young adult - library services - LEO

library servicesVOLUME 10 | NUMBER 4

THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE YOUNG ADULT LIBRARY SERVICES ASSOCIATIONA DIVISON OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

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SUMMER 2012 ISSN 1541-4302 $17.50

INSIDE:

Talking Comics

E-Reading Across

the Digital Divide

Building Apps

the Teen Way

and much more

Talking Comics

E-Reading Across

the Digital Divide

Building Apps

the Teen Way

and much more

YALSA Perspectives5 IT CAME FROM THE LIBRARY!

Teen Read Week� 2012By Sarah Russo

7 YALSA’s Advocate of the MonthBy Carrie Rogers-Whitehead andMichael Schor

9 Friends of YALSASupporting the Mission of MembersEverywhereBy Priscille Dando

Best Practices11 The K-PopWave Hits Libraries!

By Dora Ho

14 Building Apps the TeenWayBy Linda W. Braun

Hot Spot: Teen Reading17 Talking Comics

Starting Your Graphic Novel Book ClubBy Jack Baur and Jessica Lee

22 Opening the GateBooktalks for LGBTQ-Themed YoungAdult TitlesBy Alexander F. Parks

28 In a More Digital DirectionServing Teens with E-readersBy Wendy Stephens

31 Ain’t Nothing Wrong with Reading BooksCreating a Classroom Library at anAlternative SchoolBy Kristine E. Pytash

36 Reading MapsRestyling Readers Advisory for TeensBy Kerry Sutherland

38 E-reading Across the Digital DivideHowWe Got to Be the First School LibraryServing Incarcerated and Detained Youth toGet iPads into the Hands of Our StudentsBy Jessica Fenster-Sparber, Anja Kennedy,Claudio Leon, and Regan Schwartz

Plus:2 From the Editor

Megan Honig

3 From the PresidentSarah Flowers

35 Guidelines for Authors

35 Index to Advertisers

42 The YALSA Update

45 Index to Volume 10

The official journal of The Young adulT librarY ServiceS aSSociaTion

young adultlibrary services

SUMMER 2012 ISSN 1541-4302VOLUME 10 | NUMBER 4

About This CoverIt Came from the Library! is the official theme forTeen Read Week� 2012, Oct. 14–20. Teen ReadWeek offers libraries a chance to highlight the manyways they connect teens with great reads. � 2012American Library Association. Poster and otherproducts available at www.alastore.ala.org or bycalling 1-800-746-7252. All proceeds support thenonprofit work of ALA and YALSA.

2011–2012 YALSA Editorial Advisory Committee(providing advisory input for the journal)

Kimberly Bolan Cullin, chair, Indianapolis, Ind.; Jennifer Brannen, Durham, N.C.;Katherine Covintree, Providence, R.I.; Laura Pearle, Carmel, N.Y.;Cindy Welch, Knoxville, Tenn.; and Whitney Winn, Golita, Calif.

YALSA Executive DirectorBeth Yoke

Editor-in-ChiefMegan Honig

Managing EditorStephanie Kuenn

CirculationYoung Adult Library Services (ISSN 1541-4302) is published four times a yearby the American Library Association (ALA), 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL60611. It is the official publication of the Young Adult Library Services Asso-ciation (YALSA), a division of ALA. Subscription price: members of YALSA,$25 per year, included in membership dues; nonmembers, $70 per year in theU.S.; $80 in Canada, Mexico, and other countries. Back issues within one yearof current issue, $17.50 each. Periodicals class postage paid at Chicago, Illinoisand additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes toYoung Adult Library Services, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Members:Address changes and inquiries should be sent to Membership Department,Changes to Young Adult Library Services, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611.Nonmember subscribers: Subscriptions, orders, changes of address, and inqui-ries should be sent to Changes to Young Adult Library Services,Subscriptions, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; 1-800-545-2433, press 5;fax: (312) 944-2641; [email protected].

Statement of PurposeYoung Adult Library Services is the official journal of the Young AdultLibrary Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American LibraryAssociation. YALS primarily serves as a vehicle for continuing education forlibrarians serving young adults, ages twelve through eighteen. It will includearticles of current interest to the profession, act as a showcase for best prac-tices, provide news from related fields, publish recent research related to YAlibrarianship, and will spotlight significant events of the organization andoffer in-depth reviews of professional literature. YALS will also serve as theofficial record of the organization.

ProductionCadmus Communications

AdvertisingBill Spilman, Innovative Media Solutions; 1-877-878-3260; fax (309)483-2371; e-mail [email protected]. View our media kit atwww.ala.org/yalsa/mediakit. YALS accepts advertising for goods or services ofinterest to the library profession and librarians in service to youth in particular.It encourages advertising that informs readers and provides clear communica-tion between vendor and buyer. YALS adheres to ethical and commonlyaccepted advertising practices and reserves the right to reject anyadvertisement not suited to the above purposes or not consistent withthe aims and policies of ALA. Acceptance of advertising in YALS does notimply official endorsement by ALA of the products or services advertised.

ManuscriptsManuscripts and letters pertaining to editorial content should be sent toYALSA, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; e-mail: [email protected]. Manuscripts will be sent out for review according to YALS’s establishedreferee procedures. Visit www.ala.org/yalsa for further information.

Indexing, Abstracting, andMicrofilmYoung Adult Library Services is indexed in Library Literature, Library &Information Science Abstracts, and Current Index to Journals in Education.Microfilm copies of Journal of Youth Services in Libraries and its predecessor,Top of the News, are available from ProQuest/Bell & Howell, 300 N. ZeebRd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106.

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements ofAmerican National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paperfor Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.1�2012 American Library AssociationAll materials in this journal subject to copyright by the American LibraryAssociation may be photocopied for the noncommercial purpose of scien-tific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of theCopyright Revision Act of 1976. For other photocopying, reprinting, or trans-lating, address requests to the ALA Office of Rights and Permissions.

from theEditorMegan Honig

S ummer is an ideal time for reading, and as young adultlibrarians, we know that reading takes many forms. Thisissue of Young Adult Library Services tackles reading in a

variety of genres and formats—from e-reading to print, fromcomics to LGBTQ fiction—and examines the librarian’s role insupporting and shaping teens’ reading practices.

Two articles discuss ebooks in this issue. “In a More DigitalDirection,” by Wendy Stephens, brings us up to date on teens’relationship to e-readers. In “E-reading Across the Digital Divide,”the team at Passages Academy Library, which serves incarceratedteens in New York City, describes and evaluates a program to useiPad ebooks in juvenile detention facilities.

You can also come away from this issue with practical tools foryour own reading-related programming. Host your own comicbook club using Jack Baur and Jessica Lee’s discussion guides.Promote LGBTQ titles to teens with one of Alexander Parks’sbooktalks. Or dive into the world of K-pop culture with Dora Hoas your guide.

Plus, learn about reading maps, classroom libraries, “BuildingApps the Teen Way,” and more!

For those looking for our insightful book reviews, theProfessional Materials section will be published in YALS Online athttp://yalsa.ala.org/yals. Please visit the new site for this and otherspecial multimedia content.

On a personal note, I want to share that Summer 2012 will bemy last issue as YALS editor. It’s been a pleasure learning about thework with teens that is being done across the country and being intouch with YALSA’s very capable leadership, with the dedicatedYALS Editorial Advisory Board, and with the librarians and teenadvocates who have given their time to write about their service toteens and vision for library leadership. I hope that YALSAmembers and teen advocates everywhere will continue to learn,grow, and challenge ourselves as we strive to give the best libraryservices to young adults.

2 YALS | Young Adult Library Services | Summer 2012

from thePresident

O ne of the great pleasures of beingYALSA president has been thechance to talk to people all year

long about teens and reading. Every month,I get three or four requests for interviewsfrom reporters or others who are doingstories that have some connection to teenreading. I’m always happy to share mythoughts about YA books, to let peopleknow about the wonderful books and othermedia highlighted by YALSA’s manybooklists and awards, and to speculateabout coming trends in YA literature.

In addition, there have been otheropportunities. As I write this column,I am just back from a week in Washington,D.C., where, as part of National LibraryLegislative Day, I met with staff from theoffices of several legislators as well as stafffrom organizations with similar interests toYALSA, such as the Afterschool Alliance.I also spent two days staffing YALSA’sbooth at the USA Science and EngineeringFestival, which gave me the opportunity totalk about teen books with teens, parents,teachers, and librarians.

Now, in my final column as YALSApresident, I want to talk to you about teensand reading. I know I don’t have to tell youabout great teen books or about what teensare reading these days—you’re the expertsthere. But I would like to encourage you touse events like Teen Read WeekTM andyour summer reading programs to get theword out to your community about teensand reading.

I know that the “A-word” (advocacy)is scary to a lot of you. You may think it’stoo hard or that you’re not qualified to doadvocacy. You may think that it’ssomebody else’s job, like maybe your boss’s

or YALSA’s. You may think that as apublic employee in a school or libraryyou’re not allowed to do it.

But none of those things is true.You are absolutely qualified to tell

people about the importance of libraryservice for teens. You have stories of theways you have helped teens use the library’sresources. You have examples of teens whohave told you that the book yourecommended was the best (or first!) bookthey’ve ever read. Just share those stories inyour community. In fact, share thosestories with others in your library—sometimes advocacy really does start athome. Your boss, and YALSA, will indeeddo some kinds of advocacy on your behalf,but you are the one who can mosteffectively talk about your specific teensand what they need and want.

Advocacy is not lobbying. Advocacy isthe general promotion of an idea or cause,through education and outreach. Lobbyinginvolves asking an elected official to vote acertain way on a particular piece oflegislation. In your position as a publicemployee, you may well be prohibited fromlobbying (although you can always lobby asa private individual, on your own time, notusing public supplies or equipment), butyou can always promote the idea of theimportance of library services for teens.

And YALSA will help you. Go towww.ala.org/yalsa/advocacy for tips andlinks. There are plenty of things you can dothat won’t even take much time out of yourday. Invite your local, state, and federalofficials to your library’s events—yoursummer reading program wrap-up party,your Teen Read Week events, your gamingprograms, or your book groups. Of course,

they won’talways come,butoccasionallythey arelooking for anevent that willmake a great photo op. And, as onelegislative staffer I spoke with last week inWashington said, “We can’t come if wedon’t know about it.”

There are other simple things you cando, too. Check out the Teen Read WeekNing (http://teenreadweek.ning.com/page/publicity-tools) for sample pressreleases, public service announcements,letters to the editor, and proclamations.Use the occasion of Teen Read Week toprovide a recommended reading list to yourlocal newspaper, your parent-teacherassociation, or Friends of the Librarynewsletter.

Finally, as I conclude my final column,I want to give you a few updates. In myfirst column, last fall, I mentioned that Iwanted to focus this year on “Building theFuture,” including building YALSA’scapacity to implement projects andprograms. The Leadership Endowment hasgrown this year, thanks to donations frommembers (including many in memory ofDorothy Broderick) and to the Board’sdecision to put $9,000 from theBoardSource Leadership Award moneyinto the endowment. As a result, in thecoming year we will offer the first DorothyBroderick Student Scholarship, for alibrary school student to attend ALAAnnual 2013. In addition, YALSA wasawarded a $75,000 grant from theMacArthur Foundation, Mozilla, and

Sarah Flowers

Summer 2012 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 3

HASTAC to implement a badges forlifelong learning project. We continue togrow new leaders, and have selected ourfirst board fellow, Carrie Kausch; she willbegin her role on the Board immediatelyfollowing ALA Annual 2012.

There have been many other excitingdevelopments this year: creation of theTeen Book Finder iPhone app; thegrowing popularity of the Hub, YALSA’steen literature blog; the development of

issue briefs; creation of the firstinstructional kits on teen services;publication of a new book on summerreading programs; our webinars ande-courses; and much, much more.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my year asyour president, and have especially enjoyedmeeting so many of you, both online and inperson, and hearing about the great workyou are doing with teens in schools andlibraries. I hope I have done a good job of

representing you in the media and that Ihave succeeded in keeping you up to dateon all of the association’s activities. Finally,I hope that YALSA is as much fun and asintegral a part of your career has it has beenfor me for the past twenty years. I’mlooking forward to continuing to be a partof YALSA’s many initiatives for years tocome! YALS


from the President

T he week we all wait for isapproaching! It’s Teen ReadWeek�, the week when teens

flock in droves to the public library andmedia center to empty the shelves. Butthey won’t be expecting that out of themurk and mystery . . . from under theshelves and out of the stacks . . . up fromthe depths of unknown stories . . . IT

CAME FROM THE LIBRARY!

Where Did “IT” Come From?IT . . . began in 1998 as a national literacyinitiative to support and celebrateadolescent reading.

Each year a different theme is voted onby participants. Past themes have includednods to teen literature trends, such as graphicnovels, fantasy, vampire stories, humor, andmore. Once again, the theme encouragesteens to “Read for the fun of it,” and whatcould be more fun than encouraging teens toread whatever IT is they love to read?!

When Does “IT” Take Place?IT . . . is traditionally held during the thirdweek of October, October 14–20 this year.This is a fun time of year to plan events,especially with such a suspenseful andthrilling theme so close to All Hallows’ Eve!

Does “IT” Have to be Onlya Week?IT . . . doesn’t have to last only one week.Some communities schedule month-longcelebrations. And why not? Teen Read Weekcould be a jumping-off point for promotingyoung adult services throughout the entireyear! The timing is flexible, and all YALSAasks is that you encourage teens to read for fun!

What Is “IT” All About?IT . . . has a theme, but you don’t have touse it. This year’s theme, “It Came from

the Library,” supports classic suspense,horror, and science fiction, but the generaltheme of Teen Read Week is “Read for thefun of it,” and this theme can always beused in place of the more specific theme.It’s supposed to be fun, but if your teensaren’t into it, feel free to mix it up.

HowMuch Does “IT” Cost?IT . . . is free to register and to participatein Teen Read Week, although there areposters, bookmarks, a Teen Read Weekmanual, and many other great productsavailable for purchase at the ALA Store(www.alastore.ala.org/trw12) to supportyour initiatives and events. Your eventsmay cost money, but they certainly don’thave to be expensive. YALSA offers greatwebinars and other resources to help youplan teen events on a small budget!

Who Is “IT” For?IT . . . is not just about teens and libraries.Teen Read Week is aimed at teens, their

parents, librarians, educators, booksellers,and other concerned adults. The YALSATeen Read Week website (www.ala.org/teenread) offers ideas to get your wholecommunity involved with letter-writingcampaigns, public service announcements,and more!

When Should I Start Planning“IT”?IT . . . is never too early to start planning.Check out the programming ideas availablein the Teen Read Week website (www.ala.org/teenread) and on the Teen ReadWeek Pinterest board (http://pinterest.com/yalsa/teen-read-week-2012/). Beginby getting your teen advisory groupinvolved in the planning.

What Can “IT” Do for Me?IT . . . can help you grow professionallyand help you make connections! Use theTeen Read Week Facebook Event Page(www.facebook.com/yalsa), the Pinterest

IT CAME FROM THELIBRARY!Teen Read Week� 2012

By Sarah Russo

featureYALSA Perspectives

SARAH RUSSO is a current member of YALSA’s Teen ReadWeekCommittee. She works as a Teen Instructor and ResearchSpecialist for the Elkridge Branch of Howard County LibrarySystem in Maryland.


board (http://pinterest.com/yalsa/teen-read-week-2012/), or the Ning site(http://teenreadweek.ning.com/) to helpyou connect to other librarians across theworld! Be sure to visit these websitesthroughout the year, and feel free to askeach other questions! Teen Read Weekcan also be a way to try out new ideas,launch new initiatives, and help you andyour colleagues work on meeting YALSA’syouth services competencies (www.ala.org/yalsa/guidelines/yacompetencies2010). IT

can also help connect you to people whoserve teens in your local community.Seeking out partnerships and buildingideas collaboratively will not only benefityou but your entire young adult servicesprogram, and the teens it serves.

What Are Some of theExciting Plans for This Year’sTeen Read Week?IT . . . is going to be awesome! Once againYALSA is partnering up with WWE fortheir WrestleMania Reading Challenge.Whether or not you’re a WWE fan, Iguarantee you’ve got fans in your community,and it’s a great way to engage reluctant readersand tweens, and possibly win money for yourlibrary! Registration for the WrestleManiaReading Challenge ends July 31.

Another exciting event is the officialannouncement of the Teens Top Ten list!Encouraging your teens to read and vote isalways a great idea—check out the Teens TopTen Toolkit (www.ala.org/yalsa/teenstopten)for ways to promote this fantastic list.

Where Can I Find a FunReading List for Teens?IT . . . is on the website! YALSA’s TeenTop Ten 2012 will be announced during

Teen Read Week, but this is not the onlypopular vote young adult book list thatYALSA has. The new Readers Choicenominee list (www.ala.org/yalsa/readers-choice) is open to everyone for nominationsthrough November. There are literallyhundreds of fun book lists throughoutYALSA’s website. Now is a great time torevisit all of YALSA’s Best of the Best, andmake use of their great marketingmaterials. The new YALSA Teen BookFinder app makes IT even moreconvenient to surf the lists (www.ala.org/yalsa/products/teenbookfinder). ITcame from the app store!

How Can I Help My SchoolGet Involved?IT . . . can be done, but start when schoolbegins in the fall! If you work with a schoolor at a school, get ready to start peoplethinking about Teen Read Week eventsduring teacher planning week. Makebookmarks for teachers and administratorsthat have all of the important dates andinformation for upcoming activities. If yourschool system has a public relationsdepartment, let them know what you’replanning so you can keep the public up todate. A Back-to-School Night/OpenHouse is a great time to connect withparents and students to alert them aboutspecial events. During media centerorientation, remind students that TeenRead Week voting ends in September.Encourage teens to talk about titles theymay have read over the summer andencourage them to vote!

Challenge a student or two to write anarticle about events scheduled for TeenRead Week. Have them highlight a few ofthe fun and popular titles available forcheckout. Publish their articles on a blog,

newsletter, or a school/communitynewspaper. For in-school announcements,have students read PSAs they have writtenor ones provided by YALSA (http://teenreadweek.ning.com/page/publicity-tools).

Many times schools need partners tohelp fund and promote their initiatives.Remember, Teen Read Week is not just anevent to be kept in the classroom. Bewilling to reach out to work with publiclibraries, bookstores, radio stations, andprominent members of your community.

Are These Efforts Making aDifference?IT . . . takes work to serve teens, butevidence has shown IT is worthwhile. Onegoal of this event is to help create lifetimereaders, but one week is not long enough tofully accomplish that goal. Teen ReadWeek is a great way to restart, realign, andrefocus your program to encourage readingfor fun. In January 2010, the Kaiser FamilyFoundation published a study that foundthat the average time spent reading booksfor pleasure in a typical day rose fromtwenty-one minutes in 1999 to twenty-fiveminutes in 2010 (www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia012010nr.cfm). Never beforehave teens had so many different mediaoptions competing for their attention, andyet study after study shows teen reading onthe rise.

IT . . . is going to be a fun October!See you on Ning! YALS


IT CAME FROM THE LIBRARY!

A s anyone who works in librariesknows, libraries across the countryare facing a crisis. The recession has

hit state and local governments hard, andlibraries, like other government departments,are on the chopping block. Some places havebeen hit harder than others, and when cuts hityou personally, it’s the most punishing blow ofall. Michael Schor, a librarian with theScottsdale (Ariz.) Public Library has been hitpersonally with cuts. He is a member of the2011–2013 YALSA Legislative Committee.He joined in part because of his experienceswith possible layoffs. Here is his personal storyof advocacy.

Let me start by saying that I love myjob. I love working in this city and helpingthe people who live here as well as all ofour visitors. I left a higher-payingprivate sector job because it was mychildhood dream to become a librarianand help people. I think being alibrarian is one of the most important jobsout there.

As library budgets are cut deeper eachyear, it is more important now than everbefore to include members of thecommunity in your efforts to preserve oneof the most essential freedoms we have tooffer. In some cases, people won’t knowhow much the cuts will affect them until itis too late. The most important thing wecan do, as library employees, advocates, andconcerned citizens’ is to educate the publicon the issues that we face.

In the most recent budget cycle, theScottsdale Public Library was facinglayoffs, cuts in operating hours, reductionof the materials budget, and even theclosure of one of our branches. As one ofthe people whose position would be cut,this particular round of layoffs hit me closeto home. So, this year, I was not onlyfighting for the jobs of my coworkers andservices for the public but I was fighting formy own job as well.

Just because cuts to operatinghours and staff have taken place and are

being proposed again doesn’t mean thatthere is less demand for our services. Infact, it is just the opposite. The ScottsdalePublic Library has been my home since Iwas ten years old—that’s almost thirty-fiveyears—and we are busier now thanever before. Our statistics show thatlibrary usage for all of our services,including storytime, computer access, andcirculation, is much higher now than inprevious years.

The Scottsdale Public Library wentinto action to prevent the possible cuts.They let the public know both throughword of mouth and by placing poster boardsigns at the entrance to each branch

showing exactly how the projected cuts inoperating hours would affect ourcustomers. This was key in getting themessage to the people. There were alsoarticles in the local newspaper informingthe public about the possible reduction instaff and hours.

Right now is when we need oursupporters the most. If the citizens demandthat they need libraries, the governmentwill listen. Now is the time to advocate forwhat you believe in—whether you are astaff member, citizen, visitor, retiree,student, or any or all of the above.

Through the efforts of library staffand volunteers, word spread. The city

YALSA’s Advocateof the MonthBy Carrie Rogers-Whiteheadand Michael Schor


MICHAEL SCHOR is an Adult Services Librarian at the Mustangbranch of the Scottsdale (Ariz.) Public Library system. Hepreviously worked as a youth and teen librarian at variousbranches of the Scottsdale Public Library and loves working withcustomers of all ages here in his childhood library. He is a memberof the current YALSA Legislative Committee.CARRIE ROGERS-WHITEHEAD is the current chair of the YALSALegislative Committee. She works full time as a Youth ServicesLibrarian with the Salt Lake County Library system in Utah. Shehas served on YALSA committees in the past, and last year waschair of Utah’s Young Adult Committee. Carrie feels that advocacyis important and works to promote libraries through her service invarious local government groups.


council and mayor’s office were bombardedby more than one thousand calls ande-mails. This outcry from the public notonly saved a branch that was slated forclosure but also preserved jobs andmaintained the operating hours at alllibrary branches.

As Michael learned firsthand, budgetcuts can happen to anyone, and supportfrom the community at that time is especiallyvital. Advocacy does not start when reductionin services is threatened, but years before.Most of those phone calls to support theScottsdale Public Library did not come fromthose who have never used the librarybut from long-term patrons. The continuedcustomer service and benefits the library hasgiven the public over the years are just as

important as the signs and newspaper articlesthey put out.

The YALSA Legislative Committeehopes to feature these unsung heroes, thevolunteers and staff who make the calls to themayor’s office, or just talk to their friendsabout how much libraries are important tothem. In this time of social media, advocacy iseasier than ever. A personal account on yourFacebook page can mean much more toyour friends than a plea from a larger,impersonal, entity. The YALSA LegislativeCommittee especially feels that the personaladvocacy story is important. Michael’s storydoes not contain statistics but is heartfelt andcan have a great impact. On our committee,we have set a goal to gather these personaladvocacy stories to show that anyone can be

an advocate and make an impact on localgovernment.

Please help our committee accomplishthis goal by nominating your own advocate.This person can be a staff member, patron, orone of your library’s volunteers. We especiallyhope to find teen advocates—individuals whoare teen-aged who care about the library, orthose who want to promote teen services.

Please share your personal advocacy storyor the advocacy story of someone you knowthrough our online form at www.ala.org/yalsa/advocate-month. It takes just aminute to complete the form, and yournominee will be featured on the YALSA blog.Personal stories, no matter how small or local,ARE important. Help promote libraries bysharing a story of your own. YALS


YALSA’s Advocate of the Month

D id you register for Teen ReadWeek� last year? If so, youreceived a free Best of the Best

resource kit including spine labels,brochures, and Teens’ Top Tenbookmarks. These goodies came to you asa result of fundraising efforts from Friendsof YALSA, whose area of focus fordonated funds in 2011 was promotingYALSA’s YA literature and media awardsand lists. It is just one small example ofhow Friends of YALSA turns donationsinto resources, services, and opportunitiesfor members.

Friends of YALSAMakesa DifferenceEstablished in 2005, Friends of YALSA(FOY) acts as the fundraising arm forYALSA. Through the generosity ofmembers, Friends of YALSA has been ableto provide funding to support theassociation’s members and mission, and itis YALSA’s Financial AdvancementCommittee (FAC) that is charged withcreating and implementing fundraisingcampaigns for the association. FACaddresses financial priorities in theStrategic Plan as determined by theYALSA board of directors, usually byfocusing on one goal area annually. Whatmakes donations so effective is that one-hundred percent of the funds are used tobenefit YALSA members, and they financematerials, resources, and opportunities thatYALSA might otherwise not be able toprovide.

In 2010, the Strategic Plan focus wason advocacy, and Friends of YALSA sentmembers to ALA’s Library Advocacy Daysand created advocacy materials forlibrarians to use at their own locations. Asmentioned, the 2011 focus was on creatingand disseminating marketing materials forYALSA’s literature and media awards and

lists. The 2012 focus is on the newStrategic Plan goal of capacity building sothat YALSA can increase its influence andability to meet member needs.

Funds raised by FAC for Friends ofYALSA also support educational andleadership opportunities for YALSAmembers by sponsoring a SpectrumScholar and Emerging Leader each year.The Spectrum Scholarship is ALA’snational diversity and recruitment programaimed at increasing ethnic diversity in thefield of librarianship. For YALSA, theSpectrum Scholar must be enrolled in anaccredited library school with a focus onbecoming a librarian who works with teens.Hannah Gomez is the 2011–2012Spectrum Scholar. She attends SimmonsCollege in Boston and is pursuing a degreein children’s literature and in libraryscience. Receiving the $5,000 scholarshiphas had a definite impact. When askedwhat the scholarship from Friends ofYALSA meant to her, Gomez replied, “Iwas set in my decision to attend libraryschool, but the bill put me into a state ofshock. It’s hard to willingly put yourself

into a bad financial situation, even for a jobyou really want. Thanks to the SpectrumScholarship, I can attend library schoolknowing that I’ll be that much less in debtwhen I graduate, and I’ll be able to embarkon my career with less weight on myshoulders.”

The Emerging Leader programfocuses on supporting a new librarian whohas worked fewer than five years in theprofession. He or she does not haveprevious experience working on ALAcommittees or task forces butdemonstrates potential as a leader inservice to young adults in a library setting.Emerging Leaders network with oneanother and learn about the ALA structureby working together on a project in aproblem-solving group. Friends of YALSAprovides funding for a recipient to attendALA Midwinter and Annual conferences.Lori Easterwood, programming supervisorat the Sacramento (Calif.) Public Library,is YALSA’s 2012 Emerging Leader. ForEasterwood, this is proving to be a positiveexperience with meaningful results.“Emerging Leaders has, so far, been an

Friends of YALSASupporting the Missionof Members Everywhere

By Priscille Dando


PRISCILLE DANDO is the Head Librarian at Robert E. Lee HighSchool in Fairfax County, Virginia, and is a member of YALSA’sFinancial Advancement Committee.


amazing opportunity to meet librariansfrom across the country and get insight inthe inner workings of ALA,” she says.“Furthermore, learning more about howALA works has made me moreenthusiastic and willing to volunteer forcommittees and responsibilities withYALSA and other ALA groups. I lookforward to doing more within ourprofessional organizations as a resultof Emerging Leaders.” (For moreinformation on the Spectrum Scholar andEmerging Leader programs, seewww.ala.org/yalsa/awards&grants.)

Becoming a FriendYou don’t have to be present at aconference, be a member of YALSA, orparticipate in a fundraising effort to joinFriends of YALSA. Your online taxdeductible donation (YALSA is a divisionof ALA, a 501(c)3 charitable organization)can be accepted through the ALA donationsite: www.ala.org/cfapps/donations_rsm/index. Any amount is welcomed, anddonations are grouped into the followingcategories:

� Platinum Circle $1,000 or more� Gold Circle $500–$999� Silver Circle $250–$499

� Bronze Circle $100–$249� Friends’ Circle $10–$99

Donations for a given year arerecorded January through December. Afterdonating, you will receive a letter fromYALSA so you will have the informationneeded for your taxes. In addition, yourname is listed in the monthly YALSAE-News and on the YALSA website. Youcan also enjoy reserved seating at theEdwards Luncheon (for ticket holders) andPrintz Program Reception (for ticketholders) during Annual Conference.Platinum and Gold Circle members havean opportunity to meet the EdwardsAward winner at a reception at AnnualConference. Platinum members can makehotel reservations using ALA’s VIPHousing option. You will also receive aquarterly E-newsletter from Friends ofYALSA. Best of all, you know yourdonation will go directly to helpingYALSA meet the needs of members.

Increasing Your Impactthrough Friends ofYALSAEvery little bit makes a difference, butthere are ways to maximize your impact

through donations. You can designate adonation in the name of a special person orgroup. For example, making a donation inthe name of a mentor or mentee, favoriteprofessor, or in memory of a specialcolleague is a meaningful gesture sure to beappreciated. Consider participating in acreative way to raise funds. Are you amember of a book club? Celebrate theanniversary meeting date by collecting for agroup donation. Do you know a teen whoneeds service hours? School clubs or teengroups could adopt Friends of YALSA fora fundraising drive. Even simply using yoursocial networking connections to encourageothers to support Friends of YALSA is aneffective way to raise awareness.

Friends of YALSA is a critical piece ofYALSA’s overall success and is ameaningful way for individuals and groupsto support the mission of expanding andstrengthening library services for teens. Areyou interested in learning more aboutFriends of YALSA? See www.ala.org/yalsa/givetoyalsa/foy, and consider makinga contribution today. YALS


Friends of YALSA

H ave you noticed your teensbehaving strangely? If your teensare mimicking dance moves and

singing in Korean, it must be K-pop!K-pop songs often come with powerfuldance choreography, totally synchronizedamong group members. You can see examplesin the following videos on YouTube:

l “Hello” by SHINee: http://youtu.be/skZxb5sBoiU

l “Fiction” by Beast: http://youtu.be/ZAzWT8mRoR0

l “Mr. Simple” by Super Junior:http://youtu.be/r6TwzSGYycM

l “The Boys” (English version) by

Girls’ Generation: http://youtu.be/N0i-JdT_W_w

These songs are catchy, with an easy-to-follow chorus and great beats. Manyalso have a rap section. Besides the trendymusic that appeals to teens, Korean groupsare made up of handsome boys and prettygirls. Teens worship them as their idols (infact, they are sometimes called “idolgroups”). Often their music shows up oniPods and MP3 players of teens. TheK-pop culture is currently spreading like astorm through Asia, South America, theMiddle East, and Europe. Lately, K-popgroups have even been spotted inKazakhstan and Turkey. Over theThanksgiving weekend, several K-popgroups, including SHINee, TVXQ, andG.NA performed at the MGM GrandHotel in Las Vegas. Korean rock musicgroups CNBlue and FT Island also had aconcert at Los Angeles’s Nokia Theater onMarch 8, 2012.

What Is K-Pop?K-pop can be defined as South Koreanpopular culture and music. It includes bothKorean music and drama. Recently quitepopular, Korean drama can be seen online

via streaming video or on US cablechannels, subtitled in English. You can getup to date on Korean drama on thewebsites Dramacrazy.net andKoreanDrama.org.

Many teens become more interested inthe music and idol groups after watchingthe dramas because members of these idolgroups are cast in many Korean dramas, aswell. For example, INFINITE’s L (KimMyung Soo) stars in the drama Shut UpFlower Boy Band, KARA’s Goo Hara playsthe president’s daughter in “City Hunter,”Miss A’s Suzy and 2PM’s Taecyeon are inDream High, and recently, 2AM’s JinWoon played a student in Dream High 2(sequel to Dream High). Unlike J-pop,which focuses on popular Japanese musicalone, K-pop culture’s drama and music gohand in hand, and thus the idol groups singmany of the original soundtracks in thedramas they star in as well. Because of thesimilarity in culture, K-pop groups areoften as popular and well received inChina, Japan, and other Asian countries.Many of the groups consist of members

who can speak several languages so theycan communicate with their fans whenthey perform in different countries.

In 2011 alone, more than ten idolgroups debuted in the K-pop arena. Eachyear, many more are coming out. Thenine-member group Girls’ Generationrecently appeared on the Late Showwith David Letterman and ABC’s Live!with Kelly. Soon, the wave of K-popwill hit your libraries if it has not alreadydone so.

HistoryThe phenomenon of K-pop started in thelate 1990s, when Lee Soo Man formed SMEntertainment, South Korea’s largestentertainment agency. DSP Entertainment,JYP Entertainment, and YG Entertainmentimmediately followed Lee’s enterprise,producing many highly successful artists.

The first K-pop girl groups and boybands began appearing in the mid to late1990s. Groups such as as Fin.K.L, g.o.d.,

The K-Pop WaveHits Libraries!By Dora Ho

featureBest Practices

DORA HO is the Young Adult Librarian/Program Specialist at theLos Angeles Public Library. She is currently serving as Councilor-at-Large on ALA Council and is an active member of YALSA. Inaddition, Ho is a K-pop music and drama fanatic; please contacther at [email protected] for additional informationregarding K-pop.


H.O.T., Sechs Kies, and S.E.S. werehugely successful throughout Asia. Wealso saw a surge in the popularity ofhip-hop and R&B music in South Korea,with artists such as Epik High, DrunkenTiger, MC Mong, TVXQ, and1TYM launching successful careers.Normally these idol groups have very short

career spans. However, the male groupShinhwa just celebrated their fourteenthanniversary and began a world tourconcert.

Today, in the K-pop industry, talentagencies spend substantial amounts ofmoney to train and launch new artists. Thenew artist training period lasts several years

to allow trainees to hone their voices, learnprofessional choreography, sculpt and shapetheir bodies through exercise, and studymultiple languages, all while attendingschool. This practice is very similar to theJ-pop culture. Artists must go throughrigorous training camps and auditions togain a spot in the industry. Once they rise tostardom, they are treated as gods.

K-pop continues to gain influence inforeign markets outside of Asia, mainly inthe United States, Canada, and Australia.In 2009, the Wonder Girls became thefirst Korean singers to place on the USBillboard Hot 100 chart with their single,“Nobody.” Billboard even created a KoreaK-Pop Hot 100 chart to accommodate theK-pop phenomenon. K-pop artists alsowork with talents in the United States,touring with groups like the Jonas Brothersand collaborating with producers likeKanye West, Rodney Jerkins, andwill.i.am. Many Americans see the talentsand potential in these idol groups and arewilling to work together. Recently, JayPark teamed up with Rob Knox, a well-known musician who worked with top-tierartists like Justin Timberlake, Rihanna,Chris Brown, and Britney Spears, for anew song. Will.i.am also collaborated with2NE1 with their new album.

K-Pop @ Your LibraryTeen librarians should be aware of currentmusic trends. To keep up with the K-popwave, we need to provide materials to meetteens’ interests. Although some libraryacquisitions departments may not have aclue about acquiring K-pop materials,many major publishers and vendors arebeginning to carry K-pop materials.Consider having your acquisitionsdepartment look into acquiring K-popmaterials. In major cities, try local Asianmusic stores. No matter where you are,there are a number of online resources

K-Pop Culture on theWeb

allkpopwww.allkpop.comThis website has themost up-to-date (updated daily) information about K-pop idol groupsandmusic.Arirangwww.arirang.co.krThis is Korea’s Global Television channel. Most programs are in English or English subtitled.Daily K-Pop Newswww.dkpopnews.netThe Daily K-Pop News has links to many idol group profiles as well as the latest news aboutthe K-pop stars.Freegal Musicwww.freegalmusic.comThe Freegal Music Service is a downloadmusic service sold to libraries for free use by itsregistered cardholders. However, their K-pop collection is very slim.iTuneshttp://itunes.apple.com/us/genre/music-k-pop/id51iTunes now hasmany K-pop singles for purchase.KpopMusic News and Gossipwww.kpopmusic.comThis site provides general information and news about K-popmusic in Korea.Korea.netwww.korea.netThis site has links to the various Korean Culture Centers in the world and the most up-to-date K-pop news from around the world.Korea Todaywww.siriusxm.com/koreatodaySirius XM 144 is a satellite radio station that plays K-popmusic in the United States. Theradio station began broadcasting in early January 2012.Korean Culture Center Los Angeleswww.kccla.orgThis is the website for the Korean Culture Center in Los Angeles. Korean Culture Center isalso located in New York and Washington, DC, and other major cities in the world. They arevery helpful in planning Korean Culture programs at your libraries.MTV Kwww.mtvk.comThe website has the latest on Koreanmusic, as well as up-to-date information aboutKorean artists.Music Plazawww.music-plaza.comMusic Plaza is a store in Koreatown, Los Angeles. They also have online purchasingavailable.


The K-PopWave Hits Libraries!

available for more information; take a lookat the list that accompanies this article. Ifyour budget is limited, start with some ofthe most popular groups and songs, alsolisted here.

Libraries can also harness thepopularity of K-pop throughprogramming. Host a K-pop libraryprogram. Consider a K-pop trivia session(please contact me at [email protected] with questions—I have many toshare). Have a name-that-tune contest:play a short segment of a K-pop song andhave teens guess the artist and title. Host adance program in which teens do their bestto mimic the choreography of their favoritesong, such as “Mr. Simple” by SuperJunior, “Fiction” by Beast, or “Be Mine” byINFINITE (this is a great exercise session,as well!).

My library system, Los AngelesPublic Library (LAPL), recently hadseveral K-pop programs. One tookplace at the Exposition Park RegionalBranch near the University of SouthernCalifornia (USC) and another at theCentral Library’s Teen’Scapedepartment. Both programs were wellreceived by the teens. Those alreadyinterested in K-pop culture did wellin the trivia game, and those justlearning about it discovered manyinteresting facts about K-pop idol groupsand Korean pop music.

I also had the chance to interviewmany of the participating teens. They toldme the main reason they are interested inKorean pop culture is that they beganwatching Korean drama on the Internet orthey happened to watch music videos onmtvK.com, MTV’s Korean Channel. Astheir interest in their favorite actors andsingers grew, they also began to track thoseartists’ careers and music. One teen saw thedrama Boys Over Flowers in seventh gradeand was totally in love with one of thecharacters. Now she is a ninth grader whothoroughly enjoys K-pop music.

After the program in Teen’Scape, I amextremely encouraged by the teens becausethey are looking forward to more K-popprograms. A group of K-pop fans meetsevery month to exchange informationabout their favorite groups, share common

interests, and have their voices heard. Inthe month of March, teens challengedthemselves to see who could performthe choreography of the hottest group,

Female K-Pop Artists and Groups

Artists/Groups Albums (year) Songs

2NE1 2NE1 2nd mini album (2011) Ugly, Lonely, Hate You

4 Minute 4minutes Left (2011) Mirror Mirror

A Pink Snow Pink (2011)

Chocolate I Like it the 1st mini album (2011) I Like it

F(x) Hot Summer (2011), Pinocchio (2011) Hot Summer, Pinocchio

G.NA Black and White (2011)

Girls’ Generation (SNSD) The Boys (2011) The Boys

IU Last Fantasy (2011) You and I

KARA Step (2011) Step

Miss A A Class (2011) Good Bye Baby

Rainbow Sweet Dream (2011)

Wonder Girls Wonder World (2011) Be My Baby

SISTAR So Cool (2011) So Cool

Sunny Hill The Grasshoppers (2012) Grasshopper song

T-ARA John Travolta Wannabe (2011), Black Eyes(2011), Funky Town (2012)

Cry Cry, Lovey Dovey

Male K-Pop Artists and Groups

Artists/Groups Albums (year) Songs

2 PM Hands Up (2011) Hands Up

B2st (Beast) Fiction and Fact (2011) Fiction

Big Bang Alive (2012) Alive, Blue

CNBlue First Step (2011), 392 (in Japanese), Ear Fun (2012) Intuition, Love Girl

F.T. Island Return (2011), Memory in F.T. Island (2011),Grown-up (2012)

Hello Hello

Infinite Over the Top (2011), Paradise (2011) Be Mine

JYJ In Heaven (2011) In Heaven

MBLAQ Mona Lisa (2011), 100% Version (2012) This is War

SHINee Lucifer (2010), The 1st Concert SHINee World(2011), Sherlock (2012)

Lucifer, Hello

Super Junior Acha (2011) Mr. Simple

U-Kiss Neverland (2011), A Shared Dream (2012)

TVXQ Keep Your Head Down (2011) Keep Your Head Down

Kim Hyun Joong Break Down, Lucky (2011) Break Down, Lucky Guy

(continued on page 16)


Ho

H ave you heard of ThomasSuarez? He’s a sixth-grade,California-based app developer.

Thomas isn’t the only young personmaking a mark as an app developer.Last year, fifteen-year-old Robert Naymade the news with his Angry Birds–toppling app, Bubble Ball. (Bubble Ballsupplanted Angry Birds as the number-oneapp in the Apple App Store.) Librarians inparticular liked the Nay story becausehe used his library to learn how to buildthe app.

Teens learning to code is not a newidea. Before the Web, libraries sponsoredprogramming workshops using languagessuch as BASIC. I have been leading youngadult Web development workshops inlibraries for over a dozen years. But appdevelopment can vastly extend theboundaries of a teen’s world, alongwith the teen’s sense of achievement.Suarez and Nay both made nationalnews headlines with their apps andhave spoken in interviews abouttheir newfound confidence relatedto their ability to go out and do greatthings.

Benefits to TeensIt’s easy to see that learning how tocode apps can help teens master a varietyof the necessary developmentalassets educators are regularly striving tohelp develop in young adults. Forexample:

SupportWhen teens have access to resources andprograms that encourage an interest in appdevelopment, they are likely to feelsupported by librarians. Because appdevelopment is fairly new, teens also feelsupported in their interests related tocurrent trends and topics.

Empowerment and SocialCompetenciesI learned about Thomas Suarez via aTwitter message that linked to a video ofhim presenting at TEDxManhattanBeach.(See the resources section for a link to thevideo.) Standing in front of a large crowdof adults, Suarez effortlessly and

confidently talks about his apps. When youwatch the video, you can’t help but see he isan empowered young man.

Constructive Use of Time andCommitment to LearningTaking the time to learn how to code,troubleshooting the code, going throughthe process of having an app added to anapp store—these activities give teensmultiple opportunities to manage theirtime and learn and enhance skills.

Programs are already available to helpschools and libraries integrate apps intoteen learning. In January, Lenovo andNational Academy announced the launchof a new Science Technology EducationMathematics (STEM) program forintegrating app development into thecurriculum.

At Grover Cleveland High Schoolin Queens, New York (one of theschools awarded funding by Lenovo andNational Academy), not only are teenslearning how to develop apps, theyare also gaining skills in business plandevelopment. Because an app isn’tmeant to live just on one teen’s personaldevice, success requires learning whatit takes to get into vendor app storesand understanding how to manage theretail side of apps. Both presentopportunities to learn about businessand financial literacy.

Both Suarez and Nay have businessesassociated with their apps. Not only didthey have to learn about finance, they alsohad to learn about product design andcustomer appeal. For example, Suarez’sapp, Bustin Jieber, a Justin Bieberwhack-a-mole game, is geared to the veryspecific audience of tweens, teens, andadults who would enjoy dissing JustinBieber and his fans. In addition to visualappeal, Suarez had to think about whatinterface would be comfortable formembers of his target market. Such aproject expands critical thinking beyond

Building Apps theTeen WayBy Linda W. Braun

featureBest Practices

LINDAW. BRAUN is an Educational Technology Consultant withLEO: Librarians and Educators Online. She is a YALSA Past-President and a Professor of Practice at Simmons CollegeGraduate School of Library and Information Science.


what teens learn in writing and publicspeaking classes.

What Should LibrariansDo?Don’t worry, you don’t have to learn tocode apps yourself. Once you identify theteens in your community interested in appdevelopment, there are some basic short-and long-term steps you can take.

First, Talk With TeensKeep in mind you may have to go beyondthe teens that you see every day in thelibrary. They might be interested in appdevelopment, but, then again, maybe theyaren’t. That doesn’t mean that there aren’tteens in the community who want to learnabout designing apps. Go into the schoolsand talk with teens there. Visit out-of-school-time programs and haveconversations with teens in those. Bethoughtful. The best question to teensmight not be, “Do you want to learn aboutdesigning apps?” Teens might not be ableto answer that question. They might notthink it’s even possible to learn. But, if youask something like, “Are you curious tofind out how people make the apps youdownload?” or, “Do you wonder what ittakes to get an app into the Apple appsstore?” you’re likely to discover someinterest.

Beef Up Your CollectionThis might include books on helpfulprogramming languages. (Make sure thebooks are up to date.) It also means findingWeb content that provides teens withinformation on what it takes to build anapp. This content might includeinformation about software programs touse, how to make an app that’s user-friendly, how to design an app that is

appealing to a specific audience, and whatthe process is for getting into variousvendor app stores. Consider exploringresources like iTunes U for up-to-datecontent in this area. For example, there isan iTunes U course from StanfordUniversity on app development. While youmight say, “Stanford, that’s too much forthe teens with whom I work,” don’t jumpto conclusions. It’s possible that motivatedteens will find the Stanford material justright. Having high expectations of teenscan spur them on to higher achievementand improve their sense of personal identity(an important developmental asset).

Take Some Time to Learnabout Apps and How TheyWorkNo, as I said previously, you don’t need tolearn how to code apps. But, if you are

going to help teens learn about appdevelopment, then it can be useful to havesome knowledge about what apps are, howto download them on devices, the types ofapps that are successful, what the pricingstructure is for apps, and what makes agood app. You can probably learn much ofthis by talking with teens and trying outapps with them.

Know in Advance WhatTechnology is Required forDeveloping AppsWill the teens need access to a Mac, or willWindows suffice? Building apps for Appleand Android devices, each requires usinga different software development kit(SDK). Apple and Android both provide ahost of useful resources that takedevelopers step by step through thedevelopment process. (See the resource list

Resources for Getting Started

14-Year Old’s Bubble Ball App Knocks Angry Birds Out of Top Spothttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/17/robert-nay-bubble-ball_n_810023.html

ABCs of Mobile App Development Taught at Queens High Schoolhttp://brooklyn.ny1.com/content/ny1_living/technology/155656/abcs-of-mobile-app-development-taught-at-queens-high-school

Absolutely Amazing 6th Grade iPhone App Developer Speaks at TEDxhttp://thenextweb.com/shareables/2011/11/09/absolutely-amazing-6th-grade-iphone-app-developer-speaks-at-tedx/

Android The Developer’s Guidehttp://developer.android.com/guide/index.html

Carrot Corphttp://www.carrotcorp.com/CarrotCorp/CarrotCorp.html

iOS Developer Libraryhttps://developer.apple.com/library/ios/navigation/

iTunes Uhttp://www.apple.com/education/itunes-u/

Nay Gameshttp://www.naygames.com/

Search Institute 40 Developmental Assets for Teenshttp://www.search-institute.org/content/40-developmental-assets-adolescents-ages-12-18


Braun

for more information.) These provideinsight into the technology and toolsneeded for teens to successfully build apps.Of course, teens will need access to devicesto test their apps. If your library doesn’tmake devices available to the community,you can have teens use their own devicesfor testing, or ask colleagues for access totheir devices.

Check Out What’s Going on inYour CommunityMaybe there is someone who lives intown who is an app developer or justsomeone who has the skills and is willingto share them. Maybe there is someonewho has experience going through theprocess of getting an app into a vendor’s

app store. Maybe there is someonewho has experience with developingteen-friendly user interfaces. Of course,even if an expert isn’t in your community,that doesn’t mean there isn’t oneavailable to help the teens. If you knowof someone across the country, there’salways Skype or Google+ Hangoutsas a way to bring that person incontact with the teens with whom youwork.

CollaboratePerhaps a teacher wants to integrate appbuilding into her curriculum. That teachermight work with the public and schoollibrarian to locate resources that supportteen learning, such as experts. During

school hours, the school librarian wouldwork with the teens and the teacher onskills related to the project. During out-of-school hours, public library staff can makeresources available for the teens. At the endof the project, the school and publiclibraries can cosponsor a community eventshowcasing the apps the teens developed,and of course, making them available fordownload.

Planning programs and services forteens on the topic of app developmentmight seem a little daunting at first.However, once you get started, I thinkyou’ll discover many sources of support andinspiration. Just take a few minutes towatch Thomas Suarez and to read aboutRobert Nay, and I think you’ll have a biginspirational head start. YALS

The K-PopWave Hits Libraries! (continued from page 13)

and they played “Name That K-PopTune.” As a teen librarian, I strive toprovide the most up-to-date resources fortheir needs.

ConclusionThe next step for me as a teen librarianis to continue monitoring and trackingthe movement of the K-pop culture.I will be presenting a K-pop 101 at an

upcoming LAPL teen librarians’information meeting. It is very likely wewill make K-pop a permanent part of theprogramming at the Los Angeles PublicLibrary.

BibliographyLee, Tiffanie. “K-Pop Till You Drop:The Skinny on the Korean Boy andGirl Groups That Get Major Play in

Koreatown.” LA Weekly (March 5,2012). http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2012/03/k-pop_koreatown_snsd_taeyang_wonder_girls.phpMahr, Krista. “South Korea’s GreatestExport: How K-Pop’s Rocking theWorld.” Time (March 7, 2012).http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2012/03/07/south-koreas-greatest-export-how-k-pops-rocking-the-world YALS


Building Apps the TeenWay

Comix Club: The OriginStoryCombine a new public librarian with a lovefor comics and a more experienced schoollibrarian with a passion for programming.Add a few kids, some free comic books,and in an instant the popular Comix Clubwas born!

Three years ago, Jack Baur was abrand new teen librarian at Berkeley PublicLibrary, on his first trip into the perilousworld of middle school outreach. On thisvoyage he met Jessica Lee, the teacherlibrarian at Willard Middle School, whowas looking for a new program to bring toher students. Although Jessica wasdisappointed to learn that Jack couldn’tknit, crochet, or craft, what he did have wasa boundless passion for comic books. Thetwo banded together, forming a newdynamic duo dedicated to bringing the loveof reading to students throughout Berkeleyand beyond!

Together, we have been coordinatingthe Comix Club for the last three years.This graphic novel discussion group meetsweekly during lunch at the Willard MiddleSchool library, and has attracted a large,diverse, and dedicated group of attendees.Every week, members of the club get totake home a new graphic novel, which isthen discussed at the following meeting.

Discussion questions are handed outwith the books, giving the kids somethingto think about as they are reading andhelping to provide some structure to theoften freewheeling conversations. Givingthe questions to students in advanceof the discussion can also offer a bit ofcontext for some of the trickier partsof the stories.

Why Graphic Novels?Since our Comix Club meets during lunchas a supplemental program, there are no

requirements about the material matchingcurricular standards. We are free to selectany books that kids will enjoy. Becausegraphic novels are generally quick reads,students have no trouble finishing a bookin time for the next discussion, unlike ourexperience with traditional book clubs. Weare able to meet weekly to discuss adifferent book, keeping the club bothconsistent and fresh. Our drop-out rate isincredibly low!

Thanks to the support of the imagesin graphic novels, a wide range of readers isable to follow the stories and thereforeengage in our discussions. Participants inthe group have included students withdyslexia, reluctant readers, new Englishspeakers, and children on the autismspectrum, as well as highly gifted students.

This is not to imply that comics are easyreading. Rather, graphic novels uselanguage differently, providing densedialogue with few filler words. The factthat graphic novels pair text and image canboth help students by providing an extravisual framework for the text, andchallenge students with complicated pagelayouts and by exploiting the tensionbetween what is being said and what isbeing shown.

Most importantly, graphic novelsengage the students’ minds. Readersget caught up in the story, developsympathy for the characters, marvel atthe settings, wrestle with the themes,and generally relate to them as theywould any novel in a literature class–butwithout a lot of the prodding! Many

Talking ComicsStarting Your GraphicNovel Book Club

By Jack Baur and Jessica Lee

featureHot Spot: Teen Reading

JACK BAUR is a Teen Services Librarian at Berkeley Public Library,as well as the President of BAYA: The Bay Area Young AdultLibrarians, and a reviewer for No Flying No Tights. He is a lifelongcomics nerd and fell for his girlfriend over a series of comic bookconventions.JESSICA LEE is the Teacher-Librarian at Willard Middle School inBerkeley where she has enjoyed playing matchmaker betweenkids and quality books for the last seven years. In her spare timeshe raises two rambunctious but highly literate sons.


of our discussion questions are modeledon the basic literary response modelof making connections between the textand personal experience or previousreading.

Getting StartedOur club was started with a grant from theCalifornia Center for the Book, whichoffers a free loan of their “Book Club in aBox” materials to California librarians(info can be found at http://calbook.org/bcb.html). Their “Comix.@$#!” setprovided us with ten copies of ten titles,giving us ten weeks of programming. Wehadn’t intended to carry on beyond that,but the immediate popularity sent usscrambling to figure out how to expand to ayear-long program.

Initially, we turned to our respectivelibrary systems. By mining the collectionsat both the Berkeley Public Library and theBerkeley Unified School District, we wereable to cobble together enough copies ofmore popular books to keep our clubhappy for a little while. Librarians who arejust starting a comic book club or whowant to inject some graphic novels intotheir existing book club but are put off bythe steep expense of developing a collectionmay want to try this tactic. For our readers,however, it was clear this was not going tobe enough.

Building Our CollectionTo build our own graphic novel book clubcollection, we turned to DonorsChoose.org, a crowd-funding organization for

schools. In our experience, proposals thatare put in at the end of the calendar year(when big corporate donors are thinking alot about their charitable giving) will have agood chance at getting funded if you cangrow enough local support in your schoolor library community. ThroughDonorsChoose.org, we have received tencopies each of fifteen graphic noveltitles—a huge help for our burgeoningclub!

This points out one of the advantagesof collaboration between a school andpublic library system. By working together,one of us can apply for grants for which theother may not qualify. We have also beenable to use the resources of our ownsystems to purchase books—funds setaside for outreach or programming in thepublic libraries and PTA grants throughthe schools. Over the years, what began asa ten-week program has grown to cover anentire school year.

The collection that we have developedis very much viewed as a shared resource.In addition to helping run the club atWillard, Jack has been able to use booksfrom the collection in book clubs at otherschools–both within and outside thedistrict–and at the public library. Reachingdozens of teens. Currently, the graphicnovel discussion group travels back andforth between two school libraries so thatevery seventh and eighth grader in bothschools gets a chance to interact withlibrarians over some incredible books.

Our Discussion GuidesWe’d like to share some of the discussionguides that we have put together for ourComix Club so that you have a foundationfor beginning your own discussion group.These questions were developed withmiddle school students in mind, but feelfree to adapt and use as needed for yourenvironment!

Additional Resources

Because the world of graphic novels is so large, varied, and occasionally daunting, we haveassembled some resources that may help librarians select titles for their book clubs, andtheir collections in general:

No Flying, No Tights

www.noflyingnotights.comThe classic website was recently relaunched with a steady flow of new content, includingreviews, lists, commentaries, and more! Graphic novel reviews by librarians, for librarians.

Graphic Novels and High School English

www.graphicnovelsandhighschoolenglish.comAn online community for teachers using graphic novels in the high school classroom,this site contains lots of information about thinking seriously about comics in aneducational setting.

Graphic Novels for Librarians Group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GNLIB-LA very active discussion list full of librarians who are passionate about comics. Join thegroup and bring any comics-related questions you have; you’ll get a response from folks inthe know.

Talking Comics Online

Throughout 2012, Jack and Jessica will be sharing evenmore of their graphic novel bookclub guides over at the Graphic Novel Reporterwebsite! Check them out at http://graphicnovelreporter.com/content/discussion-guides.


Talking Comics

Discussion GuidesAll-Star Superman, Vol. 1 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely

Synopsis: After Lex Luthor tricks him into flying into the Sun to save a sabotaged spaceship, Superman realizes he is dying. He then receivesa strange prophecy from the future that tells him that in his final days he will perform some of themost amazing feats of his life. Supermanwill defendMetropolis until his last breath, but howwill he say good-bye to the people he is closest to? Inspired by the off-the-wall, science-fiction-inflected Superman comics of the sixties, All-Star Superman is by turns thought-provoking, funny, exciting, and moving.Themes:What it means to be a hero, self-sacrifice, literary dualities.Content Advisory: Comic book violence, largely of the bloodless variety.

Discussion Questions:

1. Look at the first three pages of the story. What do these three pages tell you about Superman?2. When Superman tries to tell Lois that he is Clark Kent, she doesn’t believe him. On page 49, she says, “What if there really was some part

of him that was bumbling, oafish Clark Kent? I just don’t know if I could live with that.” Why does Lois have a hard time with the idea ofClark being Superman?

3. Why does Lex Luthor hate Superman? Why does he like Clark Kent? How is it different from how Lois Lane feels?4. Based on the last story in the book, what conclusions can you come to about Superman’s humanity? Do either Lois or Lex see the “real” Superman?

American Born Chinese by Gene Yang

Synopsis: Amultifaceted story about the pressures of growing up different, told through three seemingly unrelated stories that cometogether in a dazzling way by the end. In the first, a young Chinese boy runs into conflict with his best friend when he tries to change himselfto become cool. Then, a white high school student faces embarrassment when his grossly stereotypical Chinese cousin Chin-Kee comes totown. And finally, after being embarrassed at a party for the gods, the Monkey King sets out to prove that he is “The Great Sage, Equal to AllHeaven” in a story borrowed from Chinese folklore.Themes: Racial stereotypes, changing oneself to fit in, self-acceptance.Content Advisory: The book confronts some disturbing stereotypes, and talks bluntly about American impressions of Chinese culture. Somejokes about bodily functions.


1. What are some of the stereotypes presented in American Born Chinese? How are the stereotypes presented? What do you think theauthor is trying to say about those stereotypes?

2. On the surface, the character of Chin-Kee is incredibly disturbing as he embodies the worst kind of racial stereotypes. Who is Chin-Kee?What does he represent in the story?

3. How do the three stories relate to each other?4. In the sections of the story about Danny and his cousin Chin-Kee, the author uses a lot of laughter and applause sound effects that seem

to be coming from nowhere. What do these sound effects remind you of? Why would the author use these effects?5. The Transformer toy in American Born Chinese represents themany alterations or transformations the characters go through in order to fit

into American society. How do the characters “transform” themselves? How do you transform yourself to fit into the Americanmainstream?

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol

Synopsis: At first, Anya’s troubles are fairly straightforward. She doesn’t fit in at her new high school, is embarrassed by her Russian immigrantmother’s traditional ways, struggles to get the attention of the boy she likes, and her friendship with Siobahn is flecked with jealousy and anger.Then one daywhile sulkily walking home, Anya falls down awell andmeets Emily, the ghost of a young girl killed ninety years before. With a new,invisible friend, Anya’s life is sure to improve. . . except that themotives of the ghostmay not be as transparent as her body is.Themes: Fitting in within a new culture, frenemies, peer relations, bad influences, body image issues.Content Advisory: Anya smokes cigarettes! Language, habitual truancy and a teen party with implied drinking and sex.


1. How does Anya feel about herself? Do you think her self-criticism is normal?2. Why is Anya drawn in by Emily so quickly? Did you think Emily was as innocent as she first seemed?Why or why not?3. Do you know anyone like Elizabethwho seems to have it all? As Anya says, “Everyone else’s life seems somuch easier.” Do you agreewith Anya?4. Do you see any similarities between Anya’s relationship with Siobahn and her relationship with Emily?5. In their final confrontation (pp. 196–199) Emily says some pretty mean things. Are any of them true? Is Emily right about Anya?


Baur and Lee

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Synopsis: In this “silent” graphic novel, a man leaves his wife and children to seek a better life in a faraway country. He finds the strange newland confusing and intimidating, but by learning from the experiences of other immigrants he eventually comes to see it as home.Themes: The immigrant experience, other cultures, being a stranger in a strange land, wordless comics.Content Advisory: Some scary images, but nothing graphic.


1. How does the author tell the story using just pictures? What effect do you think he was trying to achieve by telling the story this way?2. Imagine that you are in another country, or think about a time youmight have visited one. How does the book convey the experience of

being in a foreign place?3. Were you able to “read” the book easily? How does this kind of reading compare to other kinds of reading?4. The Arrival is about a manmoving to a new country. What does the country he goes to remind you of? What aspects of the world do you

recognize?5. Why does theman leave his home at the beginning of the book? Why did the other people hemeets leave their homes?6. The book appears to have a happy ending, with theman settled in his new home. What did he do to make himself feel comfortable and

safe in this strange land?

Meanwhile by Jason Shiga

Synopsis: Amadcap “choose-your-own-adventure” story in which deciding on an ice cream flavor leads to a mad scientist’s laboratory,inviting time travel, alternate dimensions, and, maybe, the destruction of all human life!Meanwhile is brilliantly designed, allowing readers tofollow branching, multicolored tubes to navigate thousands of different story possibilities. Packed with puzzles and secret paths, this onebegs to be reread again and again.Themes: Problem-solving, quantum physics, learning about responsibility in a mad scientist’s lab.Content Advisory: Some potty humor and bloodless mayhem/violence. Also the end of all life on the planet.


1. What was your favorite path through the book? Howwould you represent or map that path?2. At some point during your trip through the book, you probably found the inventor describing “the Multiple Worlds Interpretation of

QuantumMechanics.” Do you think that multiple worlds could possibly exist simultaneously? How does the design of this book relate tothat idea?

3. Some people really don’t like this book. What is it about this book that may turn people off? How did you feel about the book?4. Chocolate or vanilla?

Persepolis, vol 1: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi

Note:Persepolis is available as two separate volumes and as a single collected edition. Our club just reads the first volume, though they areencouraged to pursue themoremature second volume/second half of the story if they enjoy the first. In addition to handing out the book, we heldan open screening of the beginning of the 2008 film adaptation as an introduction to the history of Iran and as away of getting the kids into the book.Synopsis: Author Marjane Satrapi tells of her experience growing up during the Iranian Revolution, the subsequent war between Iran andIraq, and the rise of the Islamic Republic. Against these tumultuous events, readers get a glimpse of Satrapi’s teenage angst and herstruggles to express herself under the burgeoning social repression of the new regime.Themes: Coming-of-age, becoming self-aware in times of social upheaval, other cultures, freedom and repression.Content Advisory: The book contains several scenes of rioting in the streets, warfare, and torture. Satrapi’s art style throughout is cartoonyand understated, so the violence isn’t terribly graphic, but it does pack an emotional punch.


1. Satrapi says, “Every situation has an opportunity for laughs” (p. 97). What parts of the bookmade you laugh?2. At the core of the book is Marji’s family. What is this family like? What is important to Marji’s parents? What kind of an environment do

they create for their daughter, despite living under an oppressive regime and through a brutal, prolonged war?3. What role do women play in the story? How are the roles of the women different from the roles of themen?4. “In spite of everything, kids were trying to look hip, even under risk of arrest” (p. 112). What acts of rebellion have you done as a teen? In what

ways is Satrapi—who grew up during the eighties in Iran—similar to a normal kid in twenty-first-century America?


Talking Comics

Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O’Malley

Synopsis: Gleefully oblivious twenty-three-year-old slacker Scott Pilgrim is living the easy life: unemployed, playing with his punk rock band,and dating a high school girl. When the mysterious Ramona arrives in town (rollerblading through his subconscious, no less), Scott is smitten.But his precious little life is thrown into turmoil when he discovers that if he wants to be Ramona’s boyfriend he will have to defeat her SevenEvil Exes! Melodramatic, over-the-top action ensues.Themes: Dealing with the past in a new relationship, honesty, postmodernism.Content Advisory: Somemild swearing, cartoony violence, alcohol use, and one scene of making out that twelve-year-olds love to giggle at.


1. If you were Scott’s friend, what advice would you give him? Do you think Scott is doing the right things in the book?2. How does Knives change over the course of the book? What is different about her at the end?3. What role does music play in the world of Scott Pilgrim?What does the author do to make you experience themusic as a reader?4. How do the over-the-top fight scenes dramatize the conflict that is going on between the characters? Do you think this is an effective

way to tell the story?

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Raina trips and smashes her face into the pavement, knocking out her front teeth. Now she has to add painfuldental surgery and orthodontia to the already daunting list of things she has to contend with during her awkward early teenage years.Themes: Fitting in, navigatingmiddle school crushes, overcoming physical ailments.Content Advisory: The scene where Telgemeier loses her teeth could skeeve out the squeamish (like Jack), but other than that, this is alighthearted book suitable for all ages.


1. Howwould the story of Smilework differently in a regular prose novel than it does in graphic novel form?2. While youmay not have had your two front teeth knocked out in an accident, there are probably parts of Raina’s story that relate to your

own life. Which part seemed the most like your own experiences?3. What is your most horrible injury?4. Raina has two different groups of friends: the ones frommiddle school and the ones from high school. Howwould you characterize each

group of friends? Why does each group treat Raina the way that it does? Can you identify with Raina’s struggles to develop lastingfriendships?

5. The book is set in the Bay Area. What specific places did you recognize in the pictures? YALS


Baur and Lee

D espite the tremendous progressthat librarians and educators havemade toward using a diverse

collection of multicultural literature withcontemporary youth, there is still muchwork to accomplish. The call for additionalhigh-quality, relevant titles for today’sadolescent readers has gained traction innot only public and school libraries aroundthe country, but also in classrooms (mostnotably in English/Language Artsclassrooms).1 Even with the explosion ofhigh-quality and complex titles from adiverse spectrum of authors writing youngadult literature over the past two decades,in spite of the growing research thatconcludes we must include relevant anddiverse literature with youth that extendsbeyond the library and classroom walls, westill have not lived up to our potential ofmeeting the needs of all of the youth wecome into contact with on a daily basis.

As an openly queer educator andproponent of the power of young adultliterature for adolescents, I have beenpleasantly impressed (and admittedly a bitshocked) at the explosion of titles andquality of books that have come out overthe past few years for lesbian, gay, bisexual,transgender, and queer/questioning(LGBTQ) teens.2 While we can recognizeboth the growth in writing and publishingfor LGBTQ adolescent audiences over thepast several decades and a growingawareness of the intersecting issues thataffect these populations, we also continueto hear harrowing accounts of bullying andanti-gay violence being perpetrated in USschools and communities. Thesehomophobic practices coupled with a lackof intervention from adult figures have ledto an alarming number of issues that affectLGBTQ youth that go largely ignored. Wecontinue to hear far too many stories about

adolescents being thrown out of theirhomes, being pushed out of schools, ortaking their own lives as a result of thesehateful and homophobic practices.

As librarians and educators, we canmake a difference. News stories andresearch pointing to an increase inhomophobic bullying and violence inschools have reaped positive results like agrowing awareness of these issues formarginalized populations or theimplementation of successful anti-bullyingcampaigns and gay/straight alliances.3

With increased awareness and action, wecan build on this momentum and hopefullybegin to have a positive impact on the livesof these vulnerable adolescents. We cannotcontinue to reproduce the same nonchalantapproach to this work if we expect to seedifferent results.

In light of our increased awareness ofthe complex issues that LGBTQ teens faceon a daily basis, how can we react andintervene as educators? More specifically,what is the place of librarians andeducators in this process? Because we workwith adolescents on a daily basis and inmany ways represent gatekeepers in termsof the immense diversity that exists incontemporary young adult literature, wehave tremendous opportunities to tap intoteens’ everyday lived experiences throughliterature. It is our obligation to keepabreast of new authors, series, themes, andcontent in young adult literature and toopenly share these titles and resources withthe adolescents we work with on a dailybasis. Many public and school libraries arebeginning to acquire LGBTQ young adulttitles in their collections, but far too oftenadult gatekeepers expect our youthpopulations to find these books on theirown or never take the initiative to connectour students or patrons with these titles.Booktalks offer librarians and educators asignificant platform to help connect teenswith books that might be of interest tothem.4 Through booktalk programs, we

Opening the GateBooktalks for LGBTQ-Themed Young AdultTitles

By Alexander F. Parks


ALEXANDER F. PARKS is a Doctoral Student in Curriculum andInstruction at the University of Alabama and a former middleschool English teacher. His research interests include connectinghuman rights and social justice pedagogies with young adultliterature, particularly for marginalized groups.


can help expose teens to the increasinglydiverse titles that are available to them inpublic or school libraries and attemptto get them excited about and engaged inthese stories. By including high-quality,relevant young adult titles with anLGBTQ focus in the booktalks we give topatrons in a library or students in aclassroom, we can begin to open the gatefor young people to connect with theseexcellent titles.

The booktalks on page XX centeraround newer titles (published between2004–2011) that deal with a diversespectrum of issues for LGBTQ youth,including race and ethnicity, friendship andacceptance, religion, sexuality and genderexpression, health, and cultural conflicts.While these titles specifically addresscharacters who are LGBTQ themselves,they also represent engrossing stories froma variety of genres that could and should beread by many teen readers and are notexclusive to LGBTQ teens. Indeed, part ofthe benefit of including these titles in ourbooktalks to teens revolves around thecommon thread of our humanity thatconnects us all through these stories.5

Collectively, these titles represent complex,yet richly engaging books that tap into theexperiences of LGBTQ teens, yet would beappropriate for any adolescent reader who isinterested in contemporary realistic fiction.

While these titles represent only asmall portion of the high-quality, relevantbooks that might be appropriate foradolescent readers, they all includenarratives and characters that avoid clich�edor simplistic depictions of contemporarylife for LGBTQ adolescents. Other titlesand authors might work better for theadolescents you work with in your libraryor classroom. With the increasing numberof children’s and young adult titles writtenabout LGBTQ youth, we are fortunate tohave a growing list of resources to helpguide our selection of appropriate titles forteens we work with, such as the Stonewall

Professional Development Books for Working withLGBTQ Youth in Libraries & SchoolsMollie V. Blackburn, Interrupting Hate: Homophobia in Schools and What Literacy Can DoAbout It (New York: Teacher’s College Press, 2012)Blackburn’s work explores the problems of heterosexism and homophobia in schools andhow these forms of oppression impact LGBTQ youth. The text offers readers tools forexploring these issues in school contexts and is an excellent resource for incorporatingadolescent literacy and action-oriented initiatives in the pursuit of meeting the needs of allof our youth populations we serve.

Michael Cart and Christine A. Jenkins, The Heart Has Its Reasons: Young Adult LiteraturewithGay/Lesbian/Queer Content, 1969-2004 (Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, 2006).Cart and Jenkins offer an overview of the history of LGBTQ content in young adultliterature-from 1969-2004. Guidelines and frameworks for selecting and evaluating titlesare also provided in the text. In addition, an annotated bibliography and a number ofauthor-title lists are also discussed in the text and have also been categorized by subjectand year.

Michelle Ann Abate and Kenneth Kidd, eds., Over the Rainbow: Queer Children’s and YoungAdult Literature (Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2001).Abate and Kidd edited the first collection of essays dedicated to LGBTQ issues in children’sliterature. The text serves as a scholarly reference targeting a number of groups workingwith LGBTQ youth and also offers a history of both the literature and the scholarshipexamining the field’s origins, current status, and possible future orientations.

Hillias J. Martin, Jr. and James R. Murdock, Serving Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, andQuestioning Teens: A How-to-do-it Manual for Librarians (New York: Neal-SchumanPublishers, 2007).Martin andMurdock’s text is an essential resource for librarians and educatorsworkingwithLGBTQ youth populations. By offering readers a framework for identifying and understandingthe unique needs of LGBTQ youth, the text illustrates the importance of creating safe spacesin our libraries and schools, conducting readers’ advisory and programming, strategicallyselecting titles for our collection development, and giving booktalks to our patrons andstudents. An annotated bibliography of relevant titles is also provided.

Jamie Campbell Naidoo, Rainbow Family Collections: Selecting and Using Children’s Bookswith Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Content (Santa Barbara: LibrariesUnlimited, 2012).Naidoo’s text highlights over 250 titles for children from infancy to age 11 (includingchildren’s picture books, informational books, and chapter books) with LGBTQcontent from around the world. Each entry in the text provides a synopsis of the title’scontent, lists awards it has received, cites professional reviews, and provides suggestionsfor librarians considering acquisition. The text also provides a brief historical overview ofLGBTQ children’s literature along with the major book awards for this genre, tips onplanning welcoming spaces and offering effective library service to this population, and alist of criteria for selecting the best books with this content. Interviews with authors andkey individuals in LGBTQ children’s book publishing are also featured.

Carlisle K. Webber, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Teen Literature: aGuide to Reading Interests (Santa Barbara: Libraries Unlimited, 2010).Webber’s text is intended as a guide to LGBTQ literature for teens and is written forlibrarians and educators seeking to build or develop their collections and find read-alikesand books that teens who read LGBTQ literature will enjoy. The easily-accessible text is anexcellent resource that covers books in English, both fiction and nonfiction, with LGBTQthemes and content and is organized by reader interest and publishing trends.


Parks

Awards, the Lambda Youth Awards, theALA’s Rainbow List, and a growingnumber of blogs, websites, and booksdevoted to these titles.

As librarians and educators, it is ourobligation as literary guides and models tohelp connect the adolescents we work withto appropriate reading materials for theirdiverse interests and identities. Librariansand educators often have “controversial”books included in their collections that areavailable for patrons and students to read(including books about LGBTQ youth),but we often treat them as invisible—outof sight and out of our hands to directlyconnect with students. By not including adiverse spectrum of titles and themes inour booktalks and programming withyoung people, we are only contributing tothe stigma and shame that some youthexperience as they attempt to understandtheir identities and perspectives. We musttake leadership in helping our teenagepopulations find and engage with thesebooks because it is important for allteenagers to see themselves reflected in thepages of a book as well as the benefits ofgaining perspectives of others throughliterature.

Booktalks represent one way forlibrarians and educators to help connectour patrons and students with high-quality, relevant titles that might engagethem. Although there is still much work tobe done in meeting the needs of ourincreasingly diverse adolescent readers, wemust take our responsibilities to ourpatrons and students seriously and beginincorporating booktalks about LGBTQadolescents in our work in libraries andclassrooms. We never really know whoseears our words will fall upon and whateffect they might have on one adolescent’slife. So, let us open up the gates to the diverseand complex literature that is written for allof the adolescents we work with and begin tobe more proactive in addressing the needs ofall of our teen readers.

Awards for Youth Literature Featuring LGBTQCharacters/ThemesStonewall Book Awards, www.ala.org/glbtrt/awardThe Stonewall Book Awards are the oldest established awards which seek to promoteexcellence in literature for and about LGBTQ characters and themes. Sponsored by theAmerican Library Association’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table, TheStonewall Book Awards now includes three awards given each year: The Barbara GittingsLiterature Award, The Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award, and The Mike Morgan & LarryRomans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award.

Lambda Literary Foundation Award, www.lambdaliterary.org/The Lambda Literary Foundation nurtures, celebrates, and preserves LGBTQ literaturethrough programs that honor excellence, promote visibility and encourage development ofemerging writers. Lambda Literary also sponsors an annual award for LGBTQ literaturewith a number of categories including children’s/young adult literature, fiction, nonfiction,anthologies, drama, mystery, science fiction/fantasy/horror, and memoir/biography. Thesite also connects educators and librarians to a network of guest authors whowill Skypewith students in the classroom or patrons in a library.

Rainbow Project, http://glbtrt.ala.org/rainbowbooks/The RainbowProject is a joint project of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered RoundTable and the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association. TheRainbowProject presents an annual bibliography of quality bookswith significant and authenticGLBTQ content, which are recommended for people from birth through eighteen years of age.

Websites about LGBTQ Characters/Themesin Youth LiteratureGay-Themed Picture Books for Children, http://booksforkidsingayfamilies.blogspot.com/This blog targets LGBTQ literature for younger audiences and reviewsmaterials such aspicture books and educational materials for children in preschool and primary school. Theblogsite targets parentswhowould like to find books for their children about the experienceof being a child in a gay family, librarianswhowould like to develop collections on this topic,and counselors and therapists whowould like to use these books in their practices.

I’m Here, I’m Queer, What the Hell Do I Read?, www.leewind.org/In this blog, created by Lee Wind for teens, librarians, teachers, booksellers, people withteens in their lives, and generally for anyone interested in young adult books with LGBTQcharacters and themes. The blog offers users a chance to publish their book reviews as wellas postings of news stories, videos, poetry, podcasts, and announcements affecting LGBTQyouth.

QueerYA: Reviews of Fiction of Interest to LGBTQ Teens, http://daisyporter.org/queerya/QueerYA is a reviewof fiction of interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer, andquestioning teenagers. This includes bookswritten for teens, ormarketed to teens, or written foranother audience but featuring teenage characters. The site has a searchable database toidentify specific characters, genres, themes, publication years, and authors for LGBTQ young adultliterature. Also provided are links towebsites for authorswriting LGBTQ young adult literature.

Gay YA, www.gayya.org/GayYA.org is a forum, blog, and fansite dedicated to everything gay in young adultliterature. The site attempts to create a space through blogs, community forums, and userinput to start a conversation about LGBTQ content in young adult literature, what it meansto be a gay teen, and what straight allies can do to help and participate. The site also offersusers theirUltimate Gay Reading List.


Opening the Gate

Sample Booktalks?Down to the Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole (Harper Teen, 2008)

Imagine one of the worst nightmares for a high school student: seventeen-year-old Laura gets caught reading a love letter in class. Herteacher, a nun the students call Fart Face, confiscates the note, reads it aloud to the class, and promptly calls Laura’s mother to let her knowthat her daughter is being kicked out of school for immorality. Laura’s Cubanmother promptly throws her out of the house, separating Laurafrom her devoted little brother. Why would Laura’s school andmother be so upset about a stupid love letter?You see, Laura is a tortillera—a girl who loves other girls.Set against the vibrant backdrop of Miami,Down to the Bone follows the story of Laura Sof�a Lorena as she navigates her way through life after“the Incident.” As Laura questions her own feelings and tries to find away tomake peacewith hermother, shemust also decide how to live her lifehonestly and openly. With the help of her crazy best friend, Soli, and Soli’s NewAgemother, Vivi, Laura has to learnwho to turn to, who to trust,andwho to be in order for everything to be right again after “the Incident.” But will things ever be the same again?Find out what happens to Laura as shemeets awhole new group of friends and chosen family, tries to find away to support herself, and ultimatelyembraces the awesome youngwoman she is becoming—even if some people call her a tortillera—inMayra Lazara Dole’sDown to the Bone.

The God Box by Alex Sanchez (Simon Pulse, 2007)

Paul’s senior year is starting off great. He sings in his church choir, is active in his school’s Bible club, and has been dating his best friend Angie sincemiddle school. Things at home are even better than they used to be, since his father has finally gotten sober after dealingwith the death of Paul’smoma few years back. But everything Paul has come to believe comes under questionwhen a newLatino student enrolls at his school. Manuel is not like therest of the kids at Paul’s school: he has piercings, spouts off Christian theology like he’s a preacher, and openly admits to his new friends that he is gay.An openly gay Christian? In a small town in Texas?Paul has always been told that homosexuality is a sin. How can he possibly reconcile his beliefs in God’s word with what this new kid is talkingabout—love and acceptance for gay people? Evenmore, what is Paul to do about his growing feelings for Manuel? Paul resorts to what hehas always relied upon: prayer.But when his prayers don’t come through and tensions get worse with his relationship with Manuel, the fear that Paul’s real feelings will puta target on his back—with his classmates and with God—becomes toomuch to bear.Paul wants everything to be theway it used to be—beforeManuel enrolled at his school—wants things to be normal and right in the eyes of God andhis classmates. But Paul still can’t dismiss the effect thatManuel has on him, challenging everything he thoughtwas true. Find outwhat happens asPaul comes to termswith his beliefs in the unconditional love of God andmore importantly, with his beliefs in himself, in Alex Sanchez’s TheGodBox.

Helpful Websites for Working with LGBTQ YouthYouth Resource, www.amplifyyourvoice.org/youthresourceYouthResource is awebsite created by and for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (GLBTQ) young people and is hosted by Advocatesfor Youth. YouthResource takes a holistic approach to sexual health and exploring issues of concern to GLBTQ youth by providing information andoffering support on sexual and reproductive health issues through education and advocacy. Throughmonthly features, message boards, and onlinepeer education, GLBTQ youth receive information on activism, culture, sexual health, and other issues that are important to them.

TransYouth Family Allies, http://imatyfa.org/index.htmlThe TransYouth Family Allies organization seeks to empower children and families by partnering with educators, service providers, andcommunities to develop supportive environments in which gender may be expressed and respected. The website offers parents, youth,educators, and healthcare practitioners resources on working with trans and gender-variant youth.

Gay-Straight Alliance Network, www.gsanetwork.org/The Gay-Straight Alliance Network is a youth leadership organization that connects school-based Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) to eachother and community resources through peer support, leadership development, and training. Their mission is to support and empower youthactivists to fight homophobia and transphobia in schools. Resource materials and connections for how to start or build a local Gay-StraightAlliance in your local community are offered through the website.

LGBTQ nATION, www.lgbtqnation.com/LGBTQ Nation is a collection of news and commentary focusing on the interests and needs within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, andqueer/questioning community. News stories are available by state as well as international sources. The site also offers users resources forLGBTQ books and authors, film, music, religion, sports, coming out, and issues of health and wellness.

Safe Schools Coalition, www.safeschoolscoalition.org/safe.htmlSafe Schools Coalition is an international public-private partnership in support of gay, lesbian, and transgender youth. Their website offerscurricular resources, brochures, posters, reports, and contacts for speakers. A searchable index by state also allows users to accessinformation on laws and policies affecting LGBTQ youth and community-based LGBTQ youth support groups.


Parks

Sprout by Dale Peck (Bloomsbury, 2009)

I have a secret, and everyone knows it. But no one talks about it, at least not out in the open. No, it’s not that my hair is green—anyone withina mile radius can clearly see that. And no, it’s not the fact that I’m gay—I’ve already told anyonewho will listen about that.My alcoholic dadmoved us from Long Island to themiddle-of-nowhere–Kansas four years ago when I was twelve, after mymom died. (That’sthe secret nobody talks about.) And even though people think I might be weird because I’m from New York and because our house iscompletely—and I do mean completely—covered in vines and bushes, I’m just . . . well, me.But I have a secret that none of my friends, classmates, or family knows about. I haven’t even told it to my crazy tutor for the state essaycontest, Mrs. Miller (she’s probably too drunk to even notice), haven’t told it to my BFF Ruthie, or even to my boyfriend (oops—he is kind of asecret, but only because his family would literally kill him if they found out).I’m pretty much onmy own here in Kansas—with dad being out of it all the time with his drinking and crazy obsession with the vines coveringour house. Ruthie, my BFF, is starting to do her own thing, which kind of sucks. But I’ve got my writing to focus on and it isn’t easy keeping upwith dyeing my hair green every few days.You might’ve noticed how I steered the conversation away frommy secret. I’m slick that way—you’d better watchme.

Parrotfish by EllenWittlinger (Simon and Schuster, 2007)

Did you really have to cut your hair that short, Angela?Mom asks.I replied like any self-assured teenager would: I could have shaved an American flag on the side of my head.I just don’t see what point you’re trying to prove. Your father and I have always wanted the best for you and your sister and tried everythingto make sure you have a normal life,Mom continues on.Just leaveme alone if you don’t approve of my “normal” life—I don’t need your approval anyway. I’m outta here next year, and there’s nothingyou can do to stopme. I’m practically grown, I retort, knowing full-well that I did need her support.Whatever,Mom throws in. Just be sure to be ready for the kids at school to tease you for that haircut. You’re asking for it with the way youact and that outfit.My outfit!?! I had been dressing this way for over two years now. Mom seriously had to get a grip—Dad has been handling this much,much better than she is. I decide to hit her where it hurts: I know it’s hard for you to understand and accept, but Angela is dead. Yourbaby girl exists only in your imagination. My name is Grady now, Mom. I’m a boy. How else can I communicate to everybody how I feel onthe inside? It’s not as if I had a choice . . . maybe if you had given birth to a boy instead of a girl and all this was fixed while I was in yourstomach . . .But Mom had already left the room in tears. She was having a much harder time with all this than anybody . . . well, things haven’t beenexactly easy for me either since I decided to go ahead and transition from a girl to a boy at the beginning of my senior year of high school. IfMomwas having somuch trouble understanding all this, howwill my friends and classmates at school react? Uhhh—why can’t everyone justbe cool and understand that I’m not trying to act like anything . . . I’m just beingme.

Orphea Proud by Sharon Dennis Wyeth (Delacorte Press, 2004)

Greetings and blessings to you all! And thank you all for coming out tonight to Club Nirvana—our little intimate diner and performance spaceright here in Queens, New York. Some of youmight have come out tonight for some delicious food and let me tell you, we serve it up just likegrandma did! Others of youmight have come to hear some poetry, which just happens to be one of my specialties. And I bet a few of youmight be wondering to yourselves just what this whole thing is about . . . and probably wondering about that blond-haired boy behindmepainting those horses on the wall.That’s Raynor Grimes, and he is a vivacious young painter who just happens to bemy cousin. That’s right! That blond-haired painter and I arecousins. Hard to believe, isn’t it? I mean, I’m dark-skinned and we don’t really resemble one another. But it’s true—cousins and connectedeven deeper through our art.But Raynor’s only a part of my story, although an important part. My story involves love and loss, coming to termswith all the death I haveexperienced in my short seventeen years, and sorting out who I am.Youmight think I was just born a poet and performer—have been practicing all my life to be up on this stage, but things didn’t happen quiteso easily. No, if my best friend and love of my life, Lissa, were here, she would be shocked to ever seeme up on a stage performing in front ofa live audience. But Lissa’s not here . . . I’m here and can’t wait to tell you about all the love I have experienced and how I came to be up on thisstage. So, get cozy, have some of our delicious food, and get ready.My name is Orphea Proud, and this is my story. . .


Opening the Gate

References

1. B. Joyce Stallworth, “The Relevance ofYoung Adult Literature,” EducationalLeadership 63, no. 7 (2006): 59–63.

2. Haydee Camacho, “Where GLBT.Literature Is Going and Why It Matters,”Voice of Youth Advocates 34, no. 2 (2011):138–39; Darla Linville, “Beyond PicketFences: What Gay/Queer/LGBT TeensWant from the Library,” Voice of YouthAdvocates 27, no. 3 (2004): 183–86; JudithA. Hayn and Lisa A. Hazlett, “Hear UsOut! LGBTQ Young Adult LiteratureWishes Are Answered!” The ALANReview 38, no. 2 (2011): 68–72; DevonGreyson, “GLBTQ Content in Comics/Graphic Novels for Teens,” CollectionBuilding 26, no. 4 (2007): 130–34; Hillias J.Martin, “A Library Outing: Serving Queerand Questioning Teens,” Young AdultLibrary Services 4, no. 4 (2006): 38–39.

3. Melanie Burney, “Standing Up to Bullies,”The Chronicle of Higher Education:Convergence Supplement (March 16, 2012),50–53; R. Kent Piacenti, “Toward aMeaningful Response to the Problem ofAnti-Gay Bullying in American PublicSchools,” Virginia Journal of Social Policy &the Law 19, no. 1 (2011): 58–108; Robert A.McGarry, “Breaking Silences,” EducationalLeadership 69, no. 1 (2011): 56–59.

4. Kristine Mahood, Booktalking with Teens(Santa Barbara: Libraries Unlimited,2010), 1–15.

5. Mollie V. Blackburn and J. F. Buckley,“Teaching Queer-Inclusive English LanguageArts,” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy49, no. 3 (2005): 202–12; William P.Banks, “Literacy, Sexuality, and the Value(s)of Queer Young Adult Literatures,” EnglishJournal 98, no. 4 (2009): 33–36.

6. Brian Farrey, With or Without You (NewYork: Simon Pulse, 2011), 1.

Ash byMalinda Lo (Little, Brown and Company, 2009)

Most people in Ash’s life don’t believe in the fairy tales that have been passed downfrom one generation to another. Ash’s father never really believed them, but he wasalways respectful because of his wife. But now, both of Ash’s parents are dead and shedesperately clings to the hope that these fairy tales might be more than just children’sstories.Ash’s evil stepmother and bratty stepsisters treat her like a servant—literally locking her inthe basement to do their bidding. You’ll never be more than a lowly servant, her stepmotherconstantly admonishes. Now bring in the firewood before you start our dinner! So goesAsh’s story throughout her teenage years.But Ash longs for something more—something that will take her away from this life thatshe was never meant to lead. Something that connects her back to her real mother and thefairy tales that burn so brightly in her mind and heart.Little does Ash know that her life is intertwined in her mother’s fairy tales in ways shecould never imagine. Soon, she must make a choice between the powerful anddangerous magic of the fairy Sidhean and the unexpected love of her life—the King’shuntress, Kaisa.Will Ash be enslaved by her evil stepmother for the rest of her life? Or will Ash give in to thedark andmysterious magic of Sidhean and all that he can offer her in the fairy world?Perhaps the true love of Kaisa will rescue Ash from her fate and open the door for a newfairy tale to emerge.Find out what happens when fairy tales and true love collide in Ash by Malinda Lo.

With or Without You by Brian Farrey (Simon Pulse, 2011)

Hit the ground.Curl into a ball.Cover your head.Don’t cry. Ever.6

Best friends Evan and Davis have had to learn how to navigate the violence that continuallyfollows them. Sometimes they escape . . . more often than not, the bullies beat them to apulp for being gay.But they have a pact to leave their stifling town as soon as they graduate high school. . . . Aplan that goes terribly wrong as lies continue to build up and both Evan and Davis are facedwith choices that will affect the rest of their lives.Tired of being on the wrong end of the violence and desperately searching for a place tobelong, Davis begins hanging around with a dangerous new crowd that might prove to bemore deadly than his high school bullies could ever imagine.Evan continues to lie to everyone in his life as he searches for his place in the world—yet healways feels connected to his childhood best friend, Davis.As the two friends continue to go separate ways, horrifying events lead up to a franticsearch for reconciliation and understanding.Can their friendship survive the test of a lifetime, or will their paths go in extremelydifferent and dangerous directions?Find out how Evan and Davis try to find acceptance and a sense of their place in the worldin Brian Farrey’s debut novel,With or Without You, a 2012 Stonewall Honor Book forChildren’s and Young Adult Literature. YALS


Parks

E -book adoption among teens hasbeen found to trail that of all otherreader age groups.1 Just two years

ago, most of the teens I knew would dig intheir heels at the thought of abandoningtheir dog-eared paperbacks for e-books.2

But, in recent months, an unprecedentednumber of young people at my high schoolhave acquired e-readers, both dedicateddevices and multifunction tablets. Theirindividual experiences showcase some ofthe new opportunities for young adultlibrarians to offer advice on how to get anduse a range of digital content.

Natasha, eighteen, wanted a devicethat offered her mobile accessibility thatshe could take to college next year. Shechose a Nook Tablet, and the same sort oflow-cost, full-featured Android-fueledtablets were in many of my students’stockings. The Pew Internet and American

Life Project announced in January thattablet and e-book reader ownership nearlydoubled over the holidays.3

She appreciates both the lightweighthardware and the ability to carry hundredsof books at once, collecting dozens ofgames and several dictionaries in additionto an extensive digital library. “Pretty muchall the books I own in print, I got ine-books,” Natasha said. She feels one formdoes not supplant the other.

“I was anti-Kindles and Nooks until Itook one on loan from the library,” saidEmily, seventeen. But she said it wasexpanded digital content that inspired herto use her savings to buy a 3G Kindle. Shesaid she had browsed through hundreds ofbooks of Amazon, but noticed that some ofthe titles she was most interested in wereonly available for the Kindle. She chose adiscounted model with “special offers,” a

rolling screen saver she describes asadvertising “vacations and other things I’mnot interested in. I ignore it.”

Emily is enthusiastic about thenumber of free books available for her toread. The variable quality of many of thefree and low-cost titles is a concern that hasbeen likened to an e-book equivalent ofe-mail spam.4 While Emily is aware manyauthors with Kindle books are self-published, “finding something noteveryone’s reading” is part of the attractionof reading e-books. She has begun acorrespondence with one author inArizona who has given her an inside scoopon the next release in a series sheparticularly enjoyed. She doesn’t think thatwould happen with a traditionallypublished writer.

Like Emily, seventeen-year-old Caitiechecked out an eInk Nook from the schoollibrary last year. After reading a digitaledition of a childhood favorite, LittleWomen, she asked her parents for ane-reader for Christmas, not suspecting theyhad already purchased one for her, aHipStreet model that reads both Kindleand Nook files. Caitie uses both Amazon’sand Barnes and Noble’s online storefrontsto locate reading material. She tendstoward “any book I can get for free,” shesaid emphatically. “I don’t buy them.”

Christian, a junior, said that he likeshis Kindle “when I don’t have time to buyother books. It’s easier.” Christian pointsout that many current bestsellers are lessexpensive in an electronic format and thatthe recent Stephen King titles he’s readhave been downright unwieldy in print. Hetheorized that most of the money goes tophysically printing the book, which he sawas an unnecessary step.

Whether you personally feel e-booksare an improvement or a degradation of theprint reading experience, e-reader adoptionis a harbinger of changing habits, a shifttoward devices centered on seamless,wireless media consumption.

In a More DigitalDirectionServing Teens withE-readers

By Wendy Stephens


WENDY STEPHENS has been the Librarian at Buckhorn HighSchool in NewMarket, Alabama, since 2002. A past YALSAcommittee chair and task force member, she is completing herdoctoral dissertation on teens reading nontraditional texts at theUniversity of North Texas.


Emily said that since she got her e-reader, “I haven’t read anything in print.”And other students, particularly those withtablet devices, report reaching for theirlaptops less.

“The Web surfing is flawless,” saidNatasha of using her Nook Tablet toaccess the Internet. “It’s like being on yourcomputer. Actually, you don’t need acomputer.”

Christian called into question thelimitations of the single-function e-readers.“The tablets, I can see using thosesomewhat, but the functions are soprimitive” on the E Ink devices. He pointsout the difficulty in navigating searchresults, which he describes as “still veryvaluable” for English assignments.

Additionally, use of e-readers has beenshown to produce a more positive attitudeabout the reading experience among middleschool boys.5 The customizable readingexperience is a tremendous novelty formany, and adjustable interfaces are oftenembraced by teens who can adoptexpressive, if unorthodox, colors and fonts.Natasha describes a preference for a coffee-and-cream color scheme.

“You can adjust the text size so youaren’t always squinting,” said Emily morepractically.

Glare was a big problem for readerswith LCD displays, with some teenscautioning against reading outdoors on atablet or recommending the use of an anti-glare screen. Some students expressed adesire for both E Ink and tablets, a trendwhich was confirmed by the 2011 PewReport on Tablets and eReaders, whichfound 3 percent of all US adults ownedboth devices.6 I was surprised so manyteens wanted e-readers when they haveother mobile hardware with similarcapabilities. But phone-dependent studentsmight not want to compromise theiraccessibility by reading on those. Morethan one in three US high school studentsnow has an iPhone, but battery life is

invariably something students mentionedas a concern when reading on iPodTouches or iPads.7 In contrast, thelongevity of the charge was a particularpoint of pride for those with E Ink readers.

“The battery life is fantastic, if youdon’t turn on the Internet,” Emily saidabout her Kindle. “It lasts for over amonth.”

“If the battery goes dead, you canrevert to print,” said Natasha, “but thecharge will last forever if you aren’t playinggames.”

Many students did report the lack ofbacklighting was the major issue with EInk devices, especially for those sharing abedroom with a sibling. The latestgeneration of the Nook reader addressesthis shortcoming.8 Backlit readers allowstudents to keep reading in bed withoutinterruption. In a twenty-first-centuryequivalent of the flashlight under thecovers, the book has become the flashlight.

Meanwhile, e-readers still have theirdetractors among teens. Olivia, eighteen,returned a Kindle Fire. She said she foundherself playing games instead of reading. “Ifelt like I was wasting my life. I told mymother thanks, but that I would ratherhave the money for books.”

The recent surge of popularity ofe-readers among teens offers a terrificopportunity for librarians serving them, notonly in connecting them with a range ofcontent supported by their devices but alsoin creating opportunities to talk aboutcritical issues ranging from the publicdomain to privacy and intellectual freedomin a digital era.

One student warned that “all thebooks are backed up once you connect thedevice to the computer,” meaning thatfamily members who share a computer maybe able to see what books teens are reading.

It is important young peopleunderstand the structure and accessibilityof those files. I have had two studentswhose parents launched an investigation

into their sexual orientation based on theirshared family Kindle libraries.

The relative discretion of e-readershas been credited with a surge in X-ratedreading among adult women, but studentsare also taking full advantage of the privacyoffered by digital text.9 I asked one teenwhat she liked to read on her Kindle.“Romance and erotica,” she said placidly.

Many school and public libraries aregrappling with the question of ensuring theequity mission of the library in that allstudents have experience with text in arange of formats. Wal-Mart is fundingKindles, as well as print materials, indedicated reading rooms at a number ofBoys and Girls Clubs of America.10 Asmany as 21 percent of respondents to a2011 School Library Journal survey werecirculating e-readers, enabling teens toexperience the hardware firsthand.11 Buteven demonstrating an e-reader in-housewill provide some exposure to thetechnology.

There are other shifts accompanyingthe tablet phenomenon. It has never beenmore critical to optimize our libraryinterfaces for mobile interfaces. As moreindividuals access the Web via tablets, itwill be also be important for libraries tooffer opportunities and tools for digitalcreation, including workshops onpublishing your own e-books as well asopen hours for laboratory time.

Jay, eighteen, had a Kindle last year,but he said he knocked it off his nightstandand it broke. Now he can access the Kindlebooks he bought on his iPad, but he feels“over e-books, unless they’re for a class orsomething where I need to use adictionary.” He had recently downloadedWuthering Heights for his English class, buthe preferred reading a paperback.

Hyperlinked definitions are invariablya function my teen readers describe as anadvantage of electronic readers. “Thedictionary feature which is built in doesn’teven require the Internet,” said Natasha.


Stephens

Fewer students seemed to know aboutor have experimented with note-takingfeatures, but those who had wereenthusiastic.

“You can mark your favorite passagesand read them to your friends,” said Emily.“I took it to a sleepover.”

“I highlighted and took notes onMacbeth, using different colors to show mythought process,” said Natasha. “Myteacher was really interested.”

Christian reported that he used hisKindle to read curricular titles and pdffiles, storing some on there for reference,but he said that the organization of fileswithin the Kindle “leaves a lot to bedesired.”

Most students had experimented withusing their devices for other media. Caitieuses her e-reader device to store music files.Emily has transferred some of her favoritefanfiction to the device using the wirelessfile transfer capabilities.

“You can read anything on theNook—newspapers, magazines,” saidNatasha, who got her subscription toPeople magazine ported to her Nook,where she can save favorite articles andquickly link to articles from the cover,instead of thumbing through.

Only one of these students with e-readers knew about the availability ofOverDrive e-books from the local publiclibrary, but she didn’t care for the searchinterface and had never downloadedanything. Other students were excited tohear about borrowing e-books, butwhen it came to using Adobe software anda cable to transfer files, most decided theyweren’t interested. These students’expectations for file transfer andauthentication are something to bear inmind when investing in e-books, as well as

the mobile advantages these studentsstress.

“You can’t carry around these booksall the time,” said Natasha. “It’s just notpossible.”

“I can throw it in my purse, “ saidCaitie of her e-reader. “I like that I can readwhen it’s dark outside, at night, in my car,at the gym. But sometimes it’s nice to havea book, too, to flip through the pages.”YALS

References1. Laura Hazard Owen, “New Stat: Kids

Find Ebooks ‘Fun and Cool,’ But TeensAre Still Reluctant,” Paid Content: TheEconomics of Digital Content, January 23,2012, accessed April 16, 2012, http://paidcontent.org/2012/01/23/419-new-stats-kids-find-e-books-fun-and-cool-but-teens-are-still-reluctant

2. Wendy Stephens, “Books are More thanFiles: Teens Skeptical about Ereading,”Voice of Youth Advocates, June 2010, 124–125.

3. Lee Raine, “Tablet and E-book readerOwnership Nearly Double Over theHoliday Gift-Giving Period,” Pew Internetand American Life Project, January 23,2012, accessed April 16, 2012, http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2012/01/23/tablet-and-e-book-reader-ownership-nearly-double-over-the-holiday-gift-giving-period/

4. Stephen Gandel, “Amazon’s Knock-OffProblem,” Fortune, April 16, 2012,accessed April 16, 2012, http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/04/16/amazon-knock-off-bestsellers/

5. Lauren Barack, “Boys Value Reading Morewith Ereaders,” The Digital Shift, April 6,

2012, accessed April 9, 2012,www.thedigitalshift.com/2012/04/k-12/boys-value-reading-more-with-ereaders

6. Kristen Purcell, “E-reader OwnershipsDoubles in Six Monthsa” Pew Internetand American Life Project, June 27, 2011,accessed April 16, 2011, http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/E-readers-and-tablets/Report.aspx

7. Eric Slivka, “One-Third of U.S. HighSchool Students Now Own an iPhone,”MacRumors, April 3, 2012, accessedApril 16, 2012, www.macrumors.com/2012/04/03/one-third-of-u-s-high-school-students-now-own-an-iphone/

8. Paul Biba, “New B&N Nook withGlowLight Screen Announced,” Teleread,April 12, 2012, accessed April 13, 2012,www.teleread.com/paul-biba/new-bn-nook-with-glowlight-screen-announced/

9. David Sexton, “E-books are RekindlingWomen’s X-Rated Reading,” LondonEvening Standard, April 16, 2012, accessedApril 16, 2012, www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/ebooks-are-rekindling-womens-xrated-reading-7647142.html

10. Nate Hoffelder, “Walmart is GivingKindles to Needy Teens,” Media Bistro,May 4, 2011, accessed April 17, 2012.www.mediabistro.com/ebooknewser/walmart-is-giving-kindles-to-needy-teens_b10183

11. Debra Lau Whalen, “More SchoolLibraries Offer Ebooks; IncreasedDemand, Rise in Circulation,” SchoolLibrary Journal, October 13, 2012,accessed April 16, 2012, www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/home/892394-312/more_school_libraries_offer_ebooks.html.csp


In a More Digital Direction

“K risty, why don’t we have theninth Bone book yet?” askedSam, a self-proclaimed

“nonreader.”1 Sam was a ninth graderattending the Lincoln County AlternativeSchool (the names of the teacher, students,and location of the school have beenchanged). When I first met Sam, headamantly told me he “did not read”;however, after the creation of theclassroom library, he began reading theBone2 series and was anxiously waiting forthe ninth book to be published. Once thelibrary was established, it was notuncommon for students who hadpreviously claimed to dislike reading tohave in-depth conversations about books orto request book titles. This action researchhighlights the importance of libraries,particularly for providing young adultsaccess to books they can and want to read.

Introduction to theProblemYoung adult literature can be powerful in thelives of adolescents. Young adults often areable to connect to characters and situationspresented in young adult literature.3

Research has documented how young adultliterature can help students develop empathyfor others, avoid peer pressure and makeindependent decisions, reflect on one’s beliefsystems, and learn about social issues, socialjustice, and social responsibility.4

Why Public and SchoolLibrarians ShouldConsider OutreachProjects in AlternativeSchools for StudentsPlaced At RiskType II alternative schools are for studentsplaced at risk. Often these schools arefocused on behavior modification instead of

academics.5 Because of this emphasis, manytype II alternative schools do not haveschool libraries.6 This means that eitherteachers must have a classroom library orstudents will not have access to books whileattending the alternative school.

Public or school librarians interested inworking with teens can do outreach inalternative schools. Outreach can be definedas “library services that take place outside ofthe library setting.”7 Developing andmaintaining outreach projects in alternativeschools can help strengthen community andschool partnerships, promote education, andencourage students to recognize theimportance of reading in their lives. Foryoung adults without access to books in

school and who also face obstacles to visitingthe public library, partnerships can providethem opportunities to read engagingmaterials.

WhatWe Did

The Lincoln CountyAlternative SchoolThe Lincoln County Alternative Schoolhosts students ages nine through eighteen(grades three through twelve) who areregistered in one of six local schooldistricts. Students are sent to the LincolnCounty Alternative School either because

Ain’t NothingWrong withReading BooksCreating a ClassroomLibrary at an AlternativeSchool

By Kristine E. Pytash


KRISTINE E. PYTASH is anAssistant Professor at Kent StateUniversityin Literacy Education. Her interests include the literacy practices ofyoung adults in jail-based alternative schools and detention centers.


of a suspension or an expulsion from theirhome school district or a recommendationfrom juvenile court. Instead of attendingthe school for an entire school year,students are sent to the school for atemporary amount of time or until theirbehavior requirement is compatible withschool expectations. The minimum timestudents can attend the school is two days;however, students can attend the school formore than a semester.

Because the placement is supposed tobe short-term, the curriculum is consideredbasic, emphasizing skills and testpreparation. The school had only twoclassrooms and no school library, nor didmany of the students have access to thelocal public library. For instructionalmaterials, the classroom teacher, Mr.Torre, relied on donated older editions oftextbooks from local school districts. I wasas a doctoral student in literacy educationwhen Mr. Torre first approached me tohelp him implement a reading program;however, after realizing the students hadno access to books, we decided we wouldneed to fund and create a library. Wedecided to build the library in Mr. Torre’sclassroom because the physical layout ofthe school is two adjoined classrooms withno space for a school library. Although thelibrary would be housed in Mr. Torre’sroom, we made sure students in bothclassrooms would have opportunities to usethe library.

Funding and PlanningI applied for two grants, and we received$3,000 for books from a local educationalgrant and a grant from a local chapter ofPhi Delta Kappa. We purchased 150young adult books to make sure eachstudent would have a wide selection ofbooks from a variety of genres and readinglevels. Mr. Torre and I also orderedmagazines from Scholastic that could beused as independent reading materials and

also instructional materials. We orderedtwo monthly issues of each of the followingmagazines: Junior Scholastic, Scope, Action,Math, Science World, Choices, and The NewYork Times Upfront.

Mr. Torre, the school administration,and I discussed the process of creating aclassroom library, including the physicallayout of the library. I provided a list ofphysical features of classroom libraries thatincrease students’ use of books.8 Wedecided the following physical featureswould be a priority: having the libraryattractive and highly visible; open shelvesto display book covers; and literature-oriented displays, such as bulletin boardswith quotations from famous writers,strategies for reading, and suggestions forselecting books.

Collaboration with StudentsMr. Torre and I wanted to make sure weprovided students with opportunities totake ownership of their classroom library.We did this through having studentsparticipate in a book pass to voice theiropinions, suggestions, and recommendationsfor book purchases; creating a classroomset of library rules; and being involved inphysically organizing the books and placingthem on the shelves. We also wanted tomake sure students recognized how otherpeople helped us create our library, sostudents wrote personal thank-you notes tothe board members who provided thefunding grants. Each of these activities isdescribed in more detail in the followingdiscussion.

Book PassBefore any of the young adult novels werepurchased, Mr. Torre and I decided tohave students participate in a bookpass—an activity that allows students topreview or sample a variety of books.9 Wewanted to learn about students’ reading

preferences and use their responses to helpus purchase the books.

Before the activity began, the studentsand I discussed features that might helpthem identify books they were interested inreading, such as the book cover, booksummaries on the back of books or in thebook flaps, any graphics or special features(particularly with graphic novels), andcomments from other authors about thebooks. Mr. Torre wrote these features onthe classroom whiteboard so students couldreference them during the book pass activity.In order to provide students with a range ofbooks to sample, I brought in fifty booksfrom my personal collection and from thelocal public library. Each student was given aform and a book. Students had threeminutes to preview each book. On theircharts, students wrote down the book title,author, and comments about the book. Mr.Torre and I used the students’ commentforms as a guide when purchasing books.Some of the popular book titles included,Slam10 and Al Capone Does My Shirts.11

Creating Library RulesBefore the young adult literature arrived,Mr. Torre and I decided to have studentscreate rules for using books from the library.To begin our discussion on rules for readingbooks from the library, students were givena copy of the local public library’s rules as amodel. Students first read over the publiclibrary’s rules. Mr. Torre and I then askedthem, “if you were in charge of the library,what three rules would you have?” Studentsshared their rules with partners and thenparticipated in a whole-class discussion.They shared the rules they thought weremost important, and from this list wecreated the classroom library rules. I made alaminated poster of the rules to display nearthe library. Reflecting on the lesson, Mr.Torre said, “I think the library rules gavethe students a sense of ownership. Theyrealize that this belongs to them.”


Ain’t NothingWrong with Reading Books

Creating Our LibraryWhen the books arrived, students tookresponsibility for categorizing, sorting, andorganizing the books. They worked in pairsand were given fifteen books. The pairs ofstudents were responsible for putting anauthor label on each book (to keep track ofthe books if they accidently left theclassroom). Mr. Torre and I gave studentsthe following categories for the books:sports themes, science, historical fiction,historical nonfiction, stories about animals,and general fiction. When the studentsneeded help, we assisted them indetermining the categories. Thecategorized books were then shelved on theagreed-upon places of the bookshelf.

While most of these students attendthe alternative school because of behavioralproblems in school, there were nodisruptions during the creation of theclassroom library. Students worked both insmall groups and as a whole class to label,categorize, and physically place books onthe shelves in predetermined categories.

Saying Thank YouMr. Torre and I wanted students to havethe opportunity to show their gratitudetoward the organizations that helped uspurchase the books for the classroomlibrary. Mr. Torre held a discussion aboutthe components of writing a thank-younote. Students had the opportunity towrite a thank-you note to eachorganization that helped us purchasebooks. We then sent the thank-you notesto each organization.

Students’ Responseto the LibraryMr. Torre and the students viewed thecreation of the classroom library as apositive experience. Being actively involvedin organizing the library gave students theopportunity to preview books they wanted

to read. It also allowed them to recognizethe wide variety of books, topics, andgenres that they found interesting.

Four of the students explained thatworking to label and categorize the booksallowed them to become familiar with titlesthey might read in the future. For example,George stated, “I think it was fun ‘cause Igot to see a lot of books I want to read, likeSlam cause it is about my favorite sport,basketball.” 12

Similarly, Jared said “I liked it ‘cause Iseen books I want to read, like all thesports books and Al Capone Does MyShirts.”13

Partaking in the creation of theclassroom library also provided studentsthe opportunity to notice the wide varietyof genres and literature available forreading. Eddy explained:

I think there are a lot of books andthey range for younger people who can’tread too good and books with biggerwords which would be more sufficient forpeople in high school. There are a varietyof books and people should be happy wegot to participate in building our newlibrary.

Students also mentioned they enjoyedreading and were excited to have theopportunity to read their favorite titles ifthey had time after classroom instruction.Janelle stated, “today I thought was funbecause I labeled and organized books andsaw lots of books I want to read. I enjoyedit because I love to read and now I knowwhat books we have.” Students alsorecognized that the library could be usedfor academic purposes as well. Marcus said,“if we read the books during class we willlearn new things. And reading books helpsus get a bigger vocabulary.”

ImplicationsSchool libraries are incredibly important.Unfortunately, the Lincoln CountyAlternative School only has two

classrooms, and the building provides nophysical space to create a library that mightprovide services for the entire studentpopulation. While there are concerns thatclassroom libraries might discouragestudents from coming to the school library,create circulation issues, or providecomplications for funding, having thelibrary in Mr. Torre’s classroom was thebest possible solution in our case. At thebeginning of the project, students fromboth classrooms were using the library inMr. Torre’s classroom; however, the librarywas such a success that the following yearwe were able to fund an additional libraryfor the other classroom as well.

Students Becoming“Readers”The classroom library provided studentsaccess to books they could and wanted toread. Because most of the academicinstruction is self-paced, students havemany independent reading opportunitiesthroughout the school day. Mr. Torreexplained, “the library is a way for thestudents to spend their time productively.The majority of the students takeadvantage of this opportunity and haveembraced reading.”

Typically, students who attend thealternative school are not academicallysuccessful; initially many of the studentsdid not view reading as an activity in whichthey could partake and excel. Access to theclassroom library began to change thestudents’ perceptions of themselves asliterate members of their community. Forexample, at the beginning of the semester,Sam and David both said they were “notreaders”; however, while educated at thealternative school, both boys read theentire nine-book Bone series.14 Samclaimed reading made him “look smart.”David and Sam also had rich discussionswith other youth about the Bone series,touching on plot, characters, and themes;


Pytash

the boys were also known forrecommending this book series to otheryouth.

The students also viewed the libraryas a resource for finding more informationabout topics they found interesting. Forexample, during a classroom discussion,Michael, a student, asked if he could usethe library to look up information aboutthe Holocaust. Drew, another student inthe classroom, said, “you don’t look likesomeone who reads.” Michael responded,“ain’t nothing wrong with reading a book.I mean, what is wrong with increasing yourknowledge?”

How Librarians CanDo This in TheirCommunitiesMany alternative schools do not haveschool libraries, so teen librariansinterested in community outreach can helpteachers create their classroom libraries.Teachers may want or need assistance increating their classroom libraries. Whileteachers might have ideas for readingmaterials, they might appreciatesuggestions for titles, authors, genres, ortopics. Librarians can also serve asadvisors on how to best organize aclassroom library. Funding can be verydifficult to receive; however, manylibrarians know how and where topurchase books. They can also helpteachers write grants, organize book drives,and inform teachers about upcoming publiclibrary sales.

Librarians can also help teacherscreate text sets. Text sets are collections ofresources from different genres and readinglevels centered on a particular theme ortopic. Text sets can be created by selectingworks of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, andvisuals. Having multiple texts surroundinga similar theme allows students to learnabout multiple perspectives, makeconnections, and analyze information in a

critical manner. Because librarians haveknowledge about a wide range of literacymaterials, they can help teachers findsupplemental materials for different topics,reading levels, and genres.

Librarians can visit the alternativeschool to give booktalks about booksthat could be purchased for the library.Fountas and Pinnell describe booktalksas a “very short commercial that tells justenough about a book to interest readers.”15

Booktalks provide readers with importantinformation about the book whilecreating student interest in the book,genre, author, or topic. Booktalks alsoprovide students with a model for howto think about a book before readingthe book.

Librarians can also coordinate theirefforts with appropriate stakeholders in thecommunity, including probation officersand juvenile court officials. Probationofficers and other adults who work withyouth may not have knowledge of youngpeople’s reading practices and interests.This allows librarians to become advocatesfor youth in alternative schools or juvenilejustice centers.

The Lincoln County AlternativeSchool hosts students from a variety ofschool districts. If school librarians knowtheir district participates in an alternativeschool program for students suspended orexpelled, they might consider ways theycan continue to be a powerful influenceeven when students are in the alternativeschool. For example, a school librarianmight consider hosting a book club forstudents from the librarian’s school districtwho are attending the alternative school.This would provide students with a senseof community even when they are at thealternative school. Furthermore, the schoollibrarian can work with teachers at boththe home school and alternative school tobridge the disconnect, so the student can bereading the same books they might read athis/her home school.

A classroom library is no substitute fora school library, and if physical space andresources were available, a school librarywould be ideal. At the Lincoln CountyAlternative School, however, the creation ofclassroom libraries was a powerfulexperience for the teachers and students andhas had profound implications for thestudents’ readings practices. YALS

References1. Jeff Smith, Crown of Horns (Bone). New

York: Scholastic, 2009.2. Smith, Bone (2009).3. Pam B. Cole, Young Adult Literature in the

21st Century. New York: McGraw Hill,2009.

4. Carolyn Caywood, “Risky Business,”School Library Journal 41, no. 5 (1995):44–45; Russell Greinke, “‘Art is Not aMirror to Reflect Reality, But aHammer to Shape It’: How theChanging Lives Through LiteratureProgram for Juvenile Offenders UsesYoung Adult Novels to Guide TroubledTeens,” The ALAN Review 34, no. 3(2007); Steven Wolk, “What StudentsShould Read?” Phi Delta Kappan 91, no.7 (2010): 8–16.

5. Mary Anne Raywid, “Alternative Schools:The State of the Art,” EducationalLeadership 52, no. 4 (1994): 26–31; MaryAnne Raywid, “History and Issues ofAlternative Schools,” Education Digest 64(1999): 47–51.

6. Shirley A. Fitzgibbons, “School and PublicLibrary Relationships: EssentialIngredients in Implementing EducationalReforms and Improving StudentLearning,” School Library MediaResearch (2000), www.ala.org/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/slmrcontents/volume32000/relationships (accessedApril 11, 2012).

7. Patrick Jones, “Reaching Out to YoungAdults in Jail,” Young Adult LibraryServices 3, no. 1 (2004): 16–19.


Ain’t NothingWrong with Reading Books

8. Jan Fractor et al., “Let’s Not MissOpportunities to Promote VoluntaryReading: Classroom Libraries in theElementary School,” Reading Teacher 46(1993): 8; Reggie Routman, ReadingEssentials: The Specifics You Need to TeachReading Well. Portsmouth, N.H.:Heinemann, 2003.

9. Janet Allen, Tools for Teaching ContentLiteracy. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse,2004.

10. Walter Dean Myers, Slam. New York:Scholastic, 2008.

11. Gennifer Choldenko, Al Capone Does MyShirts. New York: Puffin Books, 2006.

12. Myers, Slam.

13. Choldenko, Al Capone.14. Smith, Bone, 1995–2009.15. Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell,

Teaching for Comprehending andFluency: Thinking, Talking, andWriting About Reading, K-8.Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann,2006, 288.

Guidelines for AuthorsYoung Adult Library Services is the official publication of the YoungAdult Library Services Association, a division of the AmericanLibrary Association. Young Adult Library Services is a vehicle forcontinuing education of librarians working with young adults (agestwelve through eighteen) that showcases current research and

practice relating to teen services and spotlights significant activitiesand programs of the division.

For submission and author guidelines, please visit www.ala.org/yalsa and click on “Publications.”

Index to AdvertisersDisney-Hyperion Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 4Tor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 2YALSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 8, Cover 3


Pytash

This essay is based on a presentation givenwith ASCPL colleague Kelly Wilson atthe Ohio Library Council North ChapterConference in Independence, Ohio, onApril 28, 2011, which was inspired byNeal Wyatt’s “Reading Maps RemakeRA” in Library Journal (November2006).

“I really liked this book. What

should I read now?”When approached with this question,

librarians often offer books by the sameauthor or within the same genre. Thisstrategy can be successful to an extentbut can also prevent teens from noticingother titles, authors, and classes ofbooks they would enjoy. Furthermore,most readers can find books by thesame author or in the same genrewithout much assistance: genre lists areavailable online and often in print in thelibrary.

Reading maps help teen readersdiscover new and exciting materials byexamining various aspects of a book thereader has already enjoyed—includingpace, tone, point of view, detail, setting,and characters—and using those aspects to

make connections to other readingmaterial. Mapping is a shared process thatcan involve a teen’s peers as well as thelibrarian, and its result is a graphicrepresentation of the connections betweendifferent books a reader might enjoy. Mapscan be used in print or digitally. The digitalformat offers readers the opportunity toadd to or change the map in the onlineenvironment which keeps the map freshand current. Stepping outside ourtraditional reader’s advisory methods alsospeaks to the developmental stages ofadolescence, when readers are open tosuggestions and forming lifelong readinghabits that, through mapping, can includematerials that might not otherwise beconsidered by the reader or librarian usinggenre-matching.

My ApproachAs a habit, I pay close attention to whatour teens bring into the library, picking upon their interests and personalities in orderto forge and maintain connections withthem. Along with art supplies, guitars, andskateboards, books are popular baggage.Approaching three of our regular teen

program attendees about their currentreading materials in order to “map” was anatural activity, as we regularly discussreading preferences. I spoke with each ofthe three study participants in a groupsetting so that other teens in the area, whileinvolved in a variety of activities thatincluded video gaming, homeworkcompletion, and open-ended art projects,would overhear and add their thoughts tothe process if interested, which many ofthem were.

AutumnSixteen-year-old Autumn was reading L .J.Smith’s Vampire Diaries when approachedabout her interest in the book: “I likeromance and vampires, and there’s somemystery, too. I really like how the girl goesfrom being a bitch to an actual person.There are vampire brothers who like thesame girl, and she is torn between them. Ialso like it because it’s a series, and I wantthe story to keep going.” Vampire romanceis a pretty easy order to fulfill from ourshelves; Rachel Caine’s The MorganvilleVampires, P. C. Cast’s House of Night, andMelissa de la Cruz’s Blue Bloods are notonly vampire romances with mystery, butare series as well. Crusade by NancyHolder and Debbie Viguie is a step outsideAutumn’s preferences with a twist on heraffection for vampires and mystery—political intrigue involving vampire hunters.Her interest in character developmentwithin a vampire-ish framework might besatisfied with Darren Shan’s Cirque duFreak series, in which the author adeptlyhandles the changes wrought upon thecharacters through their traumatic andstressful experiences.

ChrisChris, who is seventeen but pretty sure heis intellectually about forty, only read adultfiction at the time we discussed his reading

Reading MapsRestyling ReadersAdvisory for Teens

By Kerry Sutherland


KERRY SUTHERLAND is a Youth Services Librarian at the Akron-Summit County Public Library in Akron, Ohio.


preferences. He was carrying StephenKing’s Cell on top of his stack of textbooks,and explained his interest in the title: “It’smind control—brainwashing—by cellphones. I like the aggression anddestruction, and also how the group ofnormal people have to find a way tosurvive. I like rough stories, especially ifthey are explicitly violent. I like that thestory moves around. The characters traveland aren’t in the same place all the time.”There are a lot of Stephen King titles thatmeet Chris’s requirements, most of whichhe had read, but he was unaware of thegraphic novel adaptations of The Stand andthe Dark Tower series. Wanderingcharacters fighting for survival whilemanaging relationship conflicts—that’s aKing standard. William Peter Blatty’s TheExorcist came to mind as an example ofmind control couched in demonicpossession, along with the long-livedmonster standard, Mary Shelley’sFrankenstein, and another classic, TheStrange Case of Jekyll and Mr. Hyde byRobert Louis Stevenson. Chris’s aversionto teen fiction was addressed by other teenswho suggested Libba Bray’s award-winningGoing Bovine for the hallucinatory travelingexperiences, and the Code Geass graphicnovel series, which is populated withvigilantes fighting mind control. Fixed byBeth Goobie deals with brainwashing, andBrian Keaney’s The Cracked Mirror withdrug-induced mind control.

LexiThe Twin’s Daughter by Lauren Baratz-Logsted was in the hands of sixteen-year-old Lexi when I approached her. Sheshared: “I like the little bit of romance—itisn’t too much. I like the mystery and how

it is kind of fairy tale-ish. I like how it looksat the relationship between the mother anddaughter and how that changes. Thehistorical part of it doesn’t really matter tome, I just like the story itself.” Thetroubled relationship between mother anddaughter called to mind the still popular V.C. Andrews Flowers in the Attic series. JaneYolen’s Briar Rose contains a fairy taleaspect along with a focus on familyrelationships; Libba Bray’s A Great andTerrible Beauty trilogy is a supernaturalfantasy that feels like a fairy tale and closelyfollows the family dynamics of severalcharacters. Maryrose Wood’s The PoisonDiaries and Laura Whitcomb’s A CertainSlant of Light both have the familyrelationship thread along with romancein historical settings, with Whitcomb’staking a supernatural turn. All of thesebooks are historically set but not in thesame time period as The Twin’s Daughter,which, according to Lexi, was not animportant aspect of her interest in thebook.

ConclusionIt did not come as a surprise that the threeteens who participated in this projectfocused on the depth of characterizationand the relationships as they were forged orevolved in the books they liked; adolescentsgenerally look (consciously andsubconsciously) to others as examples asthey form their own ideas of howrelationships between adults operate, bothnegatively and positively. It seems naturalthat they would seek such informationfrom the media they choose for recreationaluse. Mapping with (as opposed to “for”)teens involves them in a self-exploratory

process that benefits your library as well asthe teen patrons. Young adults may bemore open to new ideas and suggestionsthan older patrons who may be set in theirreading ways. An appropriate (meaningone that a reader wants to read and willmore than likely take pleasure in reading)book in the hands of each and every patronmeans a circulation number for yourlibrary. Happy patrons return for morematerial, resulting in a higher circulation.More of your collection will be exposed tothem by this method of advisory andideally create habits that they carrythrough their reading lives; exploring newmaterials rather than staying focused on acertain genre or author may also promotecreative thinking in other aspects of readerlife as well. Teens who are included in theprocess of discovering new reading materialcultivate critical thinking skills that arevalued and validated by an adult (thelibrarian); in a society that often looks atadolescents as an inferior group, this actis an empowering step in the adolescentquest for identity, equality, and socialconnection.

Promote your collection by linkingtitles on your reading map to the sametitles in your library catalog. Link toreading maps from your library’s website.Link from reading maps to author andpublisher websites and book reviews.Young adults are comfortable on theInternet and like to be engaged in thatenvironment; using online reading mapsand making use of links reach young adultswhere they are (the Internet) rather thanexpecting them to come to us. Offering themap along with the links in thatenvironment allows them to explore thevariety of materials you have in yourcollection. YALS


Sutherland

S chool libraries serving incarceratedand detained youth are almostalways a few or more steps

behind, technologically speaking. It’salmost as if it’s by design. As JenniferSweeney notes in Literacy: A Way Out forAt-Risk Youth,

Learning to use computers and learningto find information using computers arejust as important for detained youth asthey are for teens and young adultsoutside. One detention resident statedthat the library can “not only show uswhat is waiting for us in the

technological world, but it will also giveus a chance to use devices to whichwe’re not accustomed. (Davis 2000: 60,cited in Sweeney 2012)1.

As new technology comes out,traditional school libraries are slow toadopt because of funding and purchasingissues, then there are further delays aslibrarians and administrators explorequestions of security, and then schoollibraries serving incarcerated youth begintheir long-haul efforts to adopt someadapted version. Exhibit number one: it’s2012 and incarcerated and detained youththroughout the country lack access to theInternet, including library resources thatlive on the Internet. In her research,Sweeney interviewed twenty-fourprofessionals who provide library servicesto incarcerated youth, and most providedzero Internet access.

Our team works at PassagesAcademy, a school program within theNew York City Department of Education’sDistrict 79. At Passages Academy, weserve youth in detention and placementsettings up to the age of seventeen inmultiple educational locations in NewYork City. The size of the locations rangefrom 12 to 130 students and are in the careand custody of New York City’sAdministration of Children’s ServicesDivision of Youth and Family Justice.

When e-reading devices started tobecome more mainstream, Passagesstudents seemed doomed, once again, to beon the losing side of the digital divide.Some of us, namely the library team atPassages, did not want to see that happenfor the umpteenth time. One of our teammembers, Anne Lotito Schuh, wowed twoof us with her iPad on our way back fromALA’s 2011 Midwinter Meeting inCalifornia. It was a long flight from SanDiego to New York City, and our mindsspun at the thought of how excited ourstudents might be to get their hands on this

E-reading Acrossthe Digital DivideHowWe Got to Be theFirst School LibraryServing Incarcerated andDetained Youth to GetiPads into the Hands ofOur Students

By Jessica Fenster-Sparber,Anja Kennedy, Claudio Leon,and Regan Schwartz


REGAN SCHWARTZ, CLAUDIO LEON, ANJA KENNEDY, and JESSICAFENSTER-SPARBER work together at Passages AcademyLibraries serving New York City’s incarcerated and detainedyouth.


new technology. We resolved to find a wayto make that happen. This article will sharethe useful bits of our journey to maketablet technology available to our studentsin a detention environment. We believe thelessons we’ve learned will help shape ourfuture strategies for introducing emergingtechnologies. We hope that this article,while hardly describing a universalexperience, can help others figure outstrategic ways to implement newtechnology devices in their library settings.

Beginnings: An Idea, aVision, and a ProposalAt Passages, we are fortunate to haveStephen Wilder at our helm. He is asupportive school principal who is ascommitted as we are to helping studentsbecome lifelong learners and satisfiedreaders. We are doubly lucky to have anonprofit partner, Literacy for IncarceratedTeens (LIT), that is continuously lookingfor ways to improve the quality of schoollibrary services available to incarceratedand detained youth. Once we started towonder if our students would be excited toread more if they had iPads in their hands,the next step was to figure out the logisticsof a budget, purchasing, security andmanagement, and how to capture it all in aproposal to our two potential champions.

Realizing What You Don’tKnowWe realized, as we began to develop aproposal, that we wouldn’t be able to figureout the logistics without firsthandknowledge of iPads. The cost of the deviceswas, at the time, prohibitive to us as cityemployees. Consequently, we wrote ourproposal acknowledging that andrequesting funding for an initial pilot phasethat would bring our library team intointimate contact with the devices and apps

we sought to master and make available toour patrons. We received the devices fromour principal and gift cards to purchaseapps with from LIT. It was important toboth funders that the other was helpingout, and we, as a result, felt twice-oversupported in our efforts. We committed tobeing transparent and accountablerecipients and to working as a team. Wecreated a review wiki where we would listeach app we purchased with the gift cards.The wiki enabled us to learn from oneanother’s purchases as we progressedthrough this phase, as well as to share whatwe were learning with funders.

Research StageOnce we began researching, purchasing,and reviewing apps, we quickly discovereda few key pieces of information that wouldgo on to inform our entire pilot and changethe way we thought (and continue tothink) about what we would be puttinginto our students’ hands. First, we saw thatmany apps included in-app purchasing;second, we found that many appsdepended on an Internet connection tofunction. We noted these features in thereviews we posted to our iPad pilot wiki.Third, we saw that many apps had thepotential to enhance classroom instructionin a variety of areas. This was significantbecause it meant that there would likely bea demand for class sets of iPads. Fourth,and relatedly, we realized that many appsprovided multiple opportunities for userinput, including the ability to leavetext-based messages. This would be aproblem in the surveillanced environmentswe work in, and would require extra timeon, and attention to, maintenance. This ledus to our fifth observation: downloading,updating, and maintaining the securityaspects of the devices would requireongoing vigilance. We calculated that wewould either need to add additional librarystaff to our team (an unlikely funding

prospect) or manage the iPads ourselves.Happy to augment the library’s offeringsand eager to enhance the library’s image asthe go-to tech stop in the building, weembraced this possibility. Remainingrealistic, however, we considered ourcurrent workloads and what would have tofall by the wayside were we to manage classsets of iPads in our environments.

First-Phase ConclusionsThis initial phase of the pilot led us tosurprising conclusions that werefundamental to the design of the secondstage of our pilot. We settled on fivedevices per library as the maximumnumber we could manage for the pilotwithout significant cuts to other libraryservices to our community. We alsosurprised ourselves with the conclusionthat the focus of our initial implementationwould be on e-reading, specifically on foure-reading apps that would bringaudiobooks, e-books, comic books andmanga to our students and staff. Theinability to offer class sets, the challenges inmanaging apps to support the content areasfairly and equitably, and classroommanagement issues with a variety of appoptions all contributed to this finaldecision. Deeply desirous of improving ourability to support school instruction, wedecided that our capacity, at this phase inthe research, was limited. For thesereasons, we selected to propose a second-phase pilot design that was independentreading focused and not content-areaspecific.

Preparing for Phase 2Collection DevelopmentHaving decided to focus exclusively one-reading via the iBooks, Comixology,VizMedia, and Audio apps, our teamdivided the collection development


Fenster-Sparber, Kennedy, Leon and Schwartz

responsibilities into fiction, nonfiction, andcomics/manga. While creating our fictionand nonfiction lists, we soughthigh-interest books with subject matterand themes that would appeal to ourpopulation. We gave preference to worksthat were visually intriguing and organizedin ways that would facilitate the episodicnature of independent reading in thelibrary. Since many of our students arestriving and/or reluctant readers, weprioritized e-books that had anaccompanying audiobook available iniTunes. Unfortunately, finding matchinge-book and audiobook sets that also fit ourother criteria proved difficult (andcontinues to challenge us as of the time ofthis writing). Since we have a team memberwho serves the team as the resident comicsexpert, it made sense for him to takeresponsibility for curating our electroniccomics collection, focusing on popular seriesand characters with shorter story lines. Inthe end, our pilot collection developmentlist included nineteen nonfiction books(seven with accompanying audiobooks),twenty-four fiction books (ten withaccompanying audiobooks), and a total of245 comic books and manga coveringseventeen different characters/story linesand four manga series.

We secured funding from ouradministration to purchase fifteen iPads,which we evenly distributed between ourthree largest sites. Current copyrightdictates that each item must be purchasedindividually for each iPad owned by andregistered to an institution. To mitigate theexpense of purchasing content, wededicated two iPads at each site to e-booksand audiobooks and three to comics. Wespent a total of about $790.00 per iPad onpilot content alone.

(Flawed) Research DesignBeing information professionals, we weredriven to collect as much meaningful

qualitative and quantitative data as wecould regarding the impact of our iPadpilot through a school-wide pre-implementation survey and a follow uppost-implementation survey given to eachstudent once they had accessed the devices.We collaborated on a survey designed togauge our students’ past experiences withtablets and e-reading, as well as their levelof interest in being able to access tablets inthe library. The post-implementationsurvey was designed to mirror the first one,with the addition of asking specificquestions about content that surveyrespondents would like to see on the iPads.

Unfortunately, our research plan wasflawed from the outset. Perhaps thegreatest hurdle (besides the incrediblytransitory nature of our population) wasthe fact that we did not explicitly teach ourstudents the word tablet. In compiling thedata from their post-implementationsurveys, filled out approximately twominutes after having just held an iPad intheir hands, a significant percentage of ourstudents answered that they had not everused a tablet. If we had it all to do again,we would be more explicit about theterminology used in talking aboute-reading and e-readers and would makeour questions more straightforward.Across the country, our schools arebecoming data-driven animals, and havingaccurate and reliable data to back up yourclaims of both need and success could makeor break your project proposal. What is thetakeaway lesson from all of this? Test-driveyour survey before implementation.

The iPads Arrive!Once the iPads were in our hands, and ourcollection development lists were finalized,it was simply a matter of loading the iPadswith the selected content and determiningthe logistics of rolling them out to ourstudents. As we toiled at purchasing,

running into issues with our iTunesaccount, and our purchasing system, weworked together to plan a two-part lessonintroducing the iPads, complete withassessment. Once the iPads were ready togo, we each collaborated with our teachercolleagues to create a schedule of classes toparticipate in the pilot’s second phase.During the month of January 2012, everyclass at Passages Academy’s three largestsites was introduced to the iPads and hadthe chance to read on them.

Students and iPads: AMatch Made in . . .

As the first classes came into the library fortheir introductory iPad lesson, there wasan air of excitement and disbelief. Bothstudents and adults frequently expressedsurprise that they were going to bepermitted to put their hands on suchexciting, new technology within theconfines of the detention setting. Becauseof the security and privacy concerns in ourunique environment, we had disabled thecameras, restricted everything that could berestricted, and ensured that we were notwithin reach of a usable wireless signal. Forsome of our students, once they realizedthat they could not get online, theirinterest in the technology waned. For most,however, once they began reading, orlistening, or scrolling through the availablecomics, they were hooked.

Data CollectionIt was important to us that we were able todemonstrate to our funders both the needfor and the impact of our pilot. As wementioned before, we collected our data inthe form of pre- and post-implementationsurveys. Our pre-implementation surveyswere distributed schoolwide and completedduring class time. The follow-up surveys


E-reading Across the Digital Divide

were completed by each class at the close oftheir visit to the library to first use theiPads. The results of these surveys weretabulated and graphed by library teammembers.

Unfortunately, as we also alreadymentioned, our research design was flawed,and this resulted in some very questionableresponses. Some of our data had to bethrown out. What was usable was graphedand presented to our pilot’s champions inour official iPad pilot report. While wewere disappointed in the errors in our datacollection, we learned a great deal aboutdesigning meaningful data collection tools,which will surely benefit us and ourstudents in the future.

Report to FundersCommunication with our key supporterswas an important step in continuing to beaccountable for the resources with whichthey had entrusted us, the goals we hadcommitted to, and a next step to move usforward. Providing our principal andLiteracy for Incarcerated Teens with a fullreport presenting the data, analyzing it, andputting forth our conclusions not onlyfulfilled a promise we had made during anearlier stage of the pilot, it also furnished uswith an excellent opportunity to cometogether as a team and formally thinkthrough what we had learned and wherewe’d like to go. Reports can serve aswonderful reflective points, accountablerecords, and evidence of a goal reached.

Going ForwardWe concluded, during the conversationaround our report, that we would like toincrease the volume and variety of contenton the iPads in the near future by addingfive to seven magazine subscriptions andten to fifteen additional audiobooks withmatching e-books. We also wanted to fill ingaps in our comics collection and completeour manga collections. We believed thatthese modest additions and ongoing accesswould be successful at achieving theoutcomes we desired.

Going forward, we envision thelibraries as a possible solution for housingiPad devices, training staff on protocols andclassroom usage, and content management.We know that the pilot described in thisarticle succeeded in laying the groundworkfor fruitful conversations with teachers andadministrators regarding that possibility inthe months and years ahead. However, thepilot also made it quite clear that as weconsider enlarging the libraries’ role inmanaging iPads for our school’s sites, suchaugmentation will inevitably mean thatprogramming and instruction will receiveless of the librarian’s attention. Tomaintain current levels of instruction andprogramming while increasing iPadmanagement in the library would requireadditional staff.

As a result of this pilot, PassagesAcademy Libraries are better equipped toplay key roles in schoolwide and site-basedconversations regarding the application,

acquisition, and management of iPads andother e-readers and tablet devices. Fromwhat we learned through the experience ofthe pilot, we also developed a better senseof realistic timelines for new technologyimplementation. We also grew as a teamas we encountered and overcamechallenges, gave and received support toand from one another, and engaged indeep and meaningful discussions aroundemerging educational technologies and thelibraries’ role in providing access andsupport. As schools move into the twenty-first century, it is important for our schoollibraries to help lead the way. Aslibrarians, we have explicit training ineducational technology and informationand media literacy—training that can beof immense use to our colleagues,administrators, and most importantly, ourstudents as we all work to move ourschools forward and choose meaningfulnew tools to invest in. Our libraries are somuch more than book repositories becauseof our expertise and hard work. It iscritical to the growth of our libraries andthe well-being of our school communitiesthat we make every effort to share thatexpertise and hard work wheneverpossible. YALS

Reference1. Jennifer Sweeney. Literacy: A Way Out for

At-Risk Youth. Englewood: LibrariesUnlimited, 2011, 50.


Fenster-Sparber, Kennedy, Leon and Schwartz

The Teen Book Finderapp Is Here!Teen lit fans, library staff, educators,parents, and teen readers with Appledevices can now visit the Apple App Storeand download the free Teen Book Finder,the first app created by YALSA.

The free app, which highlights booksand media from YALSA’s awards andselected book and media lists, can be run onan iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad. YALSA’sTeen Book Finder is available thanks togenerous funding by the Dollar GeneralLiteracy Foundation. To learn more,including links to download the app, visitwww.ala.org/yalsa/products/teenbookfinder.

“The Teen Book Finder is a great wayfor teens, parents, teachers, and librariansto get suggested titles from our wonderfulrecommended lists and awards for teens,”said Sarah Flowers, YALSA president.“We’re proud of the work our members doin selecting titles for lists and awards, andwe want to share those excellent titles witha wide range of readers. I had theopportunity to demonstrate the app at theUSA Science and Engineering Festival inWashington, DC, while we were in betatesting, and the people who saw it werevery excited about it—and so am I!”

The Teen Book Finder’s features include:

l books and media from all of YALSA’sawards, including the Alex, Edwards,Morris, Nonfiction, Odyssey, and Printz;

l the past three years of YALSA’sselected book and media lists;

l all books selected for the Teens’ TopTen;

l three Hot Picks, featuring differenttitles from the database, refreshed eachday;

l the ability to search for books byauthor, title, award or list year, genre,by award, and by booklist;

l a Find It! button, powered by theOCLC WorldCat Search API, thatwill show users where to find the bookin a nearby library and a book’savailable format, including audiobookand e-book;

l a Favorites button, to create anindividualized reading list;

l the ability to share books from theTeen Book Finder on Twitter andFacebook.

The app was developed by OraInteractive. An Android version is plannedfor later in 2012.

WrestleMania ReadingChallenge RegistrationOpenRegistration is open at www.ala.org/wrestlemania for the eighth annualWrestleMania Reading Challenge throughJuly 31, sponsored by WWE� and theYoung Adult Library Services Association(YALSA), a division of the AmericanLibrary Association.

To participate:

1. Register your library or school:

librarians and educators must registerby July 31, 2012. To register, completethis brief online form.

2. Promote the contest to your teens:

World Wrestling Entertainment willsend promotional posters to allregistrants in September. Registrantscan download completion certificates,pledge forms, and other collateral fromYALSA and WWE at www.ala.org/wrestlemania after registration closes.

3. Help teens submit their entries:tweens and teens will write a letter totheir favorite WWE Superstar thatconvinces the Superstar to read thetween/teen’s favorite book and thensubmit it through an online form thatwill be made available at www.ala.org/wrestlemania between October 1 and31, 2012.

To learn more about theWrestleMania Reading Challenge, pleasevisit www.ala.org/wrestlemania.

Teens’ Top Ten VotingStarts August 13Make sure your teens are up to speed forthis year’s Teens’ Top Ten (TTT), inwhich teens across the world voice theirchoice for their favorite books. Downloadthe 2012 Teens’ Top Ten nominations andthe Teens’ Top Ten Toolkit at www.ala.org/teenstopten to encourage teens to readthem before voting starts in August.

Teens’ Top Ten voting begins August13 and ends September 17. The voteswill determine the 2012 Teens’ Top Tenbooklist, which will be announced onlineduring Teen Read Week, October 14to 20.

theYALSAupdate Association news

Find the latest YALSA news every Friday at the YALSA Blog, http://yalsa.ala.org/blog.


Librarians seeking new titles forreaders’ advisory, collection development,or simply to give to their teens as part ofsummer reading programming can see the2012 nominations at the TTT websiteat www.ala.org/teenstopten. In addition,the Teens’ Top Ten toolkit offerscustomizable bookmarks and flyers,program ideas, and much more toencourage teens at your library to read thenominated titles.

TTT is a part of YALSA’s YoungAdult (YA) Galley Project, whichfacilitates access to advance copies ofyoung adult books to national teenbook discussion groups. Fifteen publiclibraries and school library media centersfrom across the country evaluate booksfrom publishers and nominate booksfor TTT.

YALSA is accepting applicationsto be a 2012–2014 galley group throughAugust 1 at www.ala.org/yalsa/teenstopten.

YALSA 2011 ElectionResults

President-Elect

Shannon PetersonBoard of Directors

Sarah SogigianCandice A. Wing-Yee MackCouncilor

Vicki Morris EmeryEdwardsSarah LudwigMelissa McBrideLynn RutanNonfiction

Scott RobinsMolly CollinsMaria GentleShauna YuskoPrintzJennifer LawsonGregory LumRachel McDonaldElizabeth Schneider

Interested in running for office orwant to nominate a colleague? ContactSarah Debraski, chair of the 2012Governance Nominating Committee [email protected].

Find Tools forEvaluation and Planningin YALSA’s CompleteSummer ReadingManual

Available in the ALA StoreSummer reading programs are a mainstay ofpublic library services; whether you’reembarking on your first SRP or you think youcould plan one in your sleep, you’re sure tofind helpful ideas in this complete manual,now available at the ALA store (www.alastore.ala.org) from the experts at YALSA.

Teen summer reading programplanners will find:

l authoritative advice on planning,budgeting, and evaluation fromexperienced frontline librarians;

l tools for incorporating technology forany budget;

l readers’ advisory sources and places tofind reading trends each year;

l new ideas for marketing, outreach, andcollaboration;

l detailed descriptions of programs thatwork from librarians just like you.

Contributors include Mark Flowers,Megan Honig, Erin Downey Howerton,Kat Kan, Maria Kramer, ChrisShoemaker, and Connie Urquhart.

This project was funded in part by a2011 Carnegie-Whitney Grant from theAmerican Library Association.

Young Adult LiteratureSymposium RegistrationNow OpenRegister today for the Young AdultLiterature Symposium, November 2–4, atthe Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch inSt. Louis, Missouri. Early bird pricingbegins at $195 for YALSA members;registration is available at www.ala.org/yalitsymposium. Hurry; early birdregistration ends September 16!

The 2012 theme is “The Future ofYoung Adult Literature: Hit Me with theNext Big Thing.” The Young AdultLiterature Symposium is funded in part bythe William C. Morris Endowment.

Registration for the symposiumincludes a welcome reception on Fridaynight, educational sessions on Saturday andSunday, coffee breaks on Saturday andSunday, a reception on Saturday evening,and a general closing session on Sunday.Details, including a preliminary program,are available at www.ala.org/yalitsymposiumby clicking on “Programs and Presenters.”

Early bird registration costs

l $195 for YALSA members andMissouri Library Association members;

l $245 for ALA personal members;l $300 for nonmembers; andl $50 for students.

Rooms at the Hyatt Regency St. Louisat the Arch are offered at a special rate forregistrants of $105 per night.

YALSA will also offer pre-symposiumspecial events that require additionalregistration on Friday, including:

l a half-day forum on dystopian teenliterature ($59);

l a half-day forum on engaging studentswith e-readers and social networking($59);

l a half-day forum on new trends inpublishing for teens ($59); and

l a guided library tour of public librariesin St. Louis ($25).

In addition, symposium attendees canregister for one of two Bill MorrisMemorial Author Luncheons, featuringDavid Levithan (Boy Meets Boy; TheLover’s Dictionary) or Patricia McCormick(Sold, Purple Heart). Tickets for eachluncheon cost $45.

To read program descriptions,download the preliminary program, findout how to reserve a hotel room, and seethe full list of registration rates, visitwww.ala.org/yalitsymposium.

YALSA SeeksVolunteers for SelectionCommittees and SomeAward Committees andTaskforcesYALSA will be making appointmentsto the following committees and


taskforces during this latest round ofappointments:

Amazing Audiobooks for Young AdultsBest Fiction for Young AdultsFabulous Films for Young AdultsGreat Graphic Novels for TeensPopular Paperbacks for Young AdultsQuick Picks for Reluctant Young AdultReadersAlex AwardMorris AwardOdyssey Award2014 Midwinter Marketing and LocalArrangements Taskforce2014 Midwinter Paper PresentationPlanning TaskforceReaders’ Choice List Taskforce

How Committee andTaskforce AppointmentsWork and When They’re MadeTo serve on a committee or taskforce, youmust be officially appointed by YALSA’sPresident-Elect Shannon Peterson.YALSA is collecting volunteer forms fromnow through September 30 for memberswho would like to serve on selection andaward committees as well as taskforces thatbegin work on February 1, 2013. If you arecurrently serving on a selection or awardcommittee and you are eligible to andinterested in serving for another term, youmust fill out a volunteer form. This is theonly way the president-elect knows forcertain that you’re interested in continuingon the committee.

What to Know Before YouVolunteerBefore you volunteer to serve on acommittee or taskforce, you’ll want to learn

what the group does and what yourresponsibilities will be. YALSA has createda free webinar with information aboutwhat it’s like to serve on a selection oraward committee. Be sure to take the timeto view it at http://tinyurl.com/5s9g5uy. Itis also recommended that you contact thechair directly to express your interest inserving and to ask questions about whatyour involvement will entail. Names andcontact information for all the committeechairs are available from the “Governance”link on YALSA’s home page. From the“Get Involved” link on YALSA’s websiteyou’ll also find information about each ofthe committees’ functions, size, etc. Lastly,be sure to read through YALSA’shandbook, especially the sections that listresponsibilities for committee members.It’s online at www.ala.org/yalsa. Just clickon “Handbook” from the left menu.

Completing the CommitteeVolunteer FormIn order to be considered for a selection oraward committee, you need to fill out acommittee volunteer form by September30 (find the form in the YALSAHandbook, www.ala.org/yalsa/aboutyalsa/yalsahandbook).

When you fill out the form, please besure to include the name of thecommittee(s) on which you’d like to serve.If you don’t indicate a few that you’reinterested in, it is very difficult for thepresident-elect to find the best fit for you.Also, please be sure to take the time to listyour qualifications. Forms are only kept onfile for one year, so you will need to fill oneout each year that you would like to serveon a committee.

Once you complete and submit theonline volunteer form, you’ll receive an

automated email message saying your formhas been received. The president-elect willnot make the appointments until after thedeadline closes for volunteer forms, so youwill not hear back about the status of yourform until November.

The Fine Print

l Appointments are for either one-yearor two-year terms, depending on thecommittee. Selection Committeemembers must attend all committeemeetings at the ALA Annual andMidwinter conferences, for the entireterm of their appointment. Upcomingconference dates and locations can befound at http://tinyurl.com/l24t5h.

l Please be aware that there are novirtual members on YALSA’sselection committees. YALSA doesnot pay travel expenses for committeemembers.

l Some selection committees require aheavy workload. For example, for theBest Fiction for Young AdultsCommittee, members are expected toread more than three hundred booksper year.

l Certain selection committees are verypopular and may receive dozens ofvolunteer forms for just two or threespots. If you’ve never served on aYALSA committee before, it isn’treasonable then to expect to beappointed to committees like Printz orBest Fiction for Young Adults on yourfirst attempt.

l As per YALSA policy, individualsmay not serve on more than one awardor selection committee at the sametime. YALS


A

ADVOCACYFrom the President, Su12:3–4Teens as Advocates, Fa11:16–17YALSA’s Advocate of the Month

[Michael Schor], Su12:7–8Agosto, Denise E., Andrea Forte, and Rachel

MageeCyberbullying and Teens: What YA

Librarians Can Do to Help, W12:38–43ALEX AWARDS

YALSA Announces 2012 AwardWinners and Book and Media Lists,Sp12:12

ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLSAin’t Nothing Wrong with Reading

Books: Creating a Classroom Libraryat an Alternative School, Su12:31–35

AMAZING AUDIOBOOKS FORYOUNG ADULTS

[2012 list], Sp12:14–15, 18Listening for the Best: Amazing

Audiobooks for Teens, Sp12:30–31AMELIA BLOOMER PROJECT

All About Amelia: The Amelia BloomerProject, Sp12:4–6

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONMeet the YALSA Members Running for

Council 2012, W12:5–7Anderton, Holly

STEM, Teens, and Public Libraries: It’sEasier than You Think!, W12:44–46

Andronik, Cathy. See Cohen, Jerri W. andCathy Andronik

APPSBuilding Apps the Teen Way, Su12:14–16Creating a Mobile Booklist "App,"

W12:35–37The Teen Book Finder app Is Here!

(YALSA update), Su12:42AUDIOBOOKS. See AMAZING

AUDIOBOOKS FOR YOUNGADULTS

AWARDSFrom the President, Sp12:3, 8YALSA Announces 2012 Award

Winners and Book and Media Lists,Sp12:12–17

YALSA Writing Award, Fa11:7

B

BAKER AND TAYLOR CONFERENCEGRANT

Heather Schubert and Susan J.Smallsreed [2012] (news), Sp12:47

Baur, Jack and Jessica LeeTalking Comics: Starting Your Graphic

Novel Book Club, Su12:17–21BELPR�E AWARD

Cultivating Latino Cultural Literacy: PuraBelpr�e Award-Winning Books inLibrary Programming for Teens andTweens, Sp12:32–36, 41

Pura Belpr�e Award-Winning Titles withTween and Teen Appeal, Sp12:33

Berry, HannahGet Ready for the 2012 Young Adult

Literature Symposium, Fa11:10–11BEST FICTION FOR YOUNG ADULTS

[2012 list], Sp12:15, 19–21From Best Books to Best Fiction:

Embracing Change in YALSA’sSelection Lists, Sp12:9–11

BOOK CLUBSTalking Comics: Starting Your Graphic

Novel Book Club, Su12:17–21BOOK TALKS

Opening the Gate: Booktalks forLGBTQ-Themed Young AdultTitles, Su12:22–27

BOOKLISTSCreating a Mobile Booklist “App,”

W12:35–37Braun, Linda

[about] Congratulations to the YALSAWriting Award Winners [2012](news), Sp12:47

Building Apps the Teen Way,Su12:14–16

What’s Good for Members is Good forYALSA: Introducing YALSA’sBoard Fellow Program, Fa11:8–9

C

CABAJ, ALLISON[MAE Award 2012] (news), Sp12:47

CLASSROOM LIBRARIESAin’t Nothing Wrong with Reading


Cohen, Jerri W. and Cathy AndronikListening for the Best: Amazing

Audiobooks for Teens, Sp12:30–31Comito, Lauren and Franklin Escobedo

Teens as Advocates, Fa11:16–17COMMUNITY SERVICE

Encouraging Community Service in thePublic Library, Fa11:25–27

COOPER, SUSAN2012 Edwards Award, Sp12:12–13

Couri, Sarah

Summer Library Club: Taking Risks,Finding Rewards, Fa11:18–20

CYBERBULLYINGCyberbullying and Teens: What YA

Librarians Can Do to Help,W12:38–43

CYBILS (CHILDREN’S AND YOUNGADULT BLOGGERS’ LITERARYAWARDS)

2011 Cybils Winners, Sp12:44The Cybils: Book Awards from the

Blogosphere, Sp12:42–45

D

Dando, PriscilleFriends of YALSA: Supporting the

Mission of Members Everywhere,Su12:9–10

Outstanding Books in School Libraries:Curriculum Connections and Reader’sAdvisory, Fa11:31–35

YALSA’s Driving Force: StrategicPlanning for the Future, W12:10–11

Dudley, Jennifer. See Suarez, Priscilla andJennifer Dudley

Duff, Marina Leigh10 Steps to Creating a Cutting-Edge

STEM School Library, W12:24–28

E

E-BOOKSE-reading Across the Digital Divide: How

We Got to Be the First SchoolLibrary Serving Incarcerated andDetained Youth to Get iPads into theHands of Our Students, Su12:38–41

In a More Digital Direction: ServingTeens with E-readers, Su12:28–30

Echols, S. Michele. See Terrile, Vikki C. andS. Michele Echols

EDWARDS AWARD2012 Award to Susan Cooper, Sp12:12–13

Escobedo, Franklin. See Comito, Lauren andFranklin Escobedo

EVALUATION OF SERVICESYALSA Public Library Evaluation Tool,

Fa11:39–46EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION FOR

YOUNG ADULTS[Shenkin 2012], Sp12:13

F

FABULOUS FILMS FOR YOUNGADULTS

[2012 list], Sp12:15, 22

Index to Volume 10

YALS


Evildoings, Deadly Exes, and Rock andRoll! Read- and Listen-Alikes,Sp12:37–38

Fenster-Sparber, Jessica, Anja Kennedy,Claudio Leon, and Regan Schwartz

E-reading Across the Digital Divide: HowWe Got to Be the First SchoolLibrary Serving Incarcerated andDetained Youth to Get iPads into theHands of Our Students, Su12:38–41

Flowers, SarahFrom the President, Fa11:3–4, W12:3,

Sp12:3, 8, Su12:3–4YALSA Writing Award, Fa11:7

Forte, Andrea. See Agosto, Denise E.,Andrea Forte, and Rachel Magee

FRANCES HENNE/VOYA RESEARCHGRANT

Sylvia Vardell [2012], Sp12:47FRIENDS OF YALSA

Friends of YALSA: Supporting theMission of Members Everywhere,Su12:9–10

FUND RAISINGFriends of YALSA: Supporting the

Mission of Members Everywhere,Su12:9–10

G

GEOCACHINGFinding Their Way: How Geocaching Is

an Adventure for All, IncludingTeens, W12:32–34

GOMEZ, HANNAHYalsa Names Spectrum Scholar (Update),

Fa11:38GRAPHIC NOVELS

Talking Comics: Starting Your GraphicNovel Book Club, Su12:17–21

See also GREAT GRAPHIC NOVELSFOR TEENS

GREAT BOOKS GIVEAWAY[2012] (news), Sp12:47

GREAT GRAPHIC NOVELS FORTEENS

[2012 list], Sp12:15–16, 23–24GREEN INITIATIVES

Green Teen Programming, W12:29–31

H

Ho, DoraThe K-Pop Wave Hits Libraries,

Su12:11–13, 16Honig, Megan, Su12:2From the Editor, Fa11:2, W12:2, Sp12:2

I

INNER-CITY TEENS. See URBANTEENS

J

JUVENILE DETENTION CENTERSBeyond the Bars: Serving Teens in

Lockdown, W12:12–14

E-reading Across the Digital Divide: HowWe Got to Be the First SchoolLibrary Serving Incarcerated andDetained Youth to Get iPads into thehand of Our Students, Su12:38–41

K

KAUSCH, CARRIEKausch named YALSA’s 2012 Board

Fellow, W12:51Kendrick-Samuel, Syntychia

Junior Friends Groups: Taking TeenServices to the Next Level, W12:15–18

Kennedy, Anja. See Fenster-Sparber, Jessica,Anja Kennedy, Claudio Leon, andRegan Schwartz

Kim, Joy and Rachael MyersDiscovering Greatness: YALSA’s Great

Graphic Novels for Teens List,Sp12:39–41

KOREAN CULTUREThe K-Pop Wave Hits Libraries,

Su12:11–13, 16K-POP

The K-Pop Wave Hits Libraries,Su12:11–13, 16

KRAMER, MARIACongratulations to the YALSA Writing

Award Winners [2012] (news),Sp12:47

Kuenn, StephanieMeet the YALSA Members Running for

Council 2012, W12:5–7

L

LATINO LITERATURECultivating Latino Cultural Literacy: Pura

Belpr�e Award-Winning Books inLibrary Programming for Teens andTweens, Sp12:32–36, 41

Law, Jennie S., Maureen McCoy, BethOlshewsky, and Angela Semifero

All About Amelia: The Amelia BloomerProject, Sp12:4–6

Lee, Jessica. See Baur, Jack and Jessica LeeLeon, Claudio. See Fenster-Sparber, Jessica,

Anja Kennedy, Claudio Leon, andRegan Schwartz

LGBTQ LITERATUREOpening the Gate: Booktalks for

LGBTQ-Themed Young AdultTitles, Su12:22–27

LISTENING LIBRARYOdyssey Award [2012], Sp12:13–14

Ludwig, Sarah[about] Congratulations to the YALSA

Writing Award Winners [2012](news), Sp12:47

Teen Tech Week 2012: Get Ready toGeek Out!, W12:9

M

MAE AWARD FOR BEST LITERATUREPROGRAM FOR TEENS

Allison Cabaj [2012] (news), Sp12:47

Magee, Rachel. See Agosto, Denise E.,Andrea Forte, and Rachel Magee

Matthews, SteveStopping the Slow Train to Disaster or

How to Talk Up, Trick Out, andEstablish Beyond a Doubt ThatSchool Libraries are for Kids (andThat Means TEENS!) (View fromALA), Fa11:5–6

McCoy, Maureen. See Law, Jennie S.,Maureen McCoy, Beth Olshewsky, andAngela Semifero

McGrath, ReneeCreating a Mobile Booklist “App,”

W12:35–37Morris, Vanessa Irvin

The Street Lit Author and the Inner-CityTeen Reader, Fa11:21–24

MORRIS AWARD[Whaley 2012], Sp12:13

Mulder, NatalieEncouraging Community Service in the

Public Library, Fa11:25–27Myers, Rachael. See Kim, Joy and Rachael Myers

N

Naidoo, Jamie CampbellCultivating Latino Cultural Literacy: Pura

Belpr�e Award-Winning Books inLibrary Programming for Teens andTweens, Sp12:32–36, 41

O

ODYSSEY AWARD[Listening Library 2012], Sp12:13–14

Olshewsky, Beth. See Law, Jennie S.,Maureen McCoy, Beth Olshewsky, andAngela Semifero

OUTSTANDING BOOKS FOR THECOLLEGE BOUND


P

Parker, JackieThe Cybils: Book Awards from the

Blogosphere, Sp12:42–45Parks, Alexander F.

Opening the Gate: Booktalks forLGBTQ-Themed Young AdultTitles, Su12:22–27

Peterson, ShannonSowing the Seeds of STEM, W12:8

POPULAR PAPERBACKS FORYOUNG ADULTS

[2012 list], Sp12:16, 25–26PRINTZ AWARD

[Whaley 2012], Sp12:14PRISON LIBRARIES. See JUVENILE

DETENTION CENTERSPROBLEM BEHAVIORS

Cyberbullying and Teens: What YALibrarians Can Do to Help,W12:38–43


Index Vol. 10

They Don’t Leave Their Lives at theDoor, But Neither Do We: ChangingOur Minds about Changing Teens’Behaviors, W12:19–23

PROFESSIONAL RESOURCESBodart, Joni Richards. They Suck, They

Bite, They Eat, They Kill, W12:47Farrelly, Michael Garrett. Make Room for

Teens!, W12:47Harper, Meghan. Reference Sources and

Services for Youth, Fa11:30Helmrich, E. and E. Schneider. Create,

Relate, & Pol @ the Library, Fa11:30Klor, Ellin and Sarah Lapin. Serving Teen

Parents, W12:47Welch, R. J. A Core Collection for Young

Adults, Fa11:30WriteCheck [web site], W12:47–48

PROMOTIONFrom the President [Teen Tech Week],

W12:3Teen Tech Week 2012: Get Ready to

Geek Out!, W12:9PUBLIC LIBRARIES

STEM, Teens, and Public Libraries: It’sEasier than You Think!, W12:44–46

YALSA Public Library Evaluation Tool,Fa11:39–46

Pytash, Kristine E.Ain’t Nothing Wrong with Reading


Q

QUICK PICKS FOR RELUCTANTYOUNG ADULT READERS

[2012 list], Sp12:16–17, 27–29

R

RAWSON, CASEY H.Congratulations to the YALSA Writing


READERS’ ADVISORYOutstanding Books in School Libraries:

Curriculum Connections and Reader’sAdvisory, Fa11:31–35

Reading Maps: Restyling ReadersAdvisory for Teens, Su12:36–37

READING MAPSReading Maps: Restyling Readers

Advisory for Teens, Su12:36–37RELUCTANT READERS

Ain’t Nothing Wrong with ReadingBooks: Creating a Classroom Libraryat an Alternative School, Su12:31–35

See also QUICK PICKS FORRELUCTANT YOUNG ADULTREADERS

Rogers-Whitehead, Carrie and MichaelSchor

YALSA’s Advocate of the Month[Michael Schor], Su12:7–8

Roos, BarbaraBeyond the Bars: Serving Teens in

Lockdown, W12:12–14

Russo, SarahIt Came from the Library! Teen Read

Week 2012, Su12:5–6

S

SCHOOL LIBRARIESOutstanding Books in School Libraries:

Curriculum Connections and Reader’sAdvisory, Fa11:31–35

Stopping the Slow Train to Disaster orHow to Talk Up, Trick Out, andEstablish Beyond a Doubt ThatSchool Libraries are for Kids (andThat Means TEENS!) (View fromALA), Fa11:5–6

See also CLASSROOM LIBRARIES“SCHOOL LIBRARIES MATTER”

CAMPAIGNStopping the Slow Train to Disaster,

Fa11:5–6Schor, Michael

YALSA’s Advocate of the Month[Michael Schor], Su12:7–8

SCHUBERT, HEATHERBaker and Taylor Conference Grant

[2012] (news), Sp12:47Schwartz, Regan. See Fenster-Sparber,

Jessica, Anja Kennedy, Claudio Leon,and Regan Schwartz

Semifero, Angela. See Law, Jennie S.,Maureen McCoy, Beth Olshewsky, andAngela Semifero

SHENKIN, STEVEExcellence in Nonfiction for Young

Adults Award [2012], Sp12:13SMALLSWOOD, SUSAN J.

Baker and Taylor Conference Grant[2012] (news), Sp12:47

Snethen, TerriFrom Best Books to Best Fiction:

Embracing Change in YALSA’sSelection Lists, Sp12:9–11

SOCIAL MEDIAGet Connected to YALSA Online,

Fa11:12–15STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY,

ENGINEERING,MATHEMATICS)

10 Steps to Creating a Cutting-EdgeSTEM School Library, W12:24–28

Green Teen Programming, W12:29–31Sowing the Seeds of STEM, W12:8STEM, Teens, and Public Libraries: It’s

Easier than You Think!, W12:44–46Stephens, Wendy

In a More Digital Direction: ServingTeens with E-readers, Su12:28–30

STREET LITThe Street Lit Author and the Inner-City

Teen Reader, Fa11:21–24Suarez, Priscilla and Jennifer Dudley

Finding Their Way: How Geocaching Isan Adventure for All, IncludingTeens, W12:32–34

Sullenberger, JessicaGet Connected to YALSA Online,

Fa11:12–15

SUMMER READING PROGRAMSSummer Library Club: Taking Risks,

Finding Rewards, Fa11:18–20Sutherland, Kerry

Reading Maps: Restyling ReadersAdvisory for Teens, Su12:36–37

T

TEEN ADVISORY BOARDSJunior Friends Groups: Taking Teen

Services to the Next Level, W12:15–18TEEN READ WEEK

It Came from the Library! Teen ReadWeek 2012, Su12:5–6

TEEN TECH WEEKTeen Tech Week 2012: Get Ready to

Geek Out!, W12:9Terrile, Vikki C. and S. Michele Echols

They Don’t Leave Their Lives at theDoor, But Neither Do We: ChangingOur Minds about Changing Teens’Behaviors, W12:19–23

U

URBAN TEENSThe Street Lit Author and the Inner-City

Teen Reader, Fa11:21–24

V

VARDELL, SYLVIA[Henne/VOYA Research Grant 2012]

(news), Sp12:47VOLUNTEERS

Encouraging Community Service in thePublic Library, Fa11:25–27

How Committee and TaskforceAppointments Work and WhenThey’re Made (YALSA update),Su12:44

W

WHALEY, JOHN COREY[Morris Award 2012], Sp12:13Printz Award [2012], Sp12:14

Williams, Beth FilarGreen Teen Programming, W12:29–31

WOMAN STUDIESAll About Amelia: The Amelia Bloomer

Project, Sp12:4–6WRESTLEMANIA READING

CHALLENGEYALSA, WWE name WrestleMania

Reading Challenge Champions(news), Sp12:47–48

Y

YALSYALS wins fourth Apex Award

(Update), Fa11:37YALSA

Build Your Professional Skills![volunteering], W12:50

Get Connected to YALSA Online,Fa11:12–15


Index Vol. 10

How Committee and TaskforceAppointments Work and WhenThey’re Made (YALSA update),Su12:44

YALSA’s Driving Force: StrategicPlanning for the Future, W12:10–11

YALSA BOARDWhat’s Good for Members is Good for

YALSA: Introducing YALSA’sBoard Fellow Program, Fa11:8–9

YALSA ELECTIONS2011 Election Results (YALSA Update),

Su12:43

2012 ALA/YALSA Elections[nominees], W12:50

YALSA Update, Fa11:36–38, W12:49–51, Sp12:46–48, Su12:42–44

YALSA WRITING AWARDCongratulations to the YALSA Writing


YOUNG ADULT LITERATUREOpening the Gate: Booktalks for

LGBTQ-Themed Young AdultTitles, Su12:22–27


The Street Lit Author and the Inner-CityTeen Reader, Fa11:21–24

YOUNG ADULT LITERATURESYMPOSIUM

Get Ready for the 2012 Young AdultLiterature Symposium, Fa11:10–11


Index Vol. 10

Documents

young adult - library services - LEO