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/

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