Hope springs eternal. Doesn’t It?

For the past several weeks I’ve been feeling extremely positive about recent media and research reports demonstrating the positive impact on teens of social networking. The Berkman Center for Internet and Society report released last month on social networks as safe spaces, and the earlier MacArthur report on the positive implications of social networking on learning, buoyed my spirits.

But then, Tuesday arrived, and the web was buzzing with the words of Lady Greenfield – Professor of synaptic pharmacology at Lincoln college, Oxford, and Director of the Royal Institution – about the negative impact of social networking on brains. I actually didn’t want to read the press about what Greenfield was saying, because I didn’t want to lose my hopes. But, I knew, in order to be educated about the topic I needed to read. So, I did. (more…)

You mean there’s another side?  Well, of course there is!  We are so eager to get our point across and convince the “enemy” that we need that new teen space or to budget for another school librarian that we forget that there are often legitimate reasons for why those things haven’t happened yet.  I would suggest that before any advocacy/lobbying take place, you sit for a moment and seriously ponder what the other side may be experiencing and the challenges that the other side may be facing.  Once you have examined the other side of the fence, your enemy may no longer be an enemy but a potential collaborator in your cause.  Consider these ideas:  (more…)

Once you are able to find support, funding, spaces, community connections, etc for teen services in your library’s structure you might now look for ways for teens to be involved in the everyday decisions and workload.  We can talk about supporting the wants and needs of teenagers forever, but the next step is actually using them as a resource (a very valuable resource) in the day-to-day functions of the library, beyond shelving books and preparing crafts. (more…)

In this 4 minute podcast, teen author Cynthia Leitich Smith talks about her new book – Eternal – and her experiences as an author in Second Life.

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• Visit YALSA’s Podcast Page

Leitich Smith is interviewed by Christen Higgens, Library Assistant, at the Charlotte Public Library.
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The American Library Association (ALA) Office for Literacy and Outreach Services is seeking applications from public, school and academic libraries interested in developing and implementing innovative literacy gaming services for youth ages 10-18.

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Advocacy successes don’t always come quickly or easily, but reading about other libraries’ successes can give us all inspiration and hope in our efforts.

As the ALA Add It Up site  points out, ” The most dangerous time of the day is from 3 PM to 6 PM. Public libraries provide teens with a constructive place to go during these hours, where teens can organize and participate in supervised recreational and educational activities.”

The Maplewood Memorial Library in New Jersey experienced this problem in a most extreme fashion with 50 or more teens coming into the library every afternoon to just hang out, as you can see by the following account from the YALSA Toolkit: Speaking Up for Library Services to Teens: A Guide to Advocacy. (more…)

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith. Putnam. 2009.

December 1941. Eighteen year old Ida Mae Jones is cleaning houses, saving to go to Chicago to pursue her dream of flying. She’s black; but that’s not why the local instructor in Louisiana won’t pass her and give her a pilot’s license. It’s because she’s a woman. The flight school in Chicago will give her what she wants — a chance. Pearl Harbor changes everything. Her older brother, Thomas, drops out of medical school to join the Army and asks her to stay home to help their mother and grandfather on the farm and to look after their younger brother, Abel. (more…)

Grants allow libraries and their patrons to benefit from extra funds that provide additional services and programs. Preplanning and needs assessments are both important to grant writing because the written narrative and budget will focus on “need” rather than “want.” The grant writer will have to justify need based on some evidence, which may include surveys, interviews, and/or questionnnaires. Once a need has been identified, the grant writer/researcher will then identify sources of possible monies such as the Institute of Museum and Library Services. (more…)

Children’s and Young Adult Author, Cynthia Leitich Smith will stop by Teen Second Life on Tuesday, February 24 at 1pm PST to discuss her newly released book, Eternal. Leitich describes Eternal as a gothic fantasy. She has decided to get involved in Second Life since it’s a ‘very contemporary and very ‘now’ space’ as are her books. Check out her

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. (more…)

An apple a day…
A stitch in time…
An ounce of prevention…

Are there strategies for preserving library services for students? What do you do if your students are on the verge of losing significant parts of their library program or library services altogether? Is there an Advocacy Emergency Plan?

The first 20 Days of Advocacy have focused on topics like what advocacy is, crafting messages, and forging partnerships. Now, it is time to pull together these advocacy strategies, skills, and resources to actively protect and preserve library programs for young people.  This winter, AASL has introduced two new advocacy toolkits.  Being proactive is the focus of the School Library Program Health and Wellness Toolkit, while pulling together an orchestrated response during an advocacy emergency is the focus of the AASL Crisis Toolkit.   (more…)