Donna P. Miller
Crash Course in Teen Services
Workshop
Speaker Bio
Donna Miller has worked in public and school libraries for over 20 years. She has also been a middle school band director, music teacher, and assistant high school band director, as well as an elementary music teacher. She has been an avid fan of "teenagers" for most of her life, and she believes that serving teens in libraries is critical to helping them develop life-long skills for living and becoming responsible citizens. Donna has served as a presenter and educational consultant to public and school library staffs, as well as other organizations, and she has given numerous presentations on a variety of topics at regional and state conferences. She has co-authored two books - Developing an Integrated Library Program with J'Lynn Anderson and Day by Day: Professional Journaling for Library Media Specialists, as well as authoring a third book titled The Standards-Based Integrated Library Program. Donna has a strong belief that all libraries, regardless of type, should provide a sense of "place" for our customers -- especially for our teen customers. She is currently the Library Media Coordinator for the Mesa County Valley School District in Grand Junction, Colorado. Donna is serving on the ALA/Children's Book Council Joint Committee, the Executive Board of the Colorado Association of Libraries, the One Book, One Mesa County Advisory Board, and she is the Board President of the Marmot Library Network consortium of libraries across the Western Slope of Colorado.
The Course Book
Learn about the world of today's teens and how to communicate with this very important segment of your library's audience. Gather ideas for enlisting help from teachers and school librarians in planning programming to bring teens to the library. Examples of "real life" reference interviews follow a list of tools to have at the teen reference desk. The essential elements of building teen collection and reader's advisory services are presented with ideas for creating a teen friendly library. Information will be useful to librarians in smaller libraries and persons assigned to teen services as a part of their other duties.
Crash Course in Teen Services Workshop
Prepared specifically for new teen librarians, paraprofessional staff who work in the Young Adult department of public libraries, and other library staff who fill in at the Young Adult department periodically, this all-day workshop covers a wide array of topics particular to Teen Services. Today's teen culture, reference interviews and techniques, collections for teens, reader's advisory services and formats, programming for teens, the physical teen space, and professional growth and development in the library field will be discussed. Highlighting areas of her book Crash Course in Teen Services, author Donna Miller will also elaborate on areas of interest to the audience, facilitate interactive exercises on the topics, and answer questions. The workshop compliments but does not include all of the content in the book, and it can be tailored to focus on certain issues critical to the audience.
Sample of an All Day Teen Services Workshop
9am: Introductions and Needs Assessment: Introduction to the author, brief introduction of workshop participants and the positions they currently hold, knowledge level of participants, and what they are interested in learning today will be examined. Definition of "Teen Services" in libraries and different models that can be implemented will be addressed. An overview of the workshop, brief description of the Crash Course in Teen Services book and how it is more comprehensive and can be used along with the workshop content will be presented.
9:20am: Today's Teen Culture: The world that teens live in today will be discussed and explored. Teen issues, language, and fads will be presented, and field-tested tips for relating to teens will be provided.
9:45am: Reference: The reference process and reference interviewing techniques will be presented and practiced. Tips for asking good questions and communicating with teachers and school librarians, as well as various print and electronic resources will be examined. The Big6 Information Problem-Solving model will be defined, especially as it relates to homework assignments. Participants will be given the opportunity to role-play a reference interview with a "teen" customer.
10:15am: The Teen Collection: Collection development and maintenance of the teen collection will be discussed, and a variety of types of material will be presented. Issues involving intellectual freedom and dealing with challenges will be presented. Participants will examine specific types of challenges to material and develop solutions and processes for addressing them.
10:45am: Break
Noon: Lunch
1:00pm: Programming for Teens: Definitions, types of programs, the planning process, and a sampling of effective programs will be included. Summer reading programs and school visits will also be addressed. Ideas will be provided that can be immediately implemented in participants' libraries!
2:00pm: Break
2:45pm: Creating a Teen-Friendly Library: If you "build it, they will come!" is the underlying philosophy for having a successful teen program in your library. This section of the workshop will focus on developing a vital, relevant, safe, comfortable, desirable environment in the library to entice teens to visit the library and keep them coming back. Participants will work in group to generate additional ideas for making their libraries more "teen-friendly."
3:30pm The Three P's: Suggestions for continued professional growth and development will be presented, with an emphasis on simple ways for library staff to remain current in their practice and develop a collegial support network.
4:00pm: Conclusion and Wrap-Up: Participants will evaluate the workshop and give suggestions for future sessions. Workshop ends at 4:15 pm.
Contact Information
Sheila Lucier, Workshop Coordinator
Sheila.lucier@greenwood.com
800-225-5800 ext 1353
Debby LaBoon
Workshop Manager
Libraries Unlimited
dlaboon@abc-clio.com
803-547-5206
Flyer in PDF
A copy of this info is available for download as a PDF flyer.