Passive Programming: Teen Tech Week

I'm a big Teen Tech Week (TTW) person, so I had to celebrate this year, of course.  It would be our library's first TTW celebration, so I wanted to do something small.  I chose to go out on a bit of a limb and do another scavenger hunt.  This time, it was for QR Codes/TinyURLs in the teen area.  Teens were required to find 6 codes and then entered into a drawing to win a $25 gift certificate.  Scavenger hunt pieces looked like this:

I chose websites that were somehow related to the library like our OverDrive site (the link listed above) or our new Facebook page and made the links into TinyURLs with a free generator (I used tinyurl.com).  I then put the TinyUrl into a free QR Code generator, http://qrcode.kaywa.com/.  QR Codes could be scanned with a barcode scanner from a smartphone or iPod touch.

Participation was small, but I did use it as an opportunity to show several kids new technology.  One girl didn't know about QR Codes or barcode scanners and was excited to hear about them, especially when it came to books with them on them.  A boy didn't know we had eBooks to borrow online and stated that he was going to tell his friends all about it.  

So, even though participation was small, I still see it as a success, especially as several of my coworkers insist that this is not a technologically savvy area. 

Teen Advisory Group (TAG) Meeting

I attended my first Teen Advisory Group (TAG) Meeting.  Such a great group!  It has been run by our Library Assistant, Cindy, who has done such awesome things before I joined the library.  Currently, the only teen programming my library has is TAG.  This is something I plan to change in the future, but it's at least a start.  

We talked about many things, but my favorite time was discussing what the teens want to do with their teen area.  It's currently just a corner of the library and adults visit it more than teens because there are electrical outlets in the area.  The furniture was probably the original furniture from the 90's when the building was built.  Needless to say, the teen area is not teen friendly and this needs to be fixed.  

We had a great brainstorming session about those things they would want if they could have anything in the teen area.  Many things were predictable like having their own space, gaming systems, comfortable seating and bright colors, but I also learned that the group is very artsy.  Many wanted space and materials to do art.  Others wanted areas to play and arrange music.  One girl wished that we could have an underground area where they could do loud stuff (like an underground club) and keep the above area quiet for those who wanted to study.  It was such a fun and invigorating discussion.    

We also had the TAG members look through some furniture catalogs and pick out a few of the items they liked best.  There were a few surprises there as well.  

Of course, we can't make all of their wishes come true, but I'd really like some of the basics like dedicated space (a glass wall/partition would be great) and teen-friendly seating.  Complying with at least some of YALSA's teen space guidelines would be fabulous.  I'm not ashamed to admit that teens are my favorite age group to work with and I really would like them to feel they have ownership in the library.  A compliant teen area is a good start.  I have big hopes for updating the space, but we'll see what we can do with the money we've been given.  

Next month, TAG will be going on a field trip to the local bookseller to purchase materials for our shelf.  I'm looking forward to seeing what the teens pick out.