December 2014

App of the Week: Duet Display

Title: Duet Display
Platform: iOS 7 and All Macs (Windows is in the works)
Cost: 14.99

duet display logo I don’t know about you, but I often like to work in a dual screen environment. One in which I can be looking at a document to refer to on one screen and look at or work on a related document on another screen. I’m also a fan of dual display environments in which I can easily interact with both screens and in which the two screens actually talk with each other. I haven’t been able to do that between my MAC and iPad or iPhone, that is until Duet Display launched. Now with the app on all of my devices – laptop, iPad, and iPhone – I can work between screens easily.

To get started with Duet Display you have to download the app to all of your devices. (You don’t have to pay for the app each time, purchase it once and it’s downloadable across devices.) Once installed open up the app on the two screens you want to work with – a laptop and iPad for example. Plug the iDevice into the MAC USB port – using the same cable used for charging your iDevice, voilå your iDevice is reading your MAC computer screen.
Continue reading App of the Week: Duet Display

Help Support Scholarships & Grants for Library Staff

As of this morning, YALSA is $205 away from reaching our end-of-the year fundraising goal of $1,000. If we hit our goal, a donor has agreed to match it with a $1,000 donation of their own! Please consider making a donation to Friends of YALSA, which supports $16,000 worth of grants, scholarships and awards each year for library staff. Donations can be made online, and details are here: http://www.ala.org/yalsa/givetoyalsa/give. Donations can also be made via text message. Simply, text ALA TEENALA to this number: 41518 to make a $10 donation to YALSA. Thank you for your support and have a wonderful new year!

Ideas for Downtime

The week between Christmas and New Years is a really quiet time at my branch. I know that’s not the case at every library, but in our community, most of the parents are working this week and kids are staying with family or in daycares, or families are taking vacations. We don’t have much in the way of regular programming, but there are a few kids who wander in looking for something to do. Unfortunately, we’re also short-staffed this week, so I’m looking for fun ways to serve my kid patrons and also keep all three of our desks staffed. I’m going to be pulling out all the fun do-it-yourself activities this week:

Butcher Paper Art!

So the younger kids are going to love this, but as the tweens and teens see how much fun it is just to go absolutely nuts with the crayons, you’ll have a crowd around those tables. And at the end of the day, be sure to cut out your most creative art to decorate your department!

Wii Dance

So, when my part-time employee comes in in the afternoons, we’re pulling out the Wii. I mainly just want someone in the department to make sure that the remotes don’t get flung across the room in excitement, but this one also runs itself. And the kids LOVE it. Put it on contest mode and throw in something from your prize cabinet as a reward and watch out for blood.

Continue reading Ideas for Downtime

YALSAblog Tweets of the Week – December 26, 2014

A short list of tweets from the past week of interest to teens and the library staff that work with them.

Do you have a favorite Tweet from the past week? If so add it in the comments for this post. Or, if you read a Twitter post between December 26 and January 1 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the Week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.
Continue reading YALSAblog Tweets of the Week – December 26, 2014

Let’s Code!

In early December, YALSA blogger Jami Schwarzwalder wrote a great post (with many great resources) on how to participate in Hour of Code week. I want to expand on her work and talk a little more about some of my experience with code and how that may translate into teens and code.

It seems that in today’s day and age, knowing how to code can be a crucial job skill. It gives you an edge and from a personal standpoint, knowing how to code can be incredibly empowering. It’s especially important to help get females (at any age) interested in coding because as we see time and time again, the difference between males and females involved in the technology field is astonishing (just search “girls in technology infographic” and see the fascinating percentages).

I think there are many ways to go at coding for teens. If you want to encourage girls, the video from Intel, who sponsors Girls Who Code, is pretty inspiring. The website itself, provides nice photos, information on past programs, and even the ability to download their most current curriculum for you to adapt to fit your teens.

Another similar website to Girls Who Code is Made With Code (through Google). They offer many projects for all levels of coding experience. These projects are fun and also include the ability to share with the world through their favorite social media outlet.

If you have teens that don’t have as much experience with coding, I would suggest doing the hour of code at code.org. Usually the theme of these puzzles is Angry Birds, but it looks like for the holiday season, the developers have moved over to Elsa and Anna from Frozen. It’s a great way to see “the blocks of coding” which will be helpful in future coding exercises. The videos that are every five or so levels are also helpful in letting you know what the blocks do and how they all work together.

With some coding under their belt, I think MIT’s Scratch is a good place to start. While there is a version that can be download onto your computers, their web version also works quite well. If you’re unfamiliar with Scratch, I would suggest watching some of their tutorials or even checking out Super Scratch Programming Adventure by the LEAD Project. This book would be great for teens to use (lots of cool drawings and learning is done through a comic form) and just to familiar yourself with the program (if you’re interested).

What is great about Scratch is that they can make their own projects (pretty much anything they can think of) or do what’s called “remixing.” Essentially they can look at completed projects and “look under the hood.” The teens can see how people created various projects and then “remix” and revise it for themselves. It’s a great way to learn all the capabilities of Scratch and give the teens some ideas of projects of their own.

Finally, if your teens want even more, I would direct them over to CodeCademy. Here, they can sign up for an account and tackle many different programming languages: Python, HTML/CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, PHP, or Ruby. You go through a series of lessons, all that can be self-directed by the teens themselves. CodeCademy also has some projects to help see coding in action. I’ve personally used CodeCademy to learn Python and HTML/CSS and like the website, as well as the public forums for when I get stuck on a lesson.

Best of luck and I hope some of these resources will be useful to your teens!

DeSTEMber: STEM Activities for Girls

This December, one organization is working to give girls a gift that will last a lifetime: resources to reach their potential in science, technology, engineering, and math. STEM is a prominent part of current educational models in the U.S., but girls are traditionally underrepresented in STEM-related professional fields. DeSTEMber aims to change that.

DeSTEMber is hosted by non-profit organization Girlstart. “Half of the world’s potential ideamakers—women and girls—are discouraged from developing their ideas because of social bias or inequity. More girls with more ideas create more solutions,” notes the organization. Girlstart has been working since 1997 “to increase girls’ interest and engagement in STEM through innovative, nationally-recognized informal STEM education programs.” Their work covers girls in grades K-16. (See their About Us page for more information.)

The DeSTEMber website offers a STEM activity for each day of December. The downloadable activity PDFs include instructions for the activity and a short explanation to go along with it. Each one also features links to additional resources, plus a Career Connection section that describes a profession relating to that activity. These are intended to be far more than one-time activities; they are springboards into the future, both for short-term learning and long-term education and career goals.

Interested in participating? Although DeSTEMber is almost over, these activities are relevant all year long. Girlstart also maintains a link to the DeSTEMber 2013 activity page, meaning users can access 62 free STEM resources.

Librarians and other educators interested in getting involved with Girlstart should visit their educator page.

App of the Week: aa

Title: Aa

Platform: iOS and Android

Cost: Free, with in-app purchases

I discovered this addictive “waiting game” after watching our students staring, seemingly blankly, at their iPads, ready to spring when they see an opening. It might look like something out of The Manchurian Candidate, but while the central wheel twirls around, the player must gauge the perfect moment to add another spoke in the spaces remaining without knocking any of the existing elements. Any error sends you back to the adding all of the elements all over again.

Like Dots, the underlying gaming concept behind Aa couldn’t be simpler. Any gesture on the screen inserts a spoke at the bottom of the spinning radius. But, by adding an element as you advance through each level, it quickly builds into a challenge as it becomes more difficult to insert a new one given the scant room available. Avoiding the impulse to “fire” spokes in a rapid-fire manner is the real test of patience and hand-eye coordination.

Aa is free, but the ability to skip and unlock levels are available as in-app purchases, as is a nominal charge to remove ads, which appear every few levels (just when a break can be welcome). The highest level you’ve mastered appears numerically in the center of the wheel, providing an immediate talking point based on skill.

General Adaptive Apps has a range of similar games using different shapes and objectives, but this seems to be their most popular incarnation. I think it might appeal to novice gamers getting new devices over the holiday, too.

For more apps for teens and the librarians who serve them, check out the App of the Week archive. Have a suggestion for an App of the Week? Let us know.

Five Themes that Influenced Libraries in 2014

Top-ten lists and year in review articles abound—it must be December! Reflecting on the past year in the world of libraries, here are five themes that have impacted our work.

Reports
While YALSA members are digesting and implementing The Future of Library Services for and with Teens: a Call to Action, several other reports came out in 2014 that encourage library workers to embrace new paradigms and adapt service standards that can best serve our customers. There’s the Pew Research Center’s Younger Americans and Public Libraries report, which breaks down library behavior in the Millenial generation. From the report: “…younger Americans are also more likely than older adults to have read at least one book in [the past year] (88% vs 79%).” Hooray! Another big splash came with the IMLS’s report titled Learning Labs in Libraries and Museums: Transformative Spaces for Teens. I recently wrote about the new Aspen Report here. These reports each focus on the importance of community engagement and transforming our institutions into new models of library service excellence. Lots of great food for thought!

The Common Core
With the Common Core State Standards now in place in the majority of US states, how can library workers serving youth and teens support our partners and contacts in local schools, as well as help out students and their parents? This question was a highlight of 2014, eliciting a wide variety of articles (1, 2), toolkits and trainings (1, 2.) Have you prepared for and encountered ways to support the CC? Let us know in the comments.

STEM/STEAM/Make
After gathering steam (hah!) in 2013, 2014 felt like the year that maker and STEM culture were part of mainstream discussions for library staff. Beyond the library literature, Pinterest is a fun way to track and share different STEM/STEAM/make programming, reading, and space ideas to your workplace. Check out this results page for “makerspace library.”

#WeNeedDiverseBooks
How did this campaign, a highly visible social media trend, get its start? Check out this FAQ to learn about the origin and purpose behind the movement. An Indiegogo fundraising effort had great success; the funds raised allow WNDB team members to create outreach programs, partner with other literacy organizations, and support diverse authors.

Crisis Situations and Libraries
In the midst of the Ferguson protests, the story of the town’s library as a community support center and safe haven in time of crisis went viral. Ferguson Library Director Scott Bonner said: “During difficult times, the library is a quiet oasis where we can catch our breath, learn, and think about what to do next.” On an international scale, stories are coming from Ukraine about the role of their libraries during a time of violence and instability. If we can be there for our communities in distress, those communities can then be there for us; for example, destroyed and damaged libraries coming back stronger in the wake of tremendous storms.

What themes and trends impacted your work in 2014? Do you have predictions for what’s to come in 2015? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!

Tell YALSA How You #act4teens

by Adrienne L. Strock & Sandra Hughes-Hassell

Almost a year has passed since YALSA released The Future of Library Services for and with Teens: A Call to Action. In that time, libraries across the U.S. have opened digital media centers or makerspaces, developed meaningful community partnerships, been affected by demographic shifts among their users, and implemented user-driven programs and services both in and outside of library spaces. School and public library staff have also been affected – co-learning and developing the new skills called for in the report. Along with this shift in services have come new sets of challenges and opportunities for growth, too.

My #act4teens journey has been both personal and professional. I have dabbled with STEM and maker projects wanting to make things light up as both a personal interest and to level up my own knowledge and skills to better serve and learn with teens. In anticipation of the 2014 launch of Studio NPL, the Nashville Public Library’s (NPL) IMLS learning lab project, NPL teen staff has been diving into and discussing the Futures report at our monthly teen services meetings. We have also expanded our STEM and maker programs at our Main Library by introducing teens to low-tech maker crafts. A recent partnership with Nashville CoderDojo has resulted in a surge in tech-savvy adults who now serve as expert mentors for our tweens and teens allowing them to learn about coding, robotics, and game design.

How have you #acted4teens? What’s happened along the way in your #act4teens journey? YALSA wants to hear your stories of how the report has impacted you and your library. How has the report shifted your philosophy of library services for and with teens? What parts of the report have resonated most with you and why? What changes have you implemented as a result of the report? What new challenges or successes have arisen based on the steps you have taken to #act4teens?

Your #act4teens stories are worth celebrating and sharing, whether big or small, through quotes, YALS articles, and more. Soon, the Future of Teens and Libraries taskforce will host a special #act4teens YALSA Blog series, and we want to hear from you, too. Tell YALSA how you #act4teens here.

Rising to the Challenge: Aspen Institute’s New Report in Comparison with YALSA’s Call to Action

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization with the mission to “foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues.” The Communications and Society Program within Aspen dedicates its work to activities that “…focus on issues of open and innovative governance, public diplomacy, institutional innovation, broadband and spectrum management, as well as the future of content, issues of race and diversity, and the free flow of digital goods, services and ideas across borders.” Among the current projects of the C & S program is the Dialogue on Public Libraries. Their October 2014 report, titled Rising to the Challenge: Re-envisioning Public Libraries, addresses the need to transform public libraries in the digital age. The Aspen Report uses three “key assets” to shape the information and recommendations: people, place and platform. On the heels of a year where YALSA introduced The Future of Library Services for and with Teens: A Call to Action, I was curious to see if and where these two reports overlap in their visions.

The Aspen Report’s first key asset, The Library as People, focuses on building community relationships and cashing in on the “human capital” of the population that any given library serves. Library staff are encouraged to use outcomes-based reporting, to build strong relationships with those who create and provide content, and to act as navigators rather than gatekeepers. The report refers to an “entrepreneurial learner,” one who is capable of “finding resources anywhere and using them to read the world and teach themselves.” This reflects the paradigm change presented in YALSA’s report: moving toward a kitchen-type model where library staff can mix resources “in order to empower teens to build skills, develop understanding, create and share, and overcome adversity.”

Continue reading Rising to the Challenge: Aspen Institute’s New Report in Comparison with YALSA’s Call to Action