Engaging with Teens on a Shoestring Budget
Presented March 15 by LeeAnn Anna, Judy Boyce, Stephen Grubb, Michele Gorman
Teen Art Club is a weekly program at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
Recommended resources:
Coleman, Tina. The Hipster Librarian’s Guide to Teen Craft Projects. Chicago
Wilson, Joe. Ductigami: The Art of the Tape. Erin , Ontario : Boston
(My personal recommendation is Schiedermayer, Ellie. Got Tape? Roll Out the Fun with Duct Tape. Iola , Wis.
A large number of craft ideas. Check out ‘Teen DIY Program Ideas’, Teen Fashion clothing Project’ and ‘Lego DIY Projects’ in particular.
You need a button maker and supplies then just old magazines. Very successful program at CLP.
Altered Books Resources:
Arendt, Madeling. Altered Art for the First Time. New York : Sterling Pub., 2005. (703.81 AREN)
Brazelton, Bev. Altered Books Workshop: 18 Creative Techniques for Self-Expression. Cincinnati , Ohio
Taylor, Terry. Altered Art: Techniques for Creating Altered Books, Boxes, Cards & More. New York
Ure, Susan. The Altered Book Scrapbook. New York : Sterling Publications, 2006. (745.593 URE)
Detailed instructions for ‘how to stitch pages to make pockets in an altered book’ are in the handout on the PLA website: http://placonference.org/programs
A Teen Advisory Council can help determine the direction of teen programming in the library.
CLP has a blog that engages teens for content:
The teen website also encourages interaction with teens with their Hear Me Tell Us Your Story project. The site also has an extensive topic list that leads to related booklists and websites.
Broward County Library uses QR codes to promote services and programs. This is part of its WOW—Library Without Walls—a mobile phone app that also provides users smart phone access to the catalog and personal accounts. You can check out these features at:
Since the introduction of BCL WOW, the website has experienced an 81% increase in hits.
A program that used QR codes was a QR scavenger hunt. They spray painted codes outside with sidewalk paint.
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (http://www.plcmc.lib.nc.us/ ;teen page: http://blogs.plcmc.org/libraryloft/) has created Teen Take Out Programs in a Box. Currently there are 24 kits. Three new kits are made each year. This is a time and cost-effective way to provide teen programming to multiple locations. An annotated list of kits is available in the handout on the PLA website: http://placonference.org/programs
Examples include: Button Making Kit; Anime Studio Software Kit; Flash Drives with Free Software Installed Kit; Comic Creations Programming Kit; Manga Studio Software Kit; Monopoly Tournament Kit; Magnetic Poetry Kit; and many more.
Marketing to teens:
- Design brand-specific designs and use liberally. Involve teens in the process.
- Use technology.
- Wordpress
- Facebook—be consistent and post frequently. Posts should be interactive and daily. Staff can sign up for days they are responsible for posting. Charlotte Mecklenburg Library posts a volunteer of the week on Facebook. They also post funny photos, etc that invite feedback.
- Use Twitter. More and more teens are turning to Twitter as more adults use Facebook.
- Pay attention to how companies market to teens/tweens.
- Read teen magazines. Know what’s in and what’s out.
- 30% of teens are in the library for library related business. The rest are there for something else.
- You need staff buy in. Teens in the library is an opportunity to engage with them.
- Create community spaces. Have a teen zone available from 3-5:30 every day.
- Use passive programs, which are self directed activities. Set up the meeting room for the activity. Provide opportunities to be creative, but not always with crafts. Pinterest is a good source for ideas.
Final thought: Sometimes we make it so hard to use the library. How can we make it easy?
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