WLS Teens

Why We Read: A Report of reading habits and preferences of Westchester Teens

15 teens from the Westchester Scholars Program studied the reading habits and preferences of Westchester youth. Working with journalist Jill Nelson, the scholars conducted dozens of interviews. Their report offers insights about teens and their reading preferences. The report also provides recommendations for making libraries more teen-friendly.  The full report is available.

Posted by Judith Rovenger

Teen Advisory Board

I feel like I have heard murmurings of YA librarians wanting to start a Teen Advisory Board and not having much success...I thought I would share what worked for me since I have a great group of kids in TAB that is heading into its third year.  I decided to make the Board for High School kids only rather than including Middle Schoolers.  Also, the group meets at the HS, rather than at the Library and has become a sort of HS "club" that meets weekly.  (This happened out of necessity because we have no meeting space at our very tiny library - however, it has turned out to be a good thing that I think makes it easy and appealing for kids to join because they can just come right after school before sports/musical, etc. or before they catch the late bus.)  All of the events that they plan and attend are at the Library, and of course they get community service credit.  [My Board consists of 10 solid members, 2 or 3 that come to meeting occasionally and 5 new people that just joined this year and came to our first meeting today]

Amy, BRI

Ad Hoc Teen Committees

A traditional teen advisory board is not the only way to empower and involve teens. In fact, it may not even be the best way. Considering that teens, like everyone else, are over-programmed, overscheduled and overcommitted—ad hoc committees or taskforces may make more sense. In addition to easing the pressure on teens, it also makes it less daunting for teen librarians who no longer need feel compelled to keep a group enthusiastic over time.

Another plus is that a taskforce model, by its nature, has a clear mission and affords immediate gratification for participants, who won’t have to wait forever to see the results of their efforts. And, it increases the number and diversity of teens who will participate.  You can start small, just begin, one teen at a time. Look for more tips and techniques on involving teens in future blogs.

Ladder of Participation

So many times I talk to teen services librarians about their youth particpation programs and discover that what they are doing is less youth participation and more librarian driven programming.  In the past I've found that using the Ladder of Participation, developed as a part of a UNICEF conference, is a great way to think about the youth participation activities developed in libraries and how to make sure these activities are more youth participatory than librarian led.

I don't think it's fair to ask librarians to jump straight to the top rung of the ladder. But, as you think about the ways you work with teens in your community, consider whether or not you can make the programs and services you provide hit at least rung #4 on the ladder.  If you do, it's very possible that your programs and services will be even more popular than they already may be.