  Dedicate some time to booktalks; it can be at your local middle and high schools, at a local coffee shop hangout, or even a bookstore.

Partner Up
Most local councils will have some connections to youth clubs and other services that can help with your outreach goal if you yourself do not have enough time to do so.  Make sure they know what you can offer the youth of your community.

Quality before Quantity
Rather than stretching yourself thin over many small (perhaps inferior) programs, make sure that the programs you DO put on are fun and well attended.  Again, making sure that your programs are successful by talking to teens that attend them.

These last few are pretty self-explanatory.

Support Your Teens

Apply for Money and Grants

Keep Records of Everything!

Hopefully, if you follow these guidelines you will find yourself completing more tasks with better results without having to use time that you do not have.  Keep in mind though, to save time you need to spend some time.  It doesn't only apply to money!



Source
http://yalibraryuk.org/2012/04/02/on-a-shoestring-reaching-teens-in-a-few-hours-every-week-or-how-to-use-time-effectively-when-you-dont-have-any/

Teen Spaces in Libraries

November 11-17 is Teen Appreciation week.  What better way to show that you appreciate your teen population than giving them a space of their own in the library?

The most overlooked portion of the a library's patrons are their teens.  Teens exist in a strange limbo between childhood and adulthood, and ofttimes they are allowed to fall through the cracks of the system.  Some libraries lump teens and children together (a big NO NO!) or just shuffle them off into a corner of the adult section.  While placing teens with the adults is the lesser of the two evils, teens deserve their own space.

Many libraries do not get many teen patrons and do not understand why that is.  If they have no place of their own, why bother going to the library at all?  Every library you visit will have a distinct adult and child section.  Many libraries, especially smaller branches in a larger city, do no have the space for an entire teen room, even just creating a boundary is preferable.

Make sure they have more than a shelf or two of space.  If you can set aside a whole corner of the library and block it off with shelving that is the easiest and cheapest way to create a teen space.  Put some modern, bright furniture in there for them to lounge on (Ikea has some nice affordable options) and desks to complete schoolwork or draw/craft.  If you can afford it or spare one from elsewhere, a dedicated teen computer (or more) is always a good idea.  The most important thing is to make the space look like you put some effort forth.  Teens want to feel included and wanted, and if you don't have space appropriate for their needs that message gets lost.  Most importantly, when creating the space you should ask a teen to help in the planning.  They know what they want and you might not.

Don't forget to advertise your new space! This isn't the "Field of Dreams." If they don't know it's there, they won't come.  Ask the teens that helped in creating the space to help spread the word, advertise at local hangouts, and ALWAYS collaborate with the schools.  Always remember, if you're not having fun, you're not doing it right.

For more help in planning and executing your teen space, pick up a copy of Teen Spaces by Kimberly Bolan
or consult our friends from over the Pond at YA Library UK.

Teen Volunteers

It's somehow easy to forget about the need for having teens as volunteers in libraries and not just trying to reach them through the regular channels such as programming and outreach.  Teens are at that point in their lives where they like feel helpful and appreciated.  For many, this means they would rather be a volunteer at your library than be the subject of programming (or both, there's always both!)  A wonderful post just came to my attention from the Teen Librarian's Toolbox.  This particular entry included a letter that a teen volunteer wrote and dropped off for his "library family" telling them how much he appreciates what the library has done for him and what it helps him to do for others.

Libraries are excellent at helping young people navigate the newly complicated waters of approaching adulthood.  It gives them a place to help someone else and be needed outside of their family, and during your teenage years getting away from your parents is a precious treasure.  At the library teens can become a highly functioning member of their local community, and that's something to be proud of.  I for one am probably not as active of a member of my own community now as an adult than some of these teen library volunteers can boast of, and I salute them.

Crafting for Teen Read Week

In recent years the art of crafting and DIY has made a spectacular comeback.  Shops featuring vintage and handmade items with a modern twist are popping up in every town.  Steampunk and its crafting ideals are also on the rise.  If you are looking for something new and exciting to feature in a program, try some of these ideas featured in YALSA's blog.  You can create an experience centered around any book with crafts for your kids.  Nail art, cross-stitching, or just creating some decorations for Halloween or from book ideas.  I think you'll find more enthusiasm for for the library when your audience can get their hands dirty doing it.

Sources
http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2012/10/15/teen-read-week-ideas-crafting-it-came-from-the-library/#more-20533

Image
http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/

Adaptations in Young Adult Literature

The 34th Annual Fantastic in the Arts Conference in its planning stages now.  The theme of the year for 2013 is all about adaptations.  Adaptations of previous works ( Pride, Prejudice and Zombies, Android Karenina, etc.), historical adapatations such as Steampunk and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and the issues of fidelity that surround these adaptations.

I myself have previously attended the conference and presented on my Master's thesis on the Steampunk subculture, and I can say with confidence that this conference is an excellent one.  The head of the Children's and Young Adult Literature division is headed by Alaine Martaus of my own University, The University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign.  The conference does not limit itself to only accepting presentation from those with university affiliations.  If you can write it, you can present it.

Whether you are an aspiring young adult author, librarian, or even a teen yourself, you can avail yourself of this excellent opportunity.  This year's guests of honors are Neil Gaiman and Kij Johnson.  The 500 word proposal is due by October 31 and those that are accepted will be notified by November 15, so get to writing!

Sources
http://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/node/47576

What Great Big Teeth You Have: Paranormal Romance in a Nutshell

If you follow teen book trends at all you have to have noticed the recent blow-up of paranormal romance out there, especially since the advent of Twilight. Why, you may ask. Kiersten White, author of NY Times best selling Paranormalcy and Supernaturally offers her opinion:: all you need is love (in the timeless words of the Beatles.)

Ms. White believes that paranormal romance is the ultimate metaphor for teen romance.  Everyone who has ever yearned for someone with rosy cheeked bloom of young love understands how the object of your desire can often seem alien and a from a completely different world than you. Most teen love is that of idolization, you don't deserve the affection of your desired "other", let alone possess the ability to get them to even notice you.

Paranormal romance takes the inherent struggles of young love and  blows them up into crazy/dramatic proportions.  Whether it's the broody guy you sit behind in Calculus who seems "oh so mysterious," or a vampire who has to restrain himself from sucking your blood, you know the struggles of the young heart.

I can understand that, most everyone can understand that (unless you somehow were lucky enough to skip those painfully awkward teenage years and skipped straight to Cassanova status.) And who doesn't like to read a good book or two that they can relate to?
Paranormal romance just happens to be particularly relate-able to our
lovelorn younger selves.

Sources
http://kierstenwrites.blogspot.com/2010/07/you-cant-kill-undead-or-paranormal.html

YALSA Teen's Top Ten

It's not to too late to head over to the YALSA website and vote for your favorite books of 2012! You have until September 15, only a few days away.  Remember though, teens only.  The results will be announced October 14-20 during ALA's Teen Read Week.

Interested in participating in the project next year?  Fifteen libraries are chosen to receive free galleys of recent publications from 30+ publishers and the teen readers of those libraries help nominate books for the voting list. You can contact Nichole Gilbert to find out more about the participants and how you might become a nomination library.

Why is the Teen Top Ten important?  It's always important knowing what your patrons want to read and how we can get those books for them.  The Teen Top Ten allows that information to be gathered on a national level to help inform librarians about current trends that might not have reached their area yet, and this type of data helps us to understand our patrons better.  There are infinite possibilities for the use of information, so get out there and vote!

Sources:
http://www.ala.org/news/pr?id=11224
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/teenstopten
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/yagalley

Grant Opportunity for Learning Labs in Libraries and Museums

It's too late to apply for this year but it has recently come to my attention that the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Association of Technology Centers (IMLS and ATC) announced in the Spring that they would be providing grants to give funds for up to 30 Learning Labs at Museums and Libraries throughout the US.  The goal of these Labs will be used to engage middle and high school aged youth in collaborative learning using digital and traditional media.

The institutions that receive these grants will be required to participate in cross-project networking and learning and will be based on current research in youth studies and digital media.  This would be a great opportunity for your library to keep their youth involved in current learning trends and be able to participate in interdisciplinary learning and sharing.  The proposal deadlines for 2012 were in June, but it would be something to keep in mind for next year if they are found to be successful.  Below you will find links with information about the proposal process and the project itself.

More information:
http://www.imls.gov/about/learning_labs.aspx

Proposal guidelines:
http://www.imls.gov/applicants/learning_labs_guidelines.aspx