App of the Week: Wattpad

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Screen Shot 2014-06-24 at 2.30.06 PM
Title: Wattpad
Platforms: iOS and Android, also web-based
Cost: Free

This spring, a student asked me if I knew about After, the One Direction fanfic “everyone was reading on Wattpad.” Then I saw Clive Thompson looking for people who were publishing on Wattpad… and I fell into the rabbit hole that is the reading/writing/commenting site.

After had already landed author Anna Todd a three-book deal, but that wasn’t the only interesting thing about Wattpad.
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Probably not surprisingly based on its fanfiction roots, YA is especially strong on Wattpad. The influences are somewhat predictable. One young writer named daven whose “story” (as all narratives as labeled) December I particularly liked, had a profile pic featuring her with Rainbow Rowell.
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Point/Counter-Point Hot Topics in Teen Services: How Far to Go With e Collections?

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Welcome to YALSA”s first in an occasional series in which two bloggers debate a topic of current interest to librarians serving teens.

In this first post YALSA Blog Manager and High School Librarian, mk Eagle, and YALSA Immediate Past President and Educational Technology Consultant, Linda W. Braun, talk e-collections.

Linda Says, “Go Heavy into e – It will Be Freeing”

Think About the Time You’ll Have
A lot of what I hear when I work with librarians in schools and public libraries is “I don’t have the time.” People say, “ I don’t have the time to keep up with technology, books, programs, teen news and trends.” You name it, librarians are telling me they don’t have the time. Why not? Read More →

App of the Week: Copia

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Title: Copia
Platform: Desktop, iPad, Windows Phone 7, iPhone & Android “Coming Soon” (iPad features differ from features available for other devices.)
Cost: Free (Books need to be purchased.)

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately talking with librarians and thinking about the world of digital reading beyond the need for libraries to make books available for checkout and download to digital devices. One of the reasons for this is that I’ve been looking at apps that provide users with opportunities to be social within the digital reading environment. Copia is one such app.


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