ALD Teen Services

Wikipedia's not all bad!

2008-02-28T13:39:00.000-08:00

I read a fascinating article about Wikipedia and how banning the use of this source is a "silly" policy. The author advocates the position that "it is irresponsible for educatonal institutions not to teach new knowledge technologies such as Wikipedia". The "anyone can edit" philosophy that most teachers hate can be turned around and used as an invaluable teaching tool in learning how people create, share and record knowledge. Read this for yourselves; I've certainly seen a huge change in the accuracy of Wikipedia information available.

http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/02/wikipedia-and-the-new-curriculum/

Kris

Gaming Professional Reading

2008-02-04T18:49:00.000-08:00

Are you on the gaming in libraries bandwagon and want to learn more???

Are you curious about the new gaming phenomenon at ALD and other libraries?

Do you think this whole library gaming thing is crazy and won't change your mind until you hear some good reasons on why we should be involved?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, I recommend you take at this excellent bibliography of suggested reading about gaming and libraries posted by Beth Galloway on the "Game On: Libraries in Gaming" blog.

Teaching with Primary Sources

2008-02-04T16:32:00.001-08:00

On Friday and Saturday, Feb 1st and 2nd, I attended an annual event called "Librarian Days" about teaching with primary sources. The event was held at the Auraria campus and was heavily geared for school librarians and teachers but there was still a lot of good information that can be applied in a public library setting.

There was a big emphasis on those ubiquitous "Web 2.0" technologies which are still relatively new territory for schools, though we are on the ball with our ALD blogs, wikis, deli.ci.ous accounts and more. We were also introduced to resources available through the Library of Congress American Memory website which has over 11 million (and counting) primary cources feely available to the public. There was a presentation by the Colorado Historical Newspaper project and another by the Denver Newspaper Agency.

Keeping with the Web 2.0 theme, they have a wiki up with links to PowerPoint presentations, handouts, and additional resources from the various presenters. I encourage you to take a look and I will probably comment in further entries about some of the presentations in more specifics. I especially need to write about my experience and thoughts about entering the new online 3D world of Second Life. I got to create my own avatar and wander around some virtual libraries and museums in Second Life. While I am not conviced Second Life itself is the way of the future, I think this kind of technology is and I'm anxious to learn and share more.

Assignment Alert-Sky Vista Middle School

2008-01-26T09:42:00.000-08:00

Smoky Hill Library was recently contacted by Annie Olson, Teacher Librarian at Sky Vista Middle School. About 120 students from that school have been assigned to read a Utopia/ Dystopia novel over the next month or so. She sent a suggested reading list that was provided to the students which I have attached under CORE TITLES at our ALD Teen Services wiki in case students come in without their list. This is also a good list for other teen patrons seeking similar titles. Here are a few more that are not on the list that we have @ ALD that would also work:

The destiny of Linus Hoppe / Anne-Laure Bondoux ; translated from the French by Catherine Temerson.
In a utopian world, fourteen-year-old Linus, who is approaching the test that will determine which Realm he will live, rejects the accepted way of life and ventures to change his destiny.

The silenced / James DeVita.
Consigned to a prison-like Youth Training Facility because of her parents' political activities, Marena organizes a resistance movement to combat the restrictive policies of the ruling Zero Tolerance party.

The supernaturalist / Eoin Colfer.
In futuristic Satellite City, fourteen-year-old Cosmo Hill escapes from his abusive orphanage and teams up with three other people who share his unusual ability to see supernatural creatures, and together they determine the nature and purpose of the swarming blue Parasites that are invisible to most humans.

Do you have others you recommend?

~Monica

Learning Styles

2008-01-24T11:42:00.000-08:00

Ok, we've all heard about learning styles, but have you ever taken an assessment survey? Take this survey at www.learning-styles-online.com, and glean an understanding about yourself, your own kids, or the teens you work with. One of my daughters is very much like me, and one is not - this helps me remember that she doesn't learn like I do. Will you find out that the survey accurately identifies you, or will you learn something new about yourself?

The Brown Bookshelf & 28 Days Later

2008-01-10T08:13:00.000-08:00

There's a cool blog called The Brown Bookshelf, run by 5 African-American authors and illustrators with the goal of showcasing A-A youth literature. They have an initiative this year called 28 Days Later, where for the first 28 days of Black History Month they will profile a different author or illustrator. The showcase authors will be announced January 15. There's going to be a poster to download and print out as well. Looks good!

Sort Books by Middle School/High School???

2007-10-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

Denver's teen website lets you sort books by middle school or high school with many books being categorized as both. What does everyone think of that? Our teen focus groups liked the idea - especially the middle schoolers who seemed very conscientious about avoiding inappropriate material. I like the way Denver's works because all items show up, but viewers can choose to sort if they want

If we decide to do it all staff picks, bibs... would have to come tagged as MS or HS or both. What would our criteria be? Will we have to be extra sure that anything tagged middle school is really clean? What would be our source for justification if any are questioned given that the catalog just says 12 and up for all YA?

Please comment on this soon, because that sorting feature will have to be built into the teen site.

Thanks,
Alyson

What to Call “Teen Interests”

2007-10-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

One area of the new teen website will feature short to medium length blurbs about a wide variety of things of interest to teens. They will range from frivolous (like Timewasters now) to serious ( Like reminders of finding health and wellness material on Teen Health and Wellness) Basically anything we put up that is not specific to Books and Reading, Movies and Music, or Homework and Research will go here – kinda like the Lifestyle section of the newspaper.

So what to call this area:
Teen Interests - “Teen” is redundant on Teen site?
Random Stuff – too trivial for serious subjects ?
Teen Topics – too serious?
Your Life – too vague?

I am leaning toward Random Stuff because it will really be random. Remember that all the items will go across the home page as well so, people will have the chance to read the item even if they don’t visit the “Teen Interests - Random Stuff –Teen Topics -Your Life” section

Any other ideas, comments please speak up now!

Alyson

Edenville Owls-Book Recommendation

2007-10-04T18:40:00.000-07:00

I just finished Robert B. Parker’s Edenville Owls. It’s a really good book, the story is told well, you can picture 14-year-old boys doing exactly what the book characters do, and it’s a fast read. Scholastic’s Reading Counts page lists it at a 4.1 level. Chapters are short and layout is clear – recommend it for guys/reluctant readers; I think they’ll enjoy the story and identify with the character.

Kris

31 Flavorite Authors for Teens

2007-09-26T10:20:00.000-07:00

YALSA and Readergirlz are doing a very cool program throughout the month of October. They are hosting online discussions with YA authors every night. I put info up on the website about 31 Flavorites . They are having some big name authors including Ann Brashares, Chris Crutcher, Meg Cabot and Stephanie Meyer on Halloween! Alyson

Reaching out to teens online

2007-09-25T13:19:00.000-07:00

OK-So maybe I've just been in library school too long but I just love to read library articles and stay up on the latest. This article was just shared on the C'YAAL ( Colorado Young Adult Advocates in Libraries) listserv about online marketing to teens.

While the article is dealing with how authors and publishers are trying (and sometimes succeeding quite nicely, thank you very much) in reaching teens online, it makes me think about how we can apply the same kinds of practices. What do you think?

del.icio.us for Teens

2007-09-21T09:53:00.000-07:00

I set up the del.icio.us account for teens:
http://del.icio.us/arapahoelibraryteens
Pam B. and Kris are part of the del.icio.us team, so will be entering onto the site. If anyone else would like to add, please contact Alyson for the password. We are mainly going to be using it for Homework and Research and for Books and Reading. By not entering too much games, music, trivia... the tag cloud will really direct kids to good reference sites. Once plenty is entered and bundled we will put the tag cloud up on the teen website.
Alyson

Get Radi-CAL

2007-09-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in attending CAL this year, here is some more information on what will be going on. I want to especially recommend the Preconference on Youth Participation @ Your Library: Putting into Practice presented by a new friend I made at ALA, Diane Tuccillo. Diane recently moved to Fort Collins and just started as a Teen Librarian there. She is a published author of books on teen services and has taught online college courses on the subject.

If you're interested, check with your supervisor and get a paper form to register as well as submitting a Continuing Education Form and then get ready to get Radi-CAL!

~Monica

Sounds Del.icio.us!

2007-09-17T15:12:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons for this Teen Services blog is for it to serve as a resource on teen services for ALD Staff. That's why on the right of the page, you will find links to selected web sites. The first set of links are to ALD related sites. One that you will see there is the ALD del.icio.us social bookmarking site. I just read an interesting article about how libraries are using del.icio.us which you can view here. It's a little long but it is a very complee article if you would like to get a better understanding of what social bookmarking and tools like del.icio.us are all about. Looks like we are on the right track with trying this!

I encourage you to check out the other links and if you have any suggestions on ones to add, please let us know!

~Monica

Welcome to the ALD Teen Services Blog!

2007-08-25T11:50:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Arapahoe Library District Teen Services blog! The purpose of this blog is to provide a new and additional means of communication for ALD staff to find out about and share what's going on in teen services throughout the district. Here are the types of information you will find here in the near future:

Information and staff comments on teen (YA) books

Information about upcoming teen programs and events

Links to articles, other blogs and books related to teen services or issues

Ideas and suggestions related to teen services

Best Practices sharing

Request for input and comments about teen services

Reports and updates from meetings, conferences or training sessions

The Teen Services AST's will moderate and supply content but any ALD staff is welcome and encouraged to add comments. We want to hear from you! To comment, just click the comments button at the bottom of the page. You will see other comments on the left and a box to enter your comments in the right. It is helpful to have your own Blogger account to post comments, but not necessary. If you don't, just click the "other" button and enter your name in the box provided. If you would like to have something posted, please e-mail Monica O. or Anna Z. with the information. Or, if you would like to add your own post, we can send you an invitation which will give you access.

Finally, I know this whole blogging thing may be new or unfamiliar to many of you so please, if you would like any help, please let Anna or I know. The best way to learn is to try it out. But be careful, it could be addictive!

~Monica