Transcript POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

~Access Unchained~
“The true mark of a society
is how it supports positive
youth development”
- Peter Benson, founder of the Search Institute
Developing More Than Our
Collections:
the power of assets
Patrick Jones
Connecting Young Adults and
Libraries
http:/www.connectingYA.com
Developing More Than Our Collections:
http://www.search-institute.org
Discovering the
connection
between
libraries and
successful
youth
development
Developing More Than Our Collections:
http://www.connectingya.com
EXTERNAL
INTERNAL
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Support
 Empowerment
 Boundaries
and
expectations
 Constructive use of
time
Commitment
to
learning
 Positive values
 Social competence
 Positive identity
Developing More Than Our Collections:
http://www.search-institute.org

Developmental assets are
the building blocks of
young people’s successful
growth and development
 The more assets young
people have, the more
likely they are to grow up
healthy and become
competent caring adults.
Developing More Than Our Collections:
http://www.search-institute.org
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The more assets a young
person has, the less likely
he/she is to:
Use drugs or alcohol
Smoke or chew
Vandalize
Get into trouble
Choose violence
Skip school
Become depressed/suicidal
Become sexually active
Developing More Than Our Collections:
http://www.connectingya.com
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Assets promote actions (aka
thriving behaviors):
Succeeding in school
Helping others
Valuing diversity
Maintaining good health
Resisting danger
Exhibiting leadership
Delaying gratification
Overcoming adversity
Developing More Than Our Collections:
http://www.search-institute.org
EXTERNAL ASSETS
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Adult relationships
Caring neighborhood
Caring school climate
Parental involvement in
schooling
Community
values
youth
Youth as resources
Service to others
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School boundaries
Neighborhood
boundaries
Adult role models
Positive
peer
influence
High expectations
Creative activities
Youth programs
Developing More Than Our Collections:
http://www.connectingya.com
INTERNAL ASSETS
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Achievement motivation
 School engagement
 Homework
 Bonding to school
 Reading for pleasure
 Responsibility
 Integrity
 Honesty
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Caring
 Planning
 Interpersonal
competence
 Cultural competence
 Personal power
 Self-esteem
 Sense of purpose
 Positive view of the
future
Libraries Change Lives
Developing More Than Our Collections:
http://www.connectingya.com
 The
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four empowerment assets:
Community values youth
Youth as resources
Service to others
Safety
(from Search Institute’s 40 Developmental assets)
Developing More Than Our Collections:
http://www.connectingya.com
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Sustainable financial commitment
Involve youth in our discussions
Improve access
Form partnerships
Reach out
Train our staff
Develop youth programs
Commit to connecting
Developing More Than Our Collections:
http://www.search-institute.org
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Six key principals of asset building
All children and youth need assets
Everyone can build assets
Asset building is an on going process
Relationships are key
Delivering consistent messages
Duplication and repetition are
essential
Developing More Than Our Collections:
http://www.connectingya.com
 Your
empowerment story
1. Provide the name of an adult who
empowered you as a teen
2. Share that story
3. Provide the name of a teen that
you as an adult have empowered
4. Share that story
How do we interest teens
in the library?
Urban Libraries Council’s Public Libraries as
Partners in Youth Development project found
that youth want much more than to simply be
passive recipients of library services
 INVOLVEMENT is a key component of
coolness
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Why should librarians get youth
involved in libraries?
“Our jobs are not just running libraries;
we’re part of a community.” - Evie
Wilson-Lingbloom
Young people already come to us for help.
 Libraries can provide a non-threatening
haven for young people.
Good reasons for youth
involvement - Core Values
The core of core values for youth
involvement projects is youth
participation
 Other core values met by good youth
involvement programs includes
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Developmental needs
Youth development
Collaboration
Learning and achievement
Good programs meet these
developmental assets as well
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Other supportive adult  Youth program
relationships
participation
 Community values
 Helping other people
youth
 Responsibility
 Youth as resources
 Planning and decision
 Service to others
making
 Safety
 Personal power
 Adult role models
 Self-esteem
 Positive peer influence
 High expectations
 Sense of purpose
 Achievement motivation
Ways to involve teens
As volunteers: advisory groups,
assisting with or running programs,
actively contributing to the library;
freeing up professional staff time
 As paid staff: not just shelvers anymore!
 As interns, paid or unpaid: giving teens
the skills they need in the job market
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Overview of best practices
topic areas
Teen Advisory Groups
Tutoring
Teens and tykes
Tapping teen creativity
Special projects
TEEN ADVISORY GROUPS
Teen Advisory Groups
TAB: Teen Advisory Board,
Arlington (VA) Public Library
Cooperative program of public
library/schools
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• review best books
• attend ALA meetings, author talks, workshops
• have testified at county board budget hearings on behalf of the
library
• contribute articles to the monthly TAB newsletter
• spoke at an open house for teens and their parents about
“Books I’d Like My Parents to Read”
• and more!
Top 3 reasons we loved
Arlington’s TAB program
1. Encourages teens to read for pleasure
2. Gives YA books peer “seal of approval”
for booktalks and displays in library
3. Builds relationships between young
adults and library staff - which has
grown beyond the book-reviewing role
Making a Teen Advisory Board
work in other libraries
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Contact local schools and work with
teacher/media specialist to recruit YAs
 Contact publishers to get advance copies
for review
 Meet at schools (lunch or before/after school)
where teens are anyway
 Invite teens to brainstorm other activities they
can do at the library
Other great Teen Advisory Group
programs
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Young Adult Council, Danbury (CT)
Public Library
 Teen Advisory Board, Mesa County
Public Library, Grand Junction, CO
 Young Adult Library Advisory Board,
Broward County (FL) Public Libraries
 Teen Library Council Annual Book Buying
Trip, Carmel Clay Public Library, Carmel, IN
TUTORING
Tutoring
Bits and Bytes Tech Team
Assistants, Philadelphia Free Library
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80% of Philadelphia public school students qualify for
free lunches
 The dropout rate is 30%
 Program intensively trains teens as paid technology
assistants to help library customers using the Internet
and computers
 Funded by Model Urban Library Services (William
Penn Foundation)
 So many teens want to become TTA’s that they
began a program for TTA volunteers who can move
into the paid positions when they become available
Top 3 reasons we loved the Bits
and Bytes TTA program
1. Fosters a positive view of a teen’s
personal future
2. They also learn conflict resolution
3. Trains teens in information literacy
Making Bits and Bytes work in
other libraries
Bits and Bytes has a $1.8 million budget
over three years
 Look for technology grants, or
collaborate with a local group
 Consider using volunteers recruited
from local high schools
 May need to carefully target the
program to the times when assistance is
most needed
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Other great tutoring programs
Techno Teens, King County (WA)
Public Library
 Math Peer Tutoring Center, Brooklyn
(NY) Public Library
 PASS (Partners for Achieving School
Success), Oakland (CA) Public Library
 Drop-in Math Homework Help, Monroe
County Public Library, Bloomington, IN
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TEENS AND TYKES
Teens and tykes
Dascaloja Puppeteers,
Clearwater (FL) Public Library
Young adults learn the art of
puppeteering and performance
 The teens prepare and present a
puppet show seven times a week during
the summer, including plays, skits, and
other live-action activities
 In 1996, more than 20 teens
volunteered a total of 1,653 hours!
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Top 3 reasons we loved the
Dascaloja Puppeteers
1. Young adults have active input
in creating the content of the
program
2. Young adults are developing
self-esteem
3. Self-perpetuating program
Making a teen-puppeteering
program work in other libraries
You don’t need a lot of teens: the
program started with just 5 volunteers
 Use materials you already have or
donations for the puppets, props, and
sets
 Replace regular programming with the
teen-generated program, and your
supervisory time won’t necessarily
increase
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Other examples of fun stuff done
by teens for younger kids
Reading aloud:
North Regional branch of the
Minneapolis Public Library
Outreach:
R.O.A.R. Corps, Winchester (MA)
Public Library
Summer reading programs:
Thompson Lane Branch of the Public
Library of Nashville and Davidson
County (TN)
TAPPING TEEN CREATIVITY
Tapping teen creativity
Dreams of Ours: A ’Zine by Teens for
Teens, Minneapolis Public Library
’Zines = self-published magazines
 The MPL teens’ ’zine is a vehicle for self-expression,
mostly art, poetry, book reviews, and music reviews
 Published 3 times a year - 2,000 copies distributed
through libraries, schools, and other community
sources involved with youth
 Also appears online at the MPL website
www.mplib.org/webforteens.asp
 “Our mission was to give a voice to Minneapolis
teens who might not have had one previously.” Maureen Hartmann, young adult specialist
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What’s great about the MPL ’zine
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Produced by Teen Advisory Group of
15-20 students, 9th to 11th grade
 The YA specialist who facilitates the group
has tied the program to the Search Institute’s
developmental needs of young adolescents
 While she offers guidance, she leaves much
of the work and decision-making to the teens
Tips for other libraries that want
to create ’zines
Get a small grant to fund production
costs or see if a local printer will donate
time and materials
 Plan for staff time to facilitate the project
 Get staff support
 Work with schools to solicit submissions
(for example, from art and English
classes)
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Other great programs that tap
teens’ creativity:
Displays:
Coshocton
(Ohio)
Public
Library
http://cplrmh.com/buildatree.html
Other great programs that tap
teens’ creativity:
Readers theater:
Enchilada Players, San Antonio (TX) Central
Library
Recommending reads:
Woonsocket (Rhode Island) Middle School
helps select Quick Picks for Reluctant Young
Adult Readers
Multicultural festivals:
Broward County Main Library,
Fort Lauderdale, FL
SPECIAL PROJECTS
Special projects
Spanish Dial-A-Story, Washoe
County Library, Reno, Nevada
Hispanic teens interviewed their families
and put their traditional tales on tape for
Spanish language story tapes
 Learned copyright laws and researched
the origins of the stories
 Promoted the tapes at elementary
schools and community centers
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Top three reasons we loved
Spanish Dial-A-Story
1. Teens participated in a creative
activity
2. Teens developed interpersonal
competence
3. The program fostered positive
family communication
Making Spanish Dial-A-Story
work in other libraries
Look at the cultural heritages in the
community
 Adapt the program to another format if
oral storytelling is not a common form of
cultural transmission
 Work with local ESL teachers to recruit
participants
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Other great special projects
Sidekicks: Kids & Seniors Together,
Clermont County Library, Batavia, OH
 UWY-598, Tampa-Hillsborough County
Public Library, Wimauma, FL
 Copy and Design Center, Public Library
of Charlotte (NC) and Mecklenburg
County
 WebLinks, Flint (MI) Public Library
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Essential ingredients of a successful
youth involvement program
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Teens are drawn from the surrounding community
 Structured recruitment, communication, policies,
and training
 Youth and libraries each benefit and contribute in a
meaningful way
 Youth’s input is not only sought, but respected
and valued
 Libraries show they appreciate the youth’s efforts
 Programs include feedback/evaluation and
modification
Developing More Than Our Collections:
http://www.search-institute.org
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What next?
Act
Seek support
Stretch yourself
Expand what you know
Tell others
Stick with it
Connecting Young Adults and Libraries
Patrick Jones
http://www.connectingya.com
Consulting,
training, and
coaching for providing
powerful youth services
including library card
campaigns and web
projects
[email protected]