1. part #1
December 2012

2. Beyond attendance or
circulation numbers…
Participation and
collaboration with teens
from passive to active…

3. 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!

4. Teens want to be involved
at their library…

5. This week…
Foundation
•Teen participation
•Why teen participation & libraries
•“Ladder of Teen Participation”
Teens in your community
•Library’s reach
Programming
teen involvement in program development and implementation
discovering and fostering communities of interest
Teen Leadership Councils and groups
volunteers formal/ casual/
off-site opportunities

6. 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).”

7. What?
What is youth participation?

8. Why?
vs.
What?

9. Teen Participation
“… 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 activity
whose impact or consequence is extended to others...”
--The National Commission on Resources for Youth
in the United States, 1975

10. Teen collaboration* may be something
you have to advocate for….
http://www.amarillomagonline.com/article/239
* or basic service

11. Teen Services…
Becoming core
in the traditional
library landscape
•Entitlement
•Possibilities
•Expectations
•Necessities

12. Why?
Why is youth participation important?

13. Why is teen/library
collaboration important?
… for libraries
… for teens
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4142/4815206453_4565d99438.jpg

14. Why is teen/library
collaboration important?
… for teens
Gain: developmental assets
cultural & social competencies
meaningful participation
Play decision making roles
Take ownership of the library
Valued & respected by
community
Civic engagement

15. 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

16. Developmental
Assets
Framework
Language
Established
Partners Use

17. Youth
Participation
Model
Express
Evaluate
Articulate http://www
.f lickr.com/p
hotos/victo
riap ubliclibrary
Assess how your library is doing now and help
set goals for the future.

18. Roger Hart created a model for thinking about
youth participation as a continuum of activities.

20. Rung #3
adult initiated action;
shared decisions with
youth
initiated by adults but the
decision making is shared
with young people

21. Rung #2
youth initiated and
directed actions
young people initiate and
direct a project or program.
Adults are involved only in
a supportive role

22. Rung #1
youth initiated actions,
shared decisions with
adults
initiated by young people
and decision making is
shared between
young people and adults.

23. What’s your impression?
Most teen related services/activities
at 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

24. Possible indicators of
teen/ library collaboration…
NOT!
http://tametheweb.com/2008/08/28/library-fail/

25. POLL QUESTION #2:
Have you ever planned a
library program for teens
and no one showed up ??
(I have.)

26. “How do I get teens to
show up for programs
at the library?”

27. inward to outward
&
teen programming
is for teens

28. From inward to outward…

29. from the web….

30. from the web….

32. teen programming is for teens
“We are not teens…
but we think we are.”

33. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyndipix/2850529664/in/photostream/
Know the teens you serve…
and not just the teens you see…
Know the community you serve…

34. gaining teen participation…
teens you see every
day
school groups
outreach
homeschool groups
school counselors
school librarians
comic book store

36. 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 when
they visit your library?

37. participation… to collaboration
TLCs
“Regulars”
Communities
of Interest
Volunteers

38. Questions?
Questions?

39. Teen Leadership Council
Ingredients:
Teens
Staff advisor/
facilitator
Meeting
(consistency!)
Responsibilities & decision-making that
affect broader group

40. in an asset framework
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.

41. 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."

42. TLC developed
programming

43. Teen Leadership
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."

45. Teen advisory group
“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 cuts
http://oaklandlocal.com/sites/default/files/i/citycouncil2.jpg

46. Formalized
city-wide / local / independent
http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/links/teens/index.html

47. Proximit
y
&
Interest

48. proximity
Monday Nights @ Central
What are we doing tonight??
Consistency

49. Collaborating with
“The Regulars”
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
The perfect storm of “we want to cook”.

50. Communities of interest
A “community of interest”
is a group of people who
share a common
passion.

51. Based on what you
know is popular…
What do you think might
be a “teen” community of
interest?
(answer via chat)

52. anime/ manga
San Japan Reading Room

53. anime/ manga
San Japan Reading Room

54. 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)

55. venue of interest

57. QUESTION #3:
Does your library have teen
volunteer opportunities?

58. task based teen
volunteers
project based
volunteers

59. task based teen
volunteers
Make it official! &
Spontaneously on the spot!
Assessment of interests
be open to nontraditional
shelving
decorate teen space
reviewing items
working on teen blog
.. (more on these later!)

60. task based teen
volunteers
Focus on
what teens
are
gaining…

61. 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

62. project based volunteers

64. How Chuck Norris ate Teen Tech Week…

65. …and zombies invaded Teen Read Week.

66. Your role:
Foster and
facilitate…
Find resources
Develop partnerships
Grow users
Build community
Advocate
Formalize

67. Programming Policy
Formalizing teen
participation/ collaboration
as a success measure
Making it part of
your teen service
mission and vision.

68. 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.

69. Getting to baseline: (homework.)
Of the population served by the
How many students attend the
library, approximately what
high school closest to your
percentage is made up by teens
location?
(13 to 18)?
Based on the size of the teen
Look at demographic/
population vs. the number of
economic information about
active teen library cards – is
the community you serve.
there potential to increase
What picture forms about your
teen library usage?
typical user?
In the last year how many teens
In your library database
attended library programs? How
determine how many teens have
many teen programs were
“active” library cards.
offered?

70. You need to know…
Does your library keep How are teen
separate statistics on the programming decisions
number and attendance of made in your
teen programs? organization?
Does your library have a Are there teen programming
separate budget for teen guidelines/ policy/
programming? If there is a centralization?
budget – what is the funding
amount based on? How do teens find out
about teen library
How do you report teen programs/ activities?
programming activities to:
your supervisor,
administration, library board?
(like statistics, narrative, or
both - or other)

71. Questions?
Questions?
jenniferjoan@gmail.com

72. R.I.P.
“Adele”
Peace to you as you
roll in the deep.

73. Ultimate ownership
– the clean-up