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December 2012
part #1
Beyond attendance or circulation numbers…Participation and collaboration with teens
from passive to active…
POLL QUESTION #1:Who is out there? Which best describes you:
I work primarily with teens
I “do it all” including work w teens
I am a school librarian
I’m the Director of the library
I’m the “lucky” person “designated” to work with teens
I am a Library Science Student
I am in a room full of people interested in teen services!
Teens want to be involved at their library…
This week…Foundation•Teen participation•Why teen participation & libraries•“Ladder of Teen Participation”
Teens in your community•Library’s reach
Programmingteen involvement in program development and
implementationdiscovering and fostering communities of interest
Teen Leadership Councils and groupsvolunteers formal/ casual/
off-site opportunities
From inward to outward…Teen library programming
is not an end unto itself; without service context does not move
the library toward the realization of goals,
which must include “actively involving teens in the planning and implementation of services and programming for their age group (YALSA/RUSA).”
What?What is youth participation?
Why?vs.
What?
“… is the involving of youth in
responsible, challenging action that meets genuine needs, with opportunities for planning and/or decision-making affecting others in an activitywhose impact or consequence is extended to others...”
--The National Commission on Resources for Youth in the United States, 1975
Teen Participation
http://www.amarillomagonline.com/article/239
Teen collaboration* may be
something you have to advocate for….
* or basic service
Teen Services…
Becoming core in the traditional library landscape
•Entitlement•Possibilities•Expectations•Necessities
Why?Why is youth participation important?
Why is teen/library collaboration important?
… for libraries… for teens
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4142/4815206453_4565d99438.jpg
Why is teen/library collaboration important?
… for teens
Gain: developmental assets cultural & social competenciesmeaningful participation
Play decision making rolesTake ownership of the libraryValued & respected by communityCivic engagement
Why is teen/library collaboration important?
… for libraries
•Useful, relevant, and appealing to teens•Teens take ownership•Less inward more outward focused•Community of asset builders•Legitimately involve teens•Opportunities to build greater organizational
capacity & credibility
DevelopmentalAssetsFramework
LanguageEstablishedPartners Use
http://www.flickr.com/photos/victoriapubliclibrary
YouthParticipation Model
ExpressEvaluateArticulate
Assess how your library is doing now and help set goals for the future.
Roger Hart created a model for thinking about youth participation as a continuum of activities.
Rung #3adult initiated action; shared decisions with youth
initiated by adults but the decision making is shared with young people
Rung #2youth initiated and directed actions
young people initiate and direct a project or program. Adults are involved only ina supportive role
Rung #1youth initiated actions, shared decisions with adults
initiated by young peopleand decision making is shared betweenyoung people and adults.
What’s your impression?
Most teen related services/activitiesat your library are currently…
#1 youth initiated actions, shared decisions with adults
#2 youth initiated and directed actions#3 adult initiated action;
shared decisions with youth#4 youth are consulted and informed#5 youth are assigned but informed#6 tokenism#7 decoration
Possible indicators ofteen/ library collaboration…
http://tametheweb.com/2008/08/28/library-fail/
NOT!
POLL QUESTION #2:
Have you ever planned a library program for teens and no one showed up??
(I have.)
“How do I get teens to show up for programs at the library?”
inward to outward& teen programming
is for teens
From inward to outward…
from the web….
from the web….
teen programming is for teens
““We are not teens… We are not teens… but we think we are.”but we think we are.”
Know the teens you serve… and not just the teens you see…
Know the community you serve…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyndipix/2850529664/in/photostream/
teens you see every day
school groups
outreach
homeschool groups
school counselors
school librarians
comic book store
gaining teen participation…
This is all stuff you may suspect (know!) already…Questions to ask yourself...
how does your library currently engage teens?
how does your library approach attracting teens to the location?
what do teen find whenthey visit your library?
participation… to collaboration
TLCs
“Regulars”
Communities of Interest
Volunteers
Questions?Questions?
Teen Leadership CouncilIngredients:
Teens
Staff advisor/ facilitator
Meeting (consistency!)
Responsibilities & decision-making that affect broader group
EMPOWERMENT
Community Values Youth | Young person perceives that adults in the community value youth.
Youth as Resources | Young people are given useful roles in the community.
Service to Others | Young person serves in the community one hour or more per week.
in an asset framework
SOCIAL COMPETENCIES
Planning and Decision Making | Young person knows how to plan ahead and make choices.
Interpersonal Competence | Young person has empathy, sensitivity, and friendship skills.
Cultural Competence | Young person has knowledge of and comfort with people of different cultural/racial/ethnic backgrounds.
Sense of Purpose | Young person reports that "my life has a purpose."
asset framework
TLC developed programming
teen library board member
"Here I was -- a 17-year-old at meetings with adult professionals. But people treated me with respect, and they respected my opinion."
Teen Leadership
“The more we increase the active participation and partnership with young people, the better we serve them. And the more comprehensively we work with them as service partners, the more we increase our public value to the entire community.”
– Carmen Martinez, Director Oakland Public Library
http://sparkaction.org/node/27408
Youth show their support local libraries at Thursday's Council meeting, which may be impacted with the mayor's budget cutshttp://oaklandlocal.com/sites/default/files/i/citycouncil2.jpg
Teen advisory group
city-wide / local / independent
http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/links/teens/index.html
Formalized
Proximity&
Interest
proximityMonday Nights @ CentralWhat are we doing tonight??
Consistency
More casual / spontaneous
Based on interests of evolving group
Play a “local” decision making role
Emphasis not on “hosting” programming for peers – but implementing ideas for group
Collaborating with “The Regulars”
The perfect storm of “we want to cook”.
Communities of interest
A “community of interest” is a group of people who share a commonpassion.
Based on what you know is popular…
What do you think might be a “teen” community of interest?
(answer via chat)
anime/ manga
San Japan Reading Room
anime/ manga
San Japan Reading Room
Communities of interest• do not rely on what you think you know (or the things YOU like… or the thing you think teens like…)
• know what’s going on in your community
• tap into gaps
• rely on teens to tell you
• add “library-ness” (mission value)
venue of interest
QUESTION #3:
Does your library have teen volunteer opportunities?
task based teen volunteersproject based volunteers
Make it official! & Spontaneously on the spot! Assessment of interests be open to nontraditional
shelving decorate teen spacereviewing items working on teen blog.. (more on these later!)
task based teen volunteers
Focus on what teens are gaining…
task based teen volunteers
pitfalls... not having enough for a teen volunteer to do...
colleagues who are not comfortable with teen volunteers doing anything…
not having staff to train/supervise teen volunteers
teen volunteers
project based volunteers
How Chuck Norris ate Teen Tech Week…
…and zombies invaded Teen Read Week.
Foster and facilitate…
Find resources
Develop partnerships
Grow users
Build community
Advocate
Formalize
Your role:
Formalizing teenparticipation/ collaborationas a success measure
Making it part of your teen service mission and vision.
Programming Policy
SAPL - Teen Program Development Guidelines:
•Teen Library Program development will NOT be passive – with the Library in the role of “creator” and the teen patron in the role of “attendee.”•Teen Library Programming will NOT originate from:
•the interests of library personnel •library staffs’ or community members’ perception of the interests of teens •library staffs’ or adult community members’ presumption of what is “good” for teens.
Teen Library Programming WILL originate from:•Teens with library staff assuming the role of facilitator and guide during the process •Teens will actively participate in program development, implementation and play a role in the decision making process.
Programming Policy
Getting to baseline: (homework.)
Of the population served by the library, approximately what percentage is made up by teens (13 to 18)?
Look at demographic/ economic information about the community you serve. What picture forms about your typical user?
In your library database determine how many teens have “active” library cards.
How many students attend the high school closest to your location?
Based on the size of the teen population vs. the number of active teen library cards – is there potential to increase teen library usage?
In the last year how many teens attended library programs? How many teen programs were offered?
You need to know…Does your library keep separate statistics on the number and attendance of teen programs?
Does your library have a separate budget for teen programming? If there is a budget – what is the funding amount based on?
How do you report teen programming activities to: your supervisor, administration, library board?(like statistics, narrative, or both - or other)
How are teen programming decisions made in your organization?
Are there teen programming guidelines/ policy/ centralization?
How do teens find out about teen library programs/ activities?
R.I.P.“Adele”
Peace to you as you roll in the deep.
Ultimate ownership – the clean-up
