ERIC/WorldCat

By now everyone knows that I am interested in youth services and their programs, but I had to pause and think for a minute about something specific I wanted to know about the subject. (I wanted to go more specific because merely searching “youth service program” would be like dancing with an 800 lb gorilla!) In the end, I decided to look up information about self-esteem, reading and teenage girls to see what, if anything, was available.

I started in ERIC and searched starting just with the terms “reading” and “teens” in full-text and found 81 records.

When I added “self-esteem” a single article came up:
Parents Sharing Books: Self-Esteem and Reading. Access ERIC: FullText Author: Shermis, Michael, Ed. No. of Pages: 40
Document: Document (ED)
Accession No: ED329955 See more details for locating this item

This is actually a pretty good resource, because it is a handout for parents that stresses the importance of their children being able to read well.
Here is the abstract: This booklet focuses on self-esteem, especially as to how reading at home can affect reading and school performance and how poor reading attainment can affect self-esteem. Specific steps to help middle school children gain self-esteem are discussed. Practical questions from parents are answered and activities are described which can be used at home. Books for preteens, teens, and parents are also recommended in the booklet.

Because I received only one record, I think I may be limiting my search too much. I decided to try my search again via WorldCat.

Using the same three keywords and limitations I received 14 records, but most of them were about eating disorders and other items that were not applicable to my search. It seems that “eating disorders” involve parents to “read” and become more acquainted with the disease in order to be helpful to their children.
Among the selections I did find an article that could be helpful to a librarian that working with children.

Here is the listing:
How to reach & teach children & teens with dyslexia / Author: Stowe, Cynthia.
Publication: San Francisco : Jossey-Bass, 2000
Document: English : Book
Libraries Worldwide: 189
More Like This: Search for versions with same title and author Advanced options ...
See more details for locating this item

While it is a textbook, I think it would be a useful item to have at librarian’s disposal. I changed some of the search descriptors (some of them to subjects, etc) and did not receive any results at all.

My thoughts:
I think the databases are (and will be) a great way to gather information, even though this search didn’t really get any quality results. I have a feeling the reason for my lack for proper results is because I did not have a real subject (I wasn’t researching for an express purpose, like a paper or project). Should I have a particular item to look for I would definitely utilize these databases.

Young Adult Library Services Association feed!

In looking for a good RSS feed to add to my blog, I found the YALSA (or Young Adult Library Services Association) news feed and thought it would make a great addition.

You can find the feed here.

The feed provides information for the group itself - election news, group meetings, general information - as well as articles aimed at those working with young adult readers. Book reviews, author talkbacks and links are some other items included on the site. It is a fantastic resources for those working in youth library services.

Authors Podcast Direct to Teens

Podcasts are a great way to share information via the Web – they can be interactive (like a video) and can be downloaded, so the listener can take it with them to listen to at their leisure. It can also provide a human touch to items that would otherwise merely be digital. You can hear vocal intonations and emphases that can be lost when written. While podcasts are moderately new, they are an (under used) asset to in the quest to pass along and gather information for everyone!

On Podcast Alley I found a great site run by the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County (PLCMC) called Library Loft. First, the site is fantastic! It provides a bunch of resources (like help with your homework, book suggestions, links to YouTube videos by the library) and programs directed at young adults.

They offer tons of podcasts, both by authors of juvenile literature and the youth themselves. You can subscribe to their RSS feed here or check them out for free on iTunes by doing a search with the term “Libraryloft”. Here’s a link to the author Carla Sarrat’s podcast where she talks about her novel “Freshmen Focus”. It nice to hear some insights about a novel from the author directly! A neat feature of the website is if you listen to an author’s podcast and find yourself interested in their work, there is a link that allows you to request it from the library.

This site as a whole, including the podcasts, are a reminder of how interactive and web-savvy the new teen generation is and how people developing programs to reach them need to take this into account!

Young Adult Blogs Abound!

In my quest to find and share new and fresh ideas for youth library program, I searched through a few blogs and found some that are quite informative!

Technology is the keyword of the day and being able to quickly and efficiently disseminate information to the masses is luxury we are now afforded. Having the ability to make a post (via a blog, Facebook or discussion board) and gain feedback nearly instantly is the norm, not the exception. Blogs can allow librarians to send out ideas, get new ones, talk and share about what works and what doesn’t and commiserate with people easily!

One I found that I really enjoyed was set up by the state of Florida for their youth library workers - Florida Library Youth Program – to share and find out about what other librarians close (or not so close) to them are accomplishing or starting. They even have an RSS feed! I found it by searching through Google Blogs.

Here’s an excerpt from a post by Stephanie Race about one of my favorite programs, Banned Books Week:

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read (BBW) is observed during the last week of September each year. Observed since 1982, this annual ALA event reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted. BBW celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion, even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular, and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them. After all, intellectual freedom can exist only where the freedom to express oneself and the freedom to choose what opinions and viewpoints to consume are both met.

If you want to read the rest of the post you can find it here at Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read.

Happy Blogging!
Jeana : )

Let's Get Started!

This blog has been created as part of the requirements for my Information Storage and Retrieval (LS 5013-20) class at Texas Women's University, but I hope it will become much more than just a compilation of classwork!

As everyone can guess, I hope to work in a library one day and my heart lies in the creation and implementation of literacy programs aimed at young adults. Libraries have the opportunity to be more than book storage in these modern times - we can help to foster the desire for lifelong learning and assist in providing a place for this occur. My desire is to get in on the "ground floor" and build programs that teens find innovative and interesting.

Throughout this class, I will collect and post items on this topic in the hope that my classmates and I can freely share new and fresh ideas!

~Jeana : )