Just a Little Bit of Pixie Dust

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Just a few short weeks ago, I held a teen summer finale party to honor those teens that had turned in hours of reading over the summer.’  This is the first time at my current position that I have held a finale, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.’  The program components were pretty standard:’  food, Wii gaming, and a craft.’  I invited the teens and had about 17 RSVPs.’  Although I felt that my finale activities were fun, I wasn’t sure if IT would happen.

The teens started to trickle in to the room, and I felt nervous.’  The room was so quiet.’  A few kids were playing Wii, and other muched on cookies and watched them.’  Unless something happend soon, I figured my party would be a bust.’  No one was talking.’  Then IT happened.’  Read More →

New Downloadable Publicity for the Teens’ Top Ten 2009 Nominees

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Voting for the YALSA 2009 Teens’ Top Ten begins on August 25th.’  There are 25 titles up for this award– the only book choice award that is chosen solely by teens.

Summer is the perfect time to promote this program.’  Teens are out of school and are looking for great books to read.’  You know the names of the books, but how can you promote the titles to your teen patrons?

As always, YALSA has what you need!’  Now you can download and print bookmarks from the YALSA website.’  Read More →

How to Sponsor a Manga Library at an Anime Con

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Animazement is a large anime/manga con that is held each year in the Raleigh area. Last year, the Wake County Libraries had an outreach table where we advertised what the libraries had to offer for anime fans.

This year, Animazement contacted us in early spring to ask if we wanted to sponsor their first ever manga library. Of course, we said yes. This was a great opportunity to continue our outreach to this crowd. As an extra bonus, the con had moved to the Raleigh Convention Center, providing more space for the activities. Read More →

Chat with Author Neal Shusterman in SL today

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Awesome author of young adult literature Neal Shusterman will be in Second Life today at 7 pm ET/4 pm to talk about writing and his books.’  The presentation will be telecast into Teen Second Life so that those under 18 can talk to him, too.’  If you’ve never visited Second Life before, this is a great opportunity to try it while attending an actual event.’  I remember my first encounters in Second Life were very frustrating mostly because I wanted to see it in action.’  I knew that people were doing awesome things in it, but every time I went, I didn’t feel that sense of community others were talking about.’  Then I attended my first author visit, and it was completely different.’  It takes a little time to set up your avatar and go through orientation.

The event in Second Life is being held at the USDLC Star Island.’  In Teen Second Life, the event is at Sparta Island, which will be open 30 minutes before the event starts.’  You can also use a slurl to find it at the Literacy 2 Learn page.’  For the slurl and more info about the event, click here.

Smoking Smarties: News Report

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Once again, I heard an item during the a.m. news that involves teens and a new trend.’  The trend is performing a smoking ritual with the candy known as Smarties.’  You take a plastic tube of Smarties, crush the candy up until it’s powdery, and pull on it with your mouth like it’s a cigarette.’  You don’t light the candy, and you’re not supposed to inhale.’  Users puff the candy out of their mouth and it looks like smoke.’  This hit the news because a number of teens have posted videos of themselves on Youtube teaching how to “smoke Smarties.”‘  In Frisco, Colorado, a middle school principal has made possession of Smarties a punishable offense. Read More →

What’s Your Motivation?

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Every once in awhile, I get in a philosophical mood and start asking myself questions about this profession of young adult librarianship.’  Most recently, I asked myself why I am in this profession. This question has been on my mind for six months now. Read More →

Sexting: A News Report

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This morning, during my 6:00 am treadmill/news watching time, I saw a report about teens facing possible jail time for sexting–sending sexual images via cell phone.’  We are all aware that teens need to be informed of the dangers of online predators.’  And once something’s on the web, it’s there to stay.’  But this is new:’  teens are facing legal charges because distributing these images is being considered the same as distributing child pornography–an illegal practice in most states. Read More →

Teen Tech Week Registration is Now Open!

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Teen Tech Week may see like a long way away, but registration opened today.’  This is the newest national event initiative that YALSA is sponsoring, and so far, it has been a highly popular and successful event.’  Why register?’  Well, by registering, you are sharing that you support this event that helps libraries connect with teens through technology.’ ‘ Registering gives YALSA’ numbers, and numbers talk!’  The more people that register, the more that folks will take notice.’  It may also give YALSA an edge when it comes time to bid for funding increases from ALA and other fundraising resources.’  Last year 1500 libraries registered.’  We would like to increase that number.

Please take a moment and register today. Teen Tech Week will be from March 8-14, 2008.

Teens’ Top Ten: What are Teens Voting For?

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Teen Read Week and voting for the Teens’ Top Ten begins in just 5 days. I can’t wait to see the votes come in and find out which of these books are teens’ favorites! Remember, this is the only teen choice where the books are nominated and voted on by teens all over the USA. It’s practically an American duty for teens to vote!

I asked a few teens what they were planning on voting for. Here are some of the responses: Read More →