This summer, instead of more focused programs, I decided to do once-a-week hangouts. For two hours, the teens could play the Wii, watch Avatar: The Last Airbender, & do various crafts. I picked up clay, beads, plastic thread for lanyards, duct tape, origami paper – it kept them occupied all summer long. Whilst roaming the local craft store for easy & inexpensive stuff, I happened upon bags of nylon loops – something we made over & over again as a child of the 80s & 90s. We didn’t make pot holders; rather, we made scrunchies, headbands, bracelets… honestly, I don’t know if we ever used the items, but the neon loops were always all over the place. The bags were really cheap, & in more colors than I remember being available, so I grabbed them & figured that if they didn’t like them, I was only out a few dollars.

Ha. Well, I succeeded in bringing the 90s back to my little rust belt city. The teens LOVED them – I went back & bought more halfway through the summer. The girls like them, the guys like them, & I think they appreciate how simple they are to make. Pick up a bag the next time you need an easy craft!

Here’s a fun link: 100 Awesome Way to Use Duct Tape in your Dorm Room. Some of them are a little out there, & some have little to no relevence for us (although we’d be the coolest library ever if we made them beer cozies, I suppose), but it’s pretty neat. Duct tape crafts are super easy, teens like them, & best of all, it’s pretty cheap. Check it out! I think I’ll be doing several of these in the coming months…

I was going to do a typical “hey, I’m back, sorry I disappeared for six months” post, but you know what? This is far more exciting.

Hot Topic has Hunger Games t-shirts!

This is exciting for two reasons: 1.) MOCKINGJAY IS COMING OUT SOON OMG YAY!!, & 2.) I honestly cannot remember a time when Hot Topic stocked merchandise that was only related to books. Anime, yes. Popular tv shows? Yes. Books that have been turned into movies? Obviously. But I don’t even remember Harry Potter stuff being in the store until the movies came out.

Go Hot Topic for noticing a really popular teen thing that isn’t media!!

Linda Braun, the teen-tech guru, wrote a very good post over at the YALSA blog late last week. Now, before I go any further, I will say that although Linda Braun is amazing at what she does, I don’t always agree with her views of teens & technology – or at least, the view she sees is very different from what I see. The teens in the area I serve know very little about the Internet outside of myspace & Runescape; in fact, when I asked about it, none of them had even heard of Second Life, never mind played there. But what she does is invaluable to a lot of us (even me!) who don’t use all the new-fangled technology as soon as its out there – & she often comes up with fabulous ways it could be implemented in the library.

Anyways! So there’s a school that’s decided to turn its library into a digital paradise – which means no more books. It turns out that as of last spring, only 43 books had been checked for the year, & many of those were children’s books for the facultys’ children (staff remain on campus). The librarian at this school is heartbroken, & librarians & bibliophiles everywhere are responding in hysterics, as though this one library (in a 9-12 boarding school; my guess is that its college prep) will be the first of many to do this. & of course, the eternal TEENS DON’T READ mantra that the media loves to tout; a thriving teen lit industry begs to differ. I’m very grateful to Linda for writing her post in which she asks us to give this more in-depth thought, rather than simply panicking over the loss of the printed word. Her points are valid & absolutely right – there are cons, but there are lots of pros as well.

Things that I would like to say about it, sans hysteria:

Thing 01: Many libraries spread themselves way too thin trying to offer everything, when in reality it would be better for resource expenditure & for their patrons if they simply sat down & really took a good look at the purpose of their library. Research? Popular fiction? Classroom support? My guess is that this school took a look at what was being offered, & chose to turn the library into a research center. The best way to do that, especially in a college-prep, boarding school with very connected teens, is to go digital.

Thing 02: If you didn’t have to buy books, magazines, & other physical materials, think of the databases & information you could purchase! These students will have access to so much fabulous material!

Thing 03: As an MLIS student, I didn’t use my academic library once. Well, no, that’s not entirely true. Rather, I should say, I relied on the electronic resources made available by my university that were accessible via the Internet – and from my apartment. But as for all those expensive reference volumes? Nada. In my reference work at my job, I only rarely need to use one.

Thing 04: If this campus is affluent, there’s a pretty good chance that these teens are used to purchasing their fiction. Generation X & later prefers the bookstore – it’s more hip, more inviting, & often times, friendlier. Sorry – the reference librarian stereotype exists for a reason. As long as these teens’ “reading for fun” needs are being met elsewhere, I’ve no problem with this approach.

Thing 05: My guess? These teens are connected. These are the teens all those companies aim their products at – these are the teens that use everything digital; their photography, their books, their music. They download tv to watch on their iPods. They do their assignments on their laptops at the mall. A digital library is going to be incredibly helpful for these teens.

Thing 06: If the librarian had no input, that sucks. Big time. What’s the use of her professional opinion if they didn’t even bother to ask her?

Thing 07: The printed book still reigns supreme, no matter what this school or what the folks at Kindle may hope you believe.

Thing 08: This school won’t be the last one to do something like this. It remains to be seen if this will be a viable option for more of us.

Basically, to sum up: is this radical? Sure! But if this meets the needs of the students, bravo for them. Isn’t the purpose of a library just that – to meet the needs of its users?

Good grief, it’s the end of August already! & at least for me, it means my favorite time of year is just around the corner: Teen Read Week!!

I adore Teen Read Week for a multitude of reasons, number one being that I get to showcase, first & foremost, what I love most about my job: getting amazing literature into the hands of teens. Reader’s advisory (wherein I pull book after book off the shelf for a potential reader & invite them to choose from among them) is by far my favorite part of the job. I get a thrill seeing teens walking to the self-checkout (which is why they never know what fines they have, le sigh) with a huge stack of books in their arms – especially when I know they didn’t used to a reader. In my time here, I’ve been fortunate enough to watch several of my “regulars” go from just-computer users to voracious readers who will read pretty much anything I give them.

Just as an aside: I firmly believe that anyone who says they don’t like reading just haven’t found that one book that gets them going. For me, it was the Redwall series first, & then Harry Potter that rekindled my love of reading. For many teens of late, it was Twilight. For at least one of my teens, it was the Confessions of Georgia Nicholson series. I take it as a personal challenge when a mom drags their teen to me & tells me they don’t like reading – that’s when the pile begins.

But anyways, TRW 2009 is creeping ever closer! I’ve been brainstorming some ideas for potential programs of late, & I thought I’d share them with you. This year’s theme is fantasy/sf-themed, & wow! The potentials are endless!

» Anime cosplay party! Let the teens choose the best-dressed & offer a gift card to their favorite place tp purchase anime & manga – usually Borders, FYE, Best Buy, or if you have one, the local comics shop
» Movies! Let your TAB or other group choose their favorite book-to-movie feature: Eragon, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Jumper, Star Wars, any of the comics movies – so many choices!
» Host a D&D campaign; invite local DMs to come & run the games!
» Get in contact with your local SCA & invite them to give a presentation on what they do
» Find a make-up and/or costume artist & create a program discussing costuming, etc in recent sf & fantasy movies
» Host a costume party & invite teens to dress up as their favorite sf/fantasy character. Be sure to invite those anime fans as well!
» Host a craft program & offer teens the chance to make their own dolls, felt plushies, or characterized teddy bears (or rubber duckies!)
» Is there an author or writing professing in the area? Host a sf/fantasy writing workshop!
» Hold a massive Runescape game at your library – the teens at my library are still obsessed with this!
» Hold a fantasy/sf-themed book swap at your library – mass markets are great for these!
» Wish a belated happy birthday to everyone’s favorite wizard, or host a Wizards’ Ball for everyone!
» Invite teens to a fantasy/sf book discussion – they can talk about their favorites, get recommendations, & connect with fellow readers!
» Invite teens to create their own trailers for books & books they’d like to turn into movies! Turn it into a contest, & have a “short film festival” where you watch all the entries!
» Host a “Battle of the Books” where teens can vote for their favorites fantasy/sf series – Harry Potter, Twilight, Protector of the Small, Mortal Instruments, etc. Have your TAB come up with the categories!
» Host a TRW Extravaganza where they can win books & play in a huge Jeopardy-style trivia contest!

Do you have other ideas? Share them in the comments!!

In addition to feeling that what I do is important & enjoying teen lit, I honest-to-god love teens. I find them fascinating & wonderful in all their annoying ways – they’re just discovering so much for the first time & are finally old enough to emotionally handle most of the things life throws at them. I love talking with them, spending time with them, & doing as much as I can to make their lives all the more amazing, whether that means ordering extra copies of their favorite books, wiping out a few bucks worth of fines, or offering programs that make their days. I know that teen services falls below just about everything else libraries offer, & I know I’ll never get much recognition for my efforts, but it really & truly is my bliss.

So whenever I see teens with a big pile of books, or sitting about Teen Central reading, I always bound up to them & ask what they’ve got. Sometimes I’m met with a face that’s terrified to say anything (I am a bundle of energy when dealing with them, & since nearly every other adult who would speak to them in our library would do so simply to yell them, it’s understandable), but those who know me cheerfully let me know.

Today, as I was sitting at the desk, a guy around 13 or 14 sat down on the chairs near our desk, a teen book in hand. When I asked, “Whacha readin’?” I recieved this answer in response:

The second Triskellion book! You gave me the first one, & it was the best thing I ever read!

And then he buried his face in said book. Today, the Universe feels just perfect. No award could ever replace the feeling I have right now.

These are just a few things I’ve noticed them raving about or asking about – thought I’d pass it along!

1. Fred
The merchandise is showing up at Justice & Hot Topic, & he was nominated for a teen choice award. Definitely check this kid out!

2. Supernatural fiction: Werewolves
They’re hungry for it, but there’s not a whole lot to give them. Publishers?

3. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
They saw it, & loved it. Now you know how the movie is making its money!

4. Ponyo
They won’t stop talking about it, but they’re most unhappy that the dub includes Miley Cyrus & a Jonas Brother.

5. Susane Colasanti
I’ve had a quite a large number of teens asking about for her books – she’s being talked about somewhere, so perhaps check to make sure you have them in stock!

I’m working on our “End of Summer Celebration” today, which we hold in leiu of a summer reading finale (I invite all teens to come, rather than exclude those who usually forgot [or were too lazy to fill out] their entry forms), & I finally remembered to check out a resource I’d heard about at a lovely crafting *workshop: ReadyMech.com.

Mecha are a bit like the Japanese version of Transformers, only brighter & wackier. Teens love them, & this site offers .pdfs of many varities. Although I would have prefered to use cardstock, I gave in to our color copier’s personality & used plain paper instead. It took a little finagling, but using a glue stick, I was able to get one together! You can see him on the right hand side of the picture below. It’s a little thing, but actually quite cute!

I’ll put the big stack in the middle of a table, & let them have at. We’re also going to be doing Guitar Hero & DDR, & decorating guitar pick necklaces. Mostly, they come to this for the pizza & prizes, but we always have a good time!

*presented by Mandy Simon, teen librarian @ Worthington Park Branch!

With even the author having to step in to defend herself surrounding the hoopla of Justine Larbalestier’s latest, Liar (go read that if you’ve no idea what I’m talking about – in a nutshell, the publisher put a white girl on the cover of a book about a black girl – yeah, it’s bad, but authors get no say in this), I’d thought I’d point out some other instances where the publishers have jumped ship in favor of the fail whale.

See, publishers have these strange ideas about what will sell – & although I do agree that a well-designed book finds more readers, sometimes the designs will truly speak for themselves. If a book doesn’t sell well in hardcover, often they’ll give the paperback edition a new cover. Sometimes they really do nail it the second time (I’ll do a post of these later). Many times, they fail.

The original is on the left, followed by the new paperback edition. Ironically, many of the originals are some of my very favorite covers, & I’ve put them in the Well Designed Books Make Better Lovers set.

Here, we lost those beautiful bright hues, & traded them in for… random Georgian costumed girls? I get that perhaps using typical Austen graphics speaks to what the book is about – but focusing on that aspect won’t make the average teen pick it up (although I will admit that the blurb from Stephenie Meyer does help).

I’ve often felt that the hardcover edition of Gingerbread is one of the absolute best-designed teen covers of all time. This book never sits on a display – it barely makes it an hour before it’s once more plucked from the shelf. To turn such a quintessential teen image into a boring white & blue cover – don’t get me wrong, it’s not a terrible design, but it’s so not the main character.

Another gorgeous, interesting cover (which also rarely sits on the shelf) gets turned into generic monotone. This story now looks to be about clones, rather than a fun story about a guy who dates a bunch of girls named Katherine.

Again, turning a fabulous design into something incredibly generic. Nothing about this cover says PICK ME UP I’M INTERESTING!!! If a book design is perfect, I shouldn’t need to booktalk it.

This one breaks my heart. Here, a book that looks like it’s about a guy who’s into comics gets turned into… a book that looks like its aimed at second graders. Why would they do this?

Again, an engaging cover gets turned into generic ghost story. & again, the hardcover never stays on a display. Doesn’t it just scream pick me up & check me out? I get that the reboot was done to cash in on the Supernatural fandom, but still. Was this really necessary?

This is truly just a sampling of good intentions gone bad. What are some the most glaring examples that I’ve missed? Am I completely out of my mind?

With the news that Warner Bros is finally making some progress making the Septimus Heap movies, I just thought I’d comb through some of the info about other upcoming movies from teen books (that aren’t, you know, New Moon)…

A Great and Terrible Beauty: If they don’t get moving on this, the momentum is going to fade away. Right now it’s listed as a 2010 release – which is a shame, because the last book of the trilogy came out almost two years ago now. A lot of those teens who adored this book are moving on to other obsessions (Twilight, Mortal Instruments, House of Night, to name a few), & this movie will need those obsessive fangirls to help it along.

The Lovely Bones: Peter Jackson is directing this! It’ll be interesting to see how this’ll turn out – it’s due in theatres December 11th, & there’s quite an interesting cast attached to it. This was an Alex award winner, & a literary bestseller, so it’ll be interesting to see which teens get into the movie.

Keep reading "Coming soon to a theatre near you…" →