Not Just a Demographi

c: Teen Workshop

February 29, 2016

Presented by the Abilene Public Library Children’s Department

Abilene, Texas

Introduction

Kelsie WadeChildren’s Librarian

Main Branch

Teen Time: Masquerade Masks

Why teens? By an overwhelming

majority, a teen/youth workshop was voted on “what to see next” at last year’s workshop

Underserved population Are not given the same

attention as children Teens themselves may

not reach out to libraries Lego Club

Statistics 25% of all public high school students fail to

graduate on time 34 million Americans ages 6 to 17 are not

receiving sufficient developmental resources 21% of public secondary schools do not have

a paid, full-time, state-certified librarian 54.7% of U.S. households have Internet

access; millions of teens whose households don’t must rely on library computers for homework, college & job resources, etc.

Teens Need Libraries. YALSA, 2015. http://www.ala.org/yalsa/teens-need-libraries

Statistics Participation in library programs for kids

under 18 rose from 35.6 million a year in 1993, to 54.6 million a year in 2005. In a 2007 poll, one-third of teens indicated they

visited the public library ten times a year or more.

Students in programs with more school librarians and extended library hours scored 8.4 to 21.8% higher on ACT English tests and 11.7 to 16.7% higher on ACT Reading tests compared to students in schools where libraries had fewer resources.

Teens Need Libraries. YALSA, 2015. http://www.ala.org/yalsa/teens-need-libraries

Teens in the Library Teens need to be in

the library Whether school or

public, for books or programs, it is beneficial on an educational and social level

Tween Time: Fun with Jars

So, the big question… How do we get teens into the library –

and keep them there?! Teens are notoriously hard to engage in

a library environment This workshop should help you with

that!

What this workshop is all about… TEENS Well, besides that, we’ll learn:

About teens in the library Materials for teens Making the library a comfortable place for

teens – and making them want to come back!

Teens in the Library

How do we make the library a comfortable place where teens want to hang out?

Materials for teens: dystopias, fantasy, romance, oh my! What is too edgy?

Help! My teens have issues!

What this workshop is all about… Clubs for teens

Writing clubs Book clubs Lego Club Anime clubs

What succeeds? What fails? WHY?!

Collecting Commas Writing Club

Programs & Clubs How to advertise for

your events Food? What a standard

program may look like How to connect with

your teens without driving them away

Teen crafts that actually appeal

Tween Time: Cupcake Burgers and Fries

What this workshop is all about…

Big programs Lib-Con

Annual Library Con of glorious nerdiness

Summer reading club 8 full weeks of

programs & prizes

Teen cosplay winner for Lib-Con

What this workshop is all about… Crafts

Don’t worry, we’re still doing hands-on crafts

For every craft station visited, you’ll receive a ticket to be entered for our raffle prizes 5 winners total

Scared yet? Don’t be. Teens are full of their own

challenges, and present something totally different from children, but they are wonderful, awesome, and constantly surprising.

Teens decorating the new whiteboards in the teen space at Main

So let’s get them started!