YA programming roundtable

Last week, NCLS hosted our annual roundtable discussion and cookout, and I had the pleasure of moderating the session on YA programming. Our participants ran the gamut from veteran practitioners to those who had never done any teen programming before but were looking to start. For those of you unable to attend, here are some highlights from that discussion.

How can we best serve teens?

*Make sure you have library staff or volunteers who have a genuine affinity for teens. Saying we want teens in the library falls a little flat if they get the stink-eye upon actually showing up.*

*It definitely helps when library staff working with teens are tuned into pop culture and geek culture. "Anything you can be over-the-top passionate about - that's what they're into."

*A library's teen space should be inviting - but sometimes it can be a little too inviting and attract adults and small children. Floor-centric furniture is one way to keep adults (but not small children) from commandeering a teen space.

How do we/can we reach them?

*Start with a core group and encourage them to invite their friends.

*If you don't have a core group, reach out to other youth-serving organizations (such as schools, the YMCA, scouting groups, etc.) to build one.

*If you're trying to reach teens on social media, make it a point to know which social media platforms your teens are using. Some teens are on Facebook, but Instagram and Vine are also popular.

*But don't discount traditional media sources like the newspaper!

Some successful library programs/innovative ideas discussed:

*Anime club. A timeless classic in YA library programming. But a word to the wise: Changing the name of your anime club does not work. Just call it anime club.
*Doctor Who night / a mini comic-con / anime karaoke / cosplay fashion show.
*A teen-led book club. (And in general, the more input teens have into their programming, the more successful it will be.)
*Gaming - From board games to video games (especially dancing games), games are perennially popular with our teens. 
*An off-to-college cooking class, where the teens learn the basics of how to cook for themselves.
*Writing programs. One library shared a fan-fic contest to rewrite the ending of the Hunger Games trilogy. (I can see this working with the Divergent trilogy as well, and don't even get me started on Harry Potter.) National Novel Writing Month was also mentioned - their Young Writers Program is a great resource for libraries.

And now, my favorite take-away from the discussion:

Remember that not all teen programs have to be located at the library. During the summer, when teens may be on vacation with family or have trouble getting to the library (especially in our rural communities), think about moving your programming online with an art or writing contest. That way, your teens can still be connected with their library crew, even if geography is working against them all meeting in person.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the roundtable discussion. I look forward to having another one soon!