Sweet Success-Teen Program Style. Part 1

Youth Services: Programming for one age group, Collection Development, Working only 40 hours per week

After three years, I may have just had my first entirely successful teen program. No spin, no excuses, just 100% success. It feels really nice. Not sure if it's a trend, or something I can replicate but I'm sure going to try.

I've been part of ground-up successful teen programming before. I did an internship with a branch of a large suburban MN library while I was in library school. A classmate of mine (she worked there) and I created teen programming there for the first time, and it was very successful. We were reaching teen library users. They were regularly coming to library events and bringing new people to the library. We developed relationships with our population and turned a possibly disruptive element into library advocates.  Soon after, the system hired a dedicated Teen Librarian and it has been interesting to watch the progression and success of teen programming in that system.

My current position serves ages 0-18, and frankly, I think that's a nigh-impossible task. My personal belief is that truly successful teen programming requires--REQUIRES--a dedicated, location-specific, teen liaison.

What is successful teen programming?  I consider successful teen programming to be that which reaches a consistent, dedicated group of teens--especially those who are already library-users, and turns them into library advocates.  It is not just one-off events that attract a bunch of kids who will never set foot in the library until the next big sexy event you throw (not that those events are wrong, but I don't consider a series of one-offs to be successful teen programming--you follow?).  If you only consider attendance you may have the appearance of successful teen programming, but I bet for every 'successful' event there are at least as many flops/no-show events. I think this is why bigger libraries often seem to have more successful teen programs--a larger pool of teens to draw from means more attendance. But is it really successful teen programming?

Teens are so relational, you really need a LOT of time to build those relationships. Those of us in smaller libraries who wear many hats struggle to find that time.  It's not impossible to do, but I think administrators and the public need more appreciation for the time and dedication needed for teen programming in general.

In part 2 I'll talk more specifically about last week's program and what's working/what hasn't worked here.

Fourth Annual Egg Hunt

One of my most successful collaborations is the annual egg hunt we hold at the library. The groundwork for this was laid before I started my position, and we had the first hunt at the end of my second month as a working librarian--no pressure!  For this event, I am so lucky to work with the coordinator of our local Family Corner Resource Center. It's a great Wisconsin organization whose mission goes hand-in-hand with that of the library, and if you have something similar I encourage you to seek them out to start some collaboration.*

The hunt is for kids 6 and under, and is held inside the library. We rope a local highschooler into dressing up as the Easter Bunny, offer simple face-painting (pink bunny nose and whiskers), a take home craft, and of course--storytime.

The event was such a hit that we ended up splitting it into two sessions limited to 40 kids, and have to firmly enforce pre-registration each year. The kids/parents are told how many eggs they are allowed to collect, and we ask that they empty the eggs and "donate" them back for next year's hunt. There's always a kid or two who gets upset at having to give the eggs back, but I believe it's a good lesson for them, and we don't actually require them to give the eggs back.

While there are many egg hunts that happen in my area, the Library Egg Hunt serves a special niche audience since there is no competition from older kids and no concerns about weather.  This is a wonderful, fun, successful event that has become very beloved in my community. Maybe it's something that would work for you!

*I also work with FCRC to offer family events that supplement school district's four-year-old kindergarten enrichment program, and we are planning to use Every Child Ready to Read 2 for programming this fall.

Seeing Stars

I just checked  School Library Journal's Starred reviews for April, and was ecstatic to see that two of the books I reviewed were given stars! I'm as happy as if I wrote/illustrated the books myself.  But wait, there's more: I'm super excited to see a new Traction Man adventure as well.

If All the Animals Came Inside by Eric Pinder, illustrated by Marc Brown.

Great for storytime, this book is really something special. Marc Brown who is, of course, most famous for the Arthur books, combines that classic cartooning style with the more recent collage work seen in books like "Dancing Feet!" (Craig) and really creates art that is above and beyond anything he's done before. The emotion and expression from his cartoon work is perfectly enhanced by the texture and liveliness of his college work. It's amazing to see such a well-established illustrator evolve in such dynamic way.  Truly top form! (There's even an Arthur cameo on the page showing the animals watching television).

I'll Save You Bobo! by Eileen and Marc Rosenthall

When I saw the first Bobo book at the bookstore, I fell in love. Poor Willy--his pesky cat Earl just won't leave his beloved monkey, Bobo, alone. In this adventure, Willy is annoyed both by his boring book and Earl's fascination with Bobo. Willy solves both problems by drawing his own stories--all of which pose a threat to Earl.

I just love love love the expressiveness of the art. So simple, but with such masterful use of line to convey the action and emotion of what's happening. You can practically feel that cat invading Willy's space and pestering him (but he's so charming, that Earl)

Look at the great composition of the image above. The curve of Willy's body makes a shallow arc, which is echoed both by Bobo's shape and the shape of Willy's imagination bubble. It's also reflected within the leaves of the imaginary jungle. Our eyes like this repetition of shape, and naturally bounce around the whole drawing, helping it appear lively and interesting. So good!

 Traction Man and the Beach by Mini Grey

  

And finally, a shout-out to Traction Man. Traction Man is an action figure who has many heroic and harrowing adventures. Those who pay attention will find that his adventures seem to take place in locations common to young children--the bath, the sink, the backyard--but are transformed into Exciting! Dangerous! Missions! by the the child's imagination. I love the Traction Man books because I find them hilarious, but I also think they do a particularly great job of capturing what it's like to get really lost in your imagination. They do a great job of showing how a child with an imaginary superhero toy sees the world. And did I mention hilarious?

Enjoy!