A recent report of the top 10 search terms teens use, seems to reveal that many teens are more likely to search for Youtube than enter www.youtube.com into their browser. (more…)

I’ve been talking to my teens today and found that most of them are using MyYearbook.com to connect with peers because their parents found their MySpace and Facebook page.

I asked them what they thought about adults being on their social networks and they responded that the library would be cool to be friends with, but they do not want their parents or teachers on the network they use with their friends. Another popular network is Gaia.

What are your teens using?

For Teen Tech Week this year I tried to do something more low key. Instead of having a big program I optioned to try and promote the different technology-related services the library offers by giving teens a list of questions to answer and tasks to complete. I tried to make them fun; the questions I used are below.

My goal was to promote library services, so I told my staff that they could hand out the questions to any patrons. I was given two $10 Borders gift certificates to give away as an incentive for the teens to complete 8 out of 10 tasks, and so far no teen has turned the sheet back in. (more…)

FYI- Hulu.com now has a channel where anime fans can watch Naruto, Death Note, and Mushi-shi free, legally online.  If you see someone on the internet terminals watching these shows on YouTube or other websites you can share this legal way of watching the shows.

I’m a fan of Hulu.com. Linda Braun mentioned it previously when it was still in Beta. Over the past year Hulu has grown, as have the minds of many studio executives. Hulu has worked with studios to allow anyone to watch TV episodes and movies online for free. Some of the studios limit the license to the three most recent episodes, meaning older episodes are not always available, but over all, I’m fond of this service and what it means for the future of entertainment. (more…)

I was at Target today and I saw and interesting “thing” that got me thinking about school supplies. Livescribe has created a pen that not only records audio, but if you are taking notes on the specal paper will be able to play back the lecture when you tap on your notes. There is a usb attached to the pen so you can copy your notes into your computer as a image or as a video that replays the notes you took while playing the lecture.

This sounds really cool, especially for students who stuggle to learn in traditional lectures. However the pen costs about $150, and the paper goes for $20 for 400 sheets. This seems very expensive for students to use. I would hate to loose one of these pens if I was 13. I’d love to see teachers provide classroom sets but until every student has their own personal computer I doubt smart pen will be on a school’s supply list.

My husband has been waiting for Spore for two years now. Its a game created by designer Will Wright. The same guy who made SimCity and The Sims. The focus of the game is the development of a creature through various stages of civilization. Starting at single celled organism and reaching space exploration society the player gets to control what the species looks like as well as design buildings and vehicles. Its a cute game but this post isn’t about Spore. Its about the DRM on Spore. (more…)

As you all  probably know there is an election this November, and this year’s election process seems to be quite different from previous years. More candidates have made an effort to create social networks and be visible online. This has made it feel like the voters are closer to the candidates than previous races, and caused many individuals of all ages to try to spread the word about the various candidates in places that aren’t the best for sharing this information.  I’ve witnessed an increase in debates recently  at work, on the radio and even on one of YALSA’s listservs.

As librarians it’s our job to provide information about all sides of all issues along with information about registering to vote.  What we sometimes forget is that since our society is a democracy, we must let everyone make decisions about a candidate on their own, which when you feel passionately about something can be hard to do. While it can be difficult, we can’t share our personal convictions with others because we have to have faith in the system and the people to make the decision that is best for them. Imagine how hard it must be for teens who do not get a chance to vote in this year’s election to keep their opinions about which candidate is best fit for a position. While we want to encourage them to be interested in the election process, we also can help them find healthy places to talk about the candidates. (more…)

Magazines are becoming a thing of the past as many article focused publications move online. However this leaves out the teens who want to come into the library to browse, it becomes time to submit our requests for next years magazines. At my library no one before me focused a lot of energy on the Teen magazine collection, which has made my job this year to diversify the topics and weed out the under used magazines.  My deadline for turning in requests is August 1st, and while I’m putting the finishing touches on my order I thought I’d share the resources I used to help me select my magazines this coming year: (more…)

Authors are everywhere at ALA. Some are signing books, promoting an upcoming one, or speaking at programs on a variety of topics. Orson Scott Card is one of the authors here who spoke at a luncheon for the Margaret A. Edwards Award. He won this award for his lifetime contribution to young adult literature, and part of  the process is to invite the winner to a luncheon to speak.

Since that luncheon I’ve heard many people say how great a speaker he is. The one thing many have taken is a that he didn’t write Ender’s Game or any of his books for children, but that they found it on their own.

I’ve heard other authors say this as well, including Stephanie Meyers and Scott Westerfeld. What so you think it is that makes a book YA or Teen?