THE BACKSTORY I wanted the teens using my library to do something creative this summer. I’ve recently grown weary of having programs for the sake of programs, so with this mindset I reached out to the amazing Sonya Tomlinson aka Sontiago to help unlock the amazing creativity of the teens here in Portland. Sonya’s an amazing hip hop artist based here in Portland who has already done some amazing work with teens in our community (click that link, please), so it was a no-brainer to have her be the person running this event. We met over lunch at Kamasouptra and we came up with […]
Categories Engaging Library Users
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“The time is now,” I keep telling myself. Let me tell you why. It’s been almost five years since I fell into being a teen librarian. I was working toward my MLS at Clarion University when I was approached to do some summer teen programming at the Clarion Free Library in Clarion, PA. Their proposal was simple: do stuff for teens, buy some cool books, and get them into the library. I was a one-person team tasked with pretty much creating a library for these oft-forgotten patrons. I did it, and the teens were happy, but I realized at the […]
Glenn Peterson sent this along – very cool stuff: “Engaged Readers” keeps patrons engaged in reading by letting them interact with other readers and library staff as they create and share book lists, write reviews, add comments, follow fellow readers and more. Suitable for a summer reading program or year-around. Check it out at http://engagedpatrons.org/EngagedReaders.cfm. The service is free for small- and medium-sized libraries, affordably priced for the rest.
My “Office Hours” column is out in the new LJ and online. This time I report from The Future of the Academic Library Symposium: The age-old confusion about what a librarian does still exists. In fact, when Ridley asked the panel “What defines a professional librarian,” their comments weren’t surprising. One “had no idea” what a librarian was until it was explained to her in the car on the way to the symposium. Another stated what many students, and public library patrons, think as well: “it means everyone in the library to me….” Ridley followed with, “Do you care if […]
Yes you can! 2011, originally uploaded by Oak Park Public Library. Oak Park Public Library writes: Yes you can eat at the Library! Beginning today, June 1, 2011, we will allow food in all 3 facilities. We made this change because we think it will improve the library experience of many of our customers, including parents with young children, kids and teens who visit after school, and people who use the Library for extended periods of time. There …are some limitations, including: no eating in the Silent Reading Room or Storytime Room or while using our computers. We expect this […]
Over the past year, I’ve gotten to watch a group of teens that come into the library grow into full fledged hip hop artists. It all started with The Telling Room, a nonprofit writing center in Portland, ME, and their 2011 program Play. Their amazing Young Leaders and Writers workshop was the start of a collaboration between three teens (Chrispo, Emmanuel, and Ali) with local hip hop artist Sontiago (aka Sonya Tomlinson). THE CREATION The group of teens started coming into the library on a daily basis and used our study rooms as their rehearsal space. They would freestyle over beats and furiously scribble down […]
On Tuesday May 17, 2011, my library had the pleasure of hosting a show featuring the wizard rock band Harry and the Potters. The show itself was awesome: the music was great, the band was super nice, and everyone had a good time. The highlight for me had nothing to do with the actual show. Instead, it came from the patrons. The first moment where I noticed that this wasn’t going to be just any old program was when I stepped out to announce to the fans that were waiting for the show to start that the band was just […]
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/ljinprintcurrentissue/889573-403/revamping_reference__the_user.html.csp Aaron Schmidt writes: Reference desks don’t have to be antagonistic. Boomerang-shaped desks with a computer monitor and an easily shared keyboard between two chairs set the stage for a collaborative interaction. Folding patrons into the research process acknowledges their contribution. This respectful gesture—and the other ways to consciously consider your reference setup—can ameliorate library anxiety and foster an engaging experience. With the easy-to-use mobile computing options now available, roving reference makes more sense than ever. I spoke with Katherine Penner (Univ. of Manitoba’s Dafoe Lib.) and Martha Flotten (Multnomah Cty. Lib. [MCL]) about how they’ve experimented with Apple iPhones […]
Last week, a patron came to me needing help with her resume. She’s looking for a job, and she’s desperate. She didn’t want just books on how to write a resume, she wanted someone to sit down with her and help her write it. I’m not good at writing resumes, so I didn’t offer my services and hinder her job search. I recommended another local public library because I’d heard that they had a resume service and I thought they might be able to help her. I was wrong. She came back to me and told me that the librarians […]
A few of my coworkers (Ruth, Erika, and Matt) had some fun this April Fool’s Day. Check out the entire run of images here. You know, there’s something to be said to working with people who come up with fun ideas. Furthermore, there is many things to be said about working under leadership that allows/encourages this sort of fun creativity. Patrons/members/customers can sense when people like what they are doing, it makes a difference. TTW Contributor: Mick Jacobsen