Teen Tech Week Mini Grants – A Look Back

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As we anxiously await the announcement of our Teen Tech Week 2011 grant winners I’d like to take this opportunity to highlight some of our past grant winners and share their successful programming ideas.

TTW 2009 “Press Play @ Your Library”

Camden Tadhg from the Hennepin County Library in Minneapolis, Minnesota hosted a “Party Like It’s Teen Tech Week” bash that featured hands on group instruction in Circuit-Bending while the Teen Tech Squad provided one-on-one software training. The day culminated in a Circuit Bending Jam Session where the teens made music with the instruments they created throughout the day. Read More →

Marketing Teen Tech Week

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It’s the first week of January, the perfect time to start working on your marketing plan for Teen Tech Week. With a theme of Mix and Mash @ your library, perhaps it’s time to not just mix media, but to mix up how we do some other things as well. Every year we get our teens together during teen tech week for programming , we have Teen Advisory Boards to help us set up programs and select materials. So in the spirit of mixing and mashing, why not involve your teens in promoting your Teen Tech Week programs as well? Involving your teens in marketing Teen Tech Week can help extend the week itself, and bring tech usage at the library into the rest of the year.

Suggestions for getting teens involved:

Have the teens create art for the library’s posters

This is probably the easiest way to involve your teens in promoting your programs. Just set out some art materials and scan the finished work for your promotional materials. Having something to show their friends to get them to come to your programs as well.

Try a Teen Tech Week newsletter

Create a newsletter with your Teen Advisory Board.
Have them write articles describing Teen Tech Week and what it’s about. Have them come up with new ways the library can use technology. They can also create art and review new gadgets and apps.

Teen Tech Week Promo Videos

Use a flip style camera to create your own library public service announcement. I’ve always wanted to do a Save the Children style PSA called “Save the Databases,” giving directions on how to use term and making an emotional appeal to raise their usage stats.

Radio style ads

Get one of the more outgoing (crazy) teens to put on their best radio announcer voice and create an ad for teen tech week. Really do it up with loud music and make it sound like a concert advertisement on a top 40 station.

Involving your teens in all aspects of Teen Tech Week can give you lots of opportunities to remind them of the tech services your library offers. You can help them learn more about what marketing is and how it works. Best of all, you can find some new outlets for all of the creativity and energy your kids have and bring some new, interesting ideas into your program promotion.

Lauren Comito

Planning for Teen Tech Week on a Budget

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Every time I pick up an issue of Library Hotline as it circulates around the reference office, I’m reminded of the country’s economic woes.’ ‘  The’ public library district’ where I work has been fortunate so far, even as we’ve been affected by the budget issues of the larger system we’re a part of and of the state as a whole.

Our fiscal year began in July, so we are just halfway through the current budget cycle.’  We try to keep our board of trustees happy’ by displaying fiscal responsibility,’ because next year’s budget is in their hands.’  As we plan our budget each spring, Teen Tech Week is one program that we build in to our request.’  We start with the assumption that a few hundred dollars will be needed for programming, promotion and giveaways. Read More →

Podcasts

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My name is Debbie Fisher and I work at Central Falls High School in Rhode Island.’  I began working with students in the high school to create podcasts.’  Two’  English teachers- Deloris Grant and Alicia Migliore’  work with students to write book reviews based on a template we developed last year.’  We ask students to review the book (reminding them- no spoilers),’  explain what the student’  enjoyed about the book and/or who they would recommend read the book.’  They also select a short quote from the book’  and explain why the quote is meaningful.’  The students must also create connections to the book (such as text to text, text to self or text to world).’  Another group of students’  discussed the issue of violence and this coordinated with a celebration called’  A Day of Peace.

One teacher of English Language Learners- Michael Paul- also worked with me on podcasts. ‘  His students’  discussed issues facing teens today.’  Many of the ELL students were too shy to actually do the recording, so they had to be coached on public speaking. ‘  Once the students completed their writing, they came to the library.

Read More →

Learn, Create, Share: Teen Tech Week is coming!

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Teen Tech Week is March 7-13.’  Have you made your plans?’  If not, check out the 2010 Teen Tech Week wiki for programming and promotional resources.’  The TTW committee has been working hard to provide librarians with a variety of ideas and links to resources to implement those ideas.’  A few of the programming ideas from the wiki are TTW Bingo (I’m going to try this one), Book Soundtracks, and some quick Online Interaction ideas.

If you have already planned your activities for the week, the TTW committee would love for you to share those plans.’  Librarians love to share, right? Go to the wiki and click Teen Tech Week 2010 @ your library, then click the link to log in/create account.’ ‘  Once you’re logged in, you simply click the edit tab and add your plans.’  It’s fast and easy!

As a school librarian, I know how busy this time of year can be for schools, but celebrating Teen Tech Week is doable.’  You don’t have do anything big.’  Simply making a display of technology-related books is a good place to start.’  Also, if the timing is bad for you, like it is for me, you could reschedule the event for a better week.’  Some of the promotional materials available from ALA Graphics are undated for this purpose.

You can still register your library for Teen Tech Week!’  One of the perks of registration is access to this year’s logo which, you can then use on your library’s promotional materials.

Kim Herrington, TTW Committee Member