It's the program issue!
Many of our teens are back to school--studying, playing sports, marching in band, and engaging in after school activities and jobs. And there are other teens with no extracurricular activities that have adult supervision or guidance; they go to empty homes after school or have no place quiet and resourceful to do their homework. Public libraries are once again that safe third place to be for teens after home and school. As more libraries establish maker spaces, this after school time can become a hands-on learning time that enhances and supplements school time. With 5.3 million teens attending 334,000 public library programs in a year, YOU are doing amazing work creating wonderful activities for teens (2011 Public Library Survey). VOYA is here to help with booklists, program ideas, and reviews to keep your teens engaged at the library.BOOKLISTS
Themed booklists are in every issue of VOYA. Some of our lists are compilations of titles with excellent reviews and some lists are contributed by our readers.
This month, Lindsey Tomsu, teen librarian at the La Vista Public Library in La Vista, Nebraska, introduces us to a less familiar genre, bizarro. Discover these quirky titles that may appeal to your teens' bizarre humor in "It's a Bizarre Bizarro World."
Lina Sun, teacher and researcher at the School of Foreign Languages, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), returns to VOYA with a look at "Violent Encounters in Secondary School Classrooms: Representations of Conflicts and Wars in Graphic Novels." Nonfiction graphic novels can engage history students with their study of war, peace, and conflict resolution.
Some of our booklists are annual features, compiling our reviewers' favorite titles. In this issue, "Extending the Five-Foot Bookshelf: More Essential Books for Professionals Who Serve Teens" is a compilation of the year's best professional titles reviewed in VOYA magazine.
PROGRAMS
Each year, the October issue features library programs for teens. Some of the following programs may be a perfect fit as they are for your teens. One is from my home town, Zanesville, Ohio, that I heard about on the radio. Some of the programs described may need tweaking to suit your community resources, or your teen space, or your teens' interests. All of the programs will inspire you to get together with your teens to plan your next programs.
Justin de la Cruz, reference and instruction librarian at the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library in Atlanta, Georgia, shares the success of the library's series of events that introduced youth to robotics and computer programming in "Robotics and Computer Programming: Digital Literacy Training in the idea lab."
Gina Martinez, teen services librarian at Mitchell Park Library in Palo Alto, California, utilized her teens' skills to teach younger children how to program in "Teens Teaching Youth to Code."
Jarrett Dapier, master's student at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, shares how he helped teens in his library cope with the sudden death of one of their peers in "Reverb Effect: Library Services for Grieving Teens Following the Violent Death of a Friend."
"Students Become Authors" is the story by Lori Y. Lee, high school English teacher and media specialist at Zanesville High School in Zanesville, Ohio, that tells how she guided her students through the process of writing and publishing a book. The book launch was held at their local public library.
Sometimes it is the combination of serendipity, a bit of luck, and willingness to act on opportunity that can make a program come together. Dina Schuldner, young adult librarian at the Gold Coast Public Library in Glen Head, New York, tells how all three helped her put together her program in "The Making of the Teen Entrepreneurial Academy."
Jan Chapman, teen librarian for the Strongsville Branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library, stresses the importance of letting LGBTQ teens know you are an ally and shows us how in "Become an Ally: Reach Out to Your LGBTQ Teen Community." Returning writer Nancy Evans, young adult librarian at the Levittown Public Library in Levittown, New York, gives tips on how to "Revamp, Refresh, Revitalize: Overcome Your Fears and Improve Your Summer Reading Program."
COLUMNS
Teen writer Zoe Wright gives readers insight in Notes from the Teenage Underground: "On the 'Real World.'"
Seattle-based learning consultant Linda W. Braun returns with a new column in which she will share the new and different trends and ideas in young adult library service. The first installment is Disruptive Ideas: "Who Cares Where?"
Elsworth Rockefeller, manager of adult and teen services at the Oak Park Public Library in Illinois, and his guest manager Krissy Wick give advice and ideas about teen programming to consider in Id Like to Speak to a Manager ... "About Aligning Teen Programs with Strategic Initiatives."
Voyages columnist Rebecca A. Hill never fails to deliver an interesting look at what's trending in science fiction. This month, Hill interviews Ben Winters in "Law and Order in Science Fiction: An Interview with Ben Winters, Author of The Last Policeman Trilogy."
Shari Fesko's Get with the Program tells about art and film programs in the library in "Teens Mixing It Up with Media."
In The First Freedom: "What Height Is the Heart?," Cathi Dunn MacRae shares what she has learned about defending access to information by teens.
Graphic novel guru Kat Kan reviews what she's been reading in Graphically Speaking: "So Many Good Books!"
REVIEWS
VOYA's reviews are even more helpful with two new ratings: R for reluctant reader and NA for new adult. I've seen favorable comments from YA librarians on Twitter about these new ratings; I hope the new ratings assist you when you are developing a YA collection that fits your audience.
RoseMary Honnold, Editor
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| Title Annotation: | editorial: the view from voya |
|---|---|
| Author: | Honnold, RoseMary |
| Publication: | Voice of Youth Advocates |
| Date: | Oct 1, 2015 |
| Words: | 960 |
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