New, Month-Long Teen Celebration, TeenTober, Announced!

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YALSA’s new, month-long celebration will be named TeenTober and will take place every October. In June, a naming contest was held for the celebration and teens across the nation voted and selected “TeenTober” as their top choice. The winning name was submitted by Cailey Berkley from Franklin Avenue Library in Des Moines, IA.

TeenTober is a new, nationwide celebration hosted by libraries every October and aims to celebrate teens, promote year-round teen services and the innovative ways teen services helps teens learn new skills, and fuel their passions in and outside the library. TeenTober replaces YALSA’s previous Teen Read Week™ and Teen Tech Week™ celebrations, allowing libraries the flexibility to choose what to celebrate (digital literacy, reading, technology, writing, etc) and the length of time for each celebration.

Library staff are encouraged to utilize this new celebration to advocate for and raise awareness of the importance of year-round teen services in libraries. Digital marketing materials will be available for free download soon.

A special thank you goes out to the Teen Read Week/Teen Tech Week Taskforce members: Kelsey Socha (chair), Tegan Beese, Meaghan Darling, Megan Edwards, Shelley Ann Mastalerz, Jodi Silverman, and Kimberly Vasquez for all their work on helping create this new celebration.

Help YALSA Name A New Teen-Focused Month

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This year, Teen Read Week and Teen Tech Week will be dissolving to form a month long celebration of teen programming and teen services in libraries across the country! The month long celebration will be held in October of every year.

Teens, want a say in YALSA’s newest month long celebration? Librarians, please encourage your teens to be a part of an exciting initiative. The celebration will include related displays, passive activities, and programming that will fit public libraries, school libraries, and beyond! We will also being asking both teens and librarians for their feedback on the celebration, so be sure to keep an eye out for that.

To submit your celebration name, post on social media with your suggested idea and use #yalsaname or fill out our Google form. The winner will receive prizes and recognition! You are able to submit ideas until 5/31. Once the submission date has passed, there will be a voting period for the top 10 entries. Please share the news! We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

This post was submitted by members of the Teen Tech Week / Teen Read Week Committee.

Reimagining Teen Read Week™ and Teen Tech Week™

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As you may be aware, in March 2017, a discussion between YALSA’s board members resulted in a proposal (board document #32) at Annual 2017 to re-envision TTW and TRW to create a larger advocacy/awareness campaign to promote the importance of year-round teen services. A follow-up conversation also took place and resulted in the most recent board document, which put forth the task to create a taskforce to come up with possible recommendations for the advocacy/awareness campaign.

As a result, TRW and TTW will be going through some changes and there will be no theme for TRW or TTW starting next year. Library staff are encouraged and welcome to continue to celebrate TRW in October and TTW in March or during a time that is convenient for their teens & library, under the general themes of “Read for the Fun of It” and “Get Connected,” respectively. In November, the TTW ning site was deactivated and all resources were relocated to the YALSA website and wiki. Eventually, the TRW ning site resources will also be relocated to the wiki. Please look out for the announcement in early 2019.

To learn more, please read the latest re-envisioning TTW and TRW board document, along with board document #32 from last year. If you would like to be kept in the loop about the re-envisioning process, please sign up here.

Call for Volunteers for the Reenvisioning TRW/TTW Taskforce

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On September 24th, the YALSA board approved a Board Document that calls for the formation of a taskforce to re-envision the Teen Tech Week and Teen Read Week initiatives and create a larger advocacy/awareness campaign to promote the importance of year-round teen services. If you are interested in being a part of the discussion and creating a new awareness campaign to elevate the importance of year-round services to teens, please contact me to volunteer crystle.martin@gmail.com.

The TTW ning site will be deactivated on Friday, Nov. 16, 2018 and all resources on the site will be moved to the YALSA site and wiki.

To learn more, please read the re-envisioning TTW and TRW board document, along with board document #32 from last year. If you would like to be kept in the loop about the re-envisioning process, please sign up here.

Teen Tech Week: Four Steampunk Ideas

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Teen Tech Week is finally here! “Libraries are for Creating” is a good theme for to introducing teens to Steampunk. Steampunk is not “punk” at all; the science fiction author, K.W. Jeter made up the word in the 1980’s. Think of it as science fiction meets Victorian Age. Jeter coined the word to describe some of his works, such as Morlock Night and Infernal Devices. It is not only a genre of literature, but also a style of clothes, video games, movies, and more. Steam-powered technology was prominent in Victorian times, when there was no electricity. Steampunk is a fun and creative way to get teens excited about reading and get them thinking outside the box. Not only does Steampunk inspire reading, but it also fosters creativity and encourages recycling. Read More →

Teen Tech Week: 9 Activities for Creating at Your Library

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This year’s Teen Tech Week theme, “Libraries are for Creating,” highlights how teens can combine technology and creativity to create some truly unique products.  The ideas and resources here make for great program activities this Teen Tech Week and any time of the year.

Paper Circuits

This low-tech, low-cost project integrates art into an activity that is perfect for teaching how circuits work.  The main supplies are copper tape, a 3-volt coin cell battery, and a basic LED. MIT’s High-Low Tech features a tutorial and templates, and Sparkfun has a list of projects.  If money is not a barrier, take it a step further with LED stickers from Chibitronics.

 

Sewable Circuits / Wearable Electronics

Sewable circuits similar to paper circuits, only instead of copper wire, electrical current is conducted through conductive thread.  Create a circuit with the thread, an LED, a battery holder, and metal snaps.  The sewing is fairly basic, so sewing newbies should be able to participate, but teens without an existing understanding of circuits might do better starting with paper circuits.  One draw of sewable circuits is that teens can create a functioning and (possibly) fashionable product in a relatively short amount of time. MIT has an excellent lesson plan here, or this Instructables project is a good starting point.

 

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Instagram of the Week – March 14

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A brief look at ‘grams of interest to engage teens and librarians navigating this social media platform.

Last week from March 6-12 marked this year’s “Create it at your library” Teen Tech Week celebration. Sponsored by YALSA, this yearly initiative aims to connect teens and libraries, and encourage teens to make use of the library’s nonprint resources. As the Future of Library Services for and with Teens discusses, the knowledge divide continues to grow as one in four teens does not have access to technology. Participating in events such as Teen Tech Week provides an opportunity for teens to gain experience with technology tools in an informal setting and strengthen digital literacy skills. Libraries around the country took part in Teen Tech Week by showcasing maker and breaker spaces, hosting DIY and science programs, introducing teens to new technology, and having fun!

Mark your calendars for next year’s Teen Tech Week celebration from March 5-11, 2017.  Read More →

Create it at Your Library: Preparing for Teen Tech Week 2016

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Teen Tech Week is YALSA’s yearly initiative encouraging libraries to engage their teen community with resources that enhance their digital literacy skills. During March 6-12, libraries across the country will be buzzing with tech programs, STEM activities, and will be showcasing their digital resources with pride. Not only does this week in March allow us to engage teens with exciting opportunities, but it also gives libraries the ability to demonstrate their incredible value to the larger community. As library staff, we understand how imperative it is that our teens enter college and the workforce with skills that will allow them to hit the ground running. For some, this is an exciting task that they feel well equipped to tackle. For others, it’s a struggle; budgets are tight and technology can be pricey. However, no matter what the technological climate is in your community, there are a myriad of ways to prepare for Teen Tech Week that don’t involve dumping loads of cash into a new 3D printer. With the help of some great resources and inspiration, you’ll be well on your way to hosting the best Teen Tech Week ever.

Taking incremental steps is the best way to begin your preparation. Head over to YALSA’s Teen Tech Week site and register for a free account to access all of the resources that are available to new members. Under the “Resources” tab, you’ll find toolkits that will help you advocate for teens and technology, develop programs and activities, and publicize this exciting week in your library. As you explore the site, you’ll be ready to integrate the maker mindset into your programs and services. Use the Easy Advocacy toolkit to get your administration on board and word out to local policy makers and community leaders. Understanding the importance of this initiative will ensure their support and help you out in the long run.

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Teen Creative Writing & Art Contest for Teen Tech Week

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As part of Teen Tech Week, YALSA is teaming up with the Connected Learning Alliance, Deviant Art, the National Writing Project, and Wattpad for the Twist Fate challenge.

The challenge is to get young people (ages 13-17) telling stories about what happens when a hero becomes a villain, or a villain a hero (through writing, video, digital art, animation, etc.) and sharing them across the Deviant Art and Wattpad platforms. It’s happening March 6-April 6th, and to ramp up for it there will be a series of free webinars with guests including Mimi ito, Christina Cantrill, Candice Mack, Josh Wattles from DeviantArt, and Jing Jing Tan from Wattpad:

Connecting the Creative Sparks of Young Makers to Supportive Communities of Practice Feb. 11, 7pm EST

Storytelling and Making Redefined: Get to Know the Wattpad Community Feb. 18, 7pm EST

Meet the “Deviants”: Networked Artists and Makers of DeviantArt Feb. 25, 7pm EST

How are you preparing for Teen Tech Week?

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Teen Tech Week is right around the corner and we all know that it takes a ton of planning to make this short week awesome. We also know that not all of our teens geek out with the techy stuff. How do you geek out for teen tech week when your teens aren’t really interested? Comment below and let us know.

How do you plan your teen tech week? Where do you get your ideas? Take a look at the cool instagram posts below and see what has been done. For some other ideas that Charlotte Mecklenburg will be using, try floppy disk notebooks, or the game Charades that can be played from a smart phone. Also, 3Doodlers are a huge hit and also making music remixes. What are some successes and fails that you’ve had? We all have things that work out great and some that just fall flat. Comment below and tell us your story.

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