YALSA will offer four online courses in October: booktalks, new technologies
and literacies, gaming, and YALSA competencies. Registration opened August
27 and runs to September 17, 2007. For more information, go to:
http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2007/august2007/yalsaoc07.htm
Get your calendar, and get ready – we have some GREAT workshops planned for this fall! Here’s what’s coming …
Thursday, September 20:
Teens and Technology: What’s Up Now
10:00 am – 3:30 pm
Oxford Public Library
Teens use technology to communicate and collaborate on a regular basis. They use Twitter and text messaging, blogs and Facebook, Pandora and iTunes. Come find out what teens are doing with technology as a part of their day-to-day lives, learn how to connect with teens virtually, and how to market your services using the technologies teens are currently into. Linda Braun, of Librarians and Educators Online, will get us up to speed.
Friday, October 5
Gaming and the New Literacy
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Shrewsbury Public Library
It is no longer enough for today’s students to know how to read, write and do arithmetic; now they must be proficient at finding, organizing, and conveying information, and all in an ethical manner. Beth
Gallaway, author of Get Your Game On! (Neal Schuman, 2007), shares why video games matter to your library in terms of entertainment, culture, learning, literacy, and adolescent development. School and public librarians who directly serve teens, and administrators and trustees whose staff serve teens, shouldn’t miss this workshop.
Tuesday, November 27
Patrick Jones on Building Your Collection & Reaching Teen Readers
10:00 am – 3:30 pm
Leominster Public Library
We have libraries filled with books, yet many students who enter our media centers are aliterate; they have the ability to read but choose not to. Learn best practices for reaching these students, as well as tips for building a lasting “core collection” for all teen readers.
About the presenter:
Patrick Jones is a national expert on library services for teens. His latest young adult novel, Chasing Tail Lights, was published in spring 2007. His first YA novel, Things Change, was named by YALSA as a best book for reluctant readers. His most recent (and last) professional publication is Connecting with Reluctant Teen Readers. Jones is a frequent speaker at library conferences, having visited all fifty states and several other countries. Jones grew up in Flint, Michigan, began his library career in Springfield, MA, and now lives in Minneapolis.
Monday, December 10
Lights! Camera! Teen Action Plan!
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Boxborough Public Library
We’re nearing the end of the Year of the Teen, so now it’s time to take all that great knowledge you’ve gained and write a Teen Services Action Plan! A written plan can be included in your library’s long range plan and can be used for future grant writing and program planning. Participants will learn how to use a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) brainstorming exercise to prioritize ideas and develop goals. Including library staff and teens in this process will make a teen services action plan a valuable and viable document. Susan Babb, Youth Services Consultant for the Northeast Massachusetts Regional Library System, will lead the workshop.
Registration information for all these workshops will be available soon on the CMRLS website. YA and children’s staff, school librarians, Serving Tweens and Teens grant recipients, library directors, all library staff, and trustees are invited to attend. Come and bring a friend!
The Central Massachusetts Year of the Teen project is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services Under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.
Wow. That’s all I can say – and what a lot of you said on your evaluations of Brent Hartinger’s presentation this week! If you weren’t there, Brent talked about making reading relevant for today’s teens, censorship, the history of teen literature and SO much more. He was inspiring, passionate, funny, and conveyed a deep respect for teens and their right to read – while being entertaining and engaging. The morning flew by and we all wish he could have stayed longer. If you attended, what did you think were the high points? What are the top two issues he discussed that you went right back and shared with other librarians or teachers? Add your comments and let’s keep it going!
Gaming in the Library
Presented by
Jenny Levine, Internet Development Specialist and Strategy Guide, American Library Association
March 13, 2007, 11 a.m. – noon Eastern
Much is happening in the world of gaming right now, and it’s not just a lot of teenage boys sitting in the basement staring at a screen for hours on end. No, gaming has tremendous potential for libraries to reach out to new users, offer new services, and help complement efforts in community building, information literacy, and other areas. Don’t know much about gaming, but want to know how it can benefit libraries? Not sure what kinds of services your library could offer (especially on a limited budget)? Are you an avid gamer who would like to offer services, but you need help convincing others? Just want to hear what other libraries are doing? We’ll cover all of these topics and more in just one hour. Get the scoop that helps you clarify your thinking about gaming and libraries. Register now to take part in a FREE webinar that is sure to further your understanding of how to use gaming in your library.
Jenny Levine is the Internet development specialist and strategy guide at the American Library Association, where she splits her time between the Information Technology and Publishing departments. As part of her job, she blogs, creates wikis, bugs her colleagues to instant message, tests podcasting and vodcasting, teaches RSS, posts pictures on Flickr, explores Second Life, and does similar work with emerging technologies and tools in general. She is currently organizing the 2007 ALA TechSource Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium, which will take place on July 22-24, 2007, in Chicago. Last year, Jenny had the pleasure of traveling around the United States and Europe to give more than 30 presentations. She is also the author of The Shifted Librarian blog, http://theshiftedlibrarian.com, a site that helps librarians understand the coming impact of ubiquitous, always-on Internet (and hence ubiquitous, always-on information) on our profession. She wrote the September/October 2006 issue of “Library Technology Reports,” titled “Gaming in Libraries: Intersection of Services,” and is an avid proponent of gaming services in libraries.
Register for this SirsiDynix Institute webinar at:
https://events.livemeeting.com/961/7248/reg.aspx
The Power Point slides and other documents from the Year of the Teen kickoff program are now posted on the CMRLS website. Go to http://www.cmrls.org/ce/materials/index.html for the Power Point presentation on Adolescent Development, handouts, brochures and more!
