Ice Breakers are a vital, and often overlooked aspect of teen library programs. Any teen librarian knows that there can be a lot of tension surrounding the first 5 minutes of a teen library event. Some teens arrive by themselves, nervous and shy, not sure what to expect. Ice Breakers are a great way to… Read More Fun Teen Ice Breaker Ideas
With the boom in diary fiction in children’s fiction (Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries), I thought it was time to highlight some of the Diary Fiction in our teen collection. Diary fiction can be especially intimate and emotional, making it a great fit for certain YA novels. I created a 3D diary… Read More YA Diary Fiction: Teen Book Display
A picture book with no pictures might sound like the total bore, but believe me, it will have you and your audience laughing to tears. The Book With No Pictures by BJ Novak (also known as Ryan the Temp from popular sitcom The Office) tricks the reader into speaking in silly voices and saying some… Read More Interactive Picture Books
Promotion is a huge part of Teen Summer Reading Programs, and what better than a fun pop-up display during a program to grab their attention! Its easy to create a fun, attractive design with online design tools. When promoting books to teens, its important to be as “unlame” as possible. I created a few signs… Read More Teen Summer Reading Display
If your library has a Young Adult section, your library has horror novels. And they circulate (or mysteriously disappear from the shelves leaving a dark cloud of murk and despair). YA Horror Novel displays are easy to pull together (because there are so many horror novels) and easy to “sell” (because teens are loving the… Read More YA Horror Display: Get Your Freak On
Video Games and libraries are a perfect mix! Video games are all about storytelling, fun, and artwork. Libraries can run dynamic video game programs for teens – and you don’t need expensive video game consoles to do it. I decided to run a Video Game Party for the end of the year maker lunch in… Read More Teen Programming: Video Game Party in the Library
We all know about Passive Reader’s Advisory: booklists, displays, posters. Book suggestions that our patrons can browse on their own time. These are extremely valuable tools to librarians – we can’t be everywhere at once after all! I, and most librarians, believe that a reference interview is usually the best way to match a reader… Read More Personality Tests in the Library
Happy June and Happy Gay Pride Month. What a better time to create a display celebrating teen LGBT fiction? I had two goals in mind when designing this display: 1) Introduce teens of all sexualities to well-written, entertaining, and positive representations of LGBT characters. 2) Draw attention to the fact that the library is a… Read More LGBT Teen Book Display in the Library
I recently wrote an article for the Teen section of the Cambridge Idea Exchange’s website entitled Why Poetry Is Way More Punk Than You Thought. It includes a short argument in favor of poetry as entertainment, highlighting some common misconceptions. It also includes a list of 4 ways to discover poems that will appeal to… Read More Poetry Reader’s Advisory: How To Find A Poem
Since my first Flow Chart Display at the Clemens Mill branch of the Idea Exchange has been hanging on the wall for a couple months now, I thought it was about time to design a new one. Patrons stand in front of the wall, and answer a series of bright (and sometimes sassy!) questions about… Read More Interactive Readers’ Advisory: Try a New Type of Book Flow Chart
Ontarian Librarian 