The Truth about Teens: Young Adult Services Training for Children’s Librarians JULY 8, 2003

1. The Truth about Teens:Young Adult Services Training for Children’s LibrariansJULY 8, 2003 • That was Then, This is Now • Adolescent Development • Marketing Programs & Books to Teens • Reader’s Advisory for Teens • Booktalks

2. Our Staff is Trained to Kill

3. Overreaching Tasks for Young Adults • Developing Identity • Can be characterized by the question, “Who are you and what do you represent?” • Seeking Acceptance • Teens will look both to peers and to adults outside of the family for acceptance as they constantly redefine their identity • Managing Excitement • Partially a result of hormones, teens can have an abundance of energy which needs an outlet • Gaining Independence • A gradual increase in independence, responsibility, decision making, and instances of rebellion

4. Early Adolescence (12-14 years) • Movement Towards Independence • Struggle with sense of identity • Moodiness • Improved abilities to use speech to express oneself • More likely to express feelings by action than by words • Close friendships gain importance • Less attention shown to parents, with occasional rudeness • Realization that parents are not perfect; identification of their faults • Search for new people to love in addition to parents • Tendency to return to childish behavior, fought off by excessive activity • Peer group influence interests and clothing styles • Career Interests • Mostly interested in present and near future • Greater ability to work

5. Early Adolescence (12-14 years) • Sexuality • Girls ahead of boys • Same-sex friends and group activities • Shyness, blushing and modesty • Show-off qualities • Greater interest in privacy • Experimentation with body (masturbation) • Worries about being normal • Ethics and Self-Direction • Rule and limit testing • Occasional experimentation with cigarettes, marijuana, and alcohol • Capacity for abstract thought

6. Middle Adolescence • Movement Towards Independence • Self-involvement, alternating between unrealistically high expectations and poor self-concept • Complaints that parents interfere with independence • Extremely concerned with appearance and with one's own body • Feelings of strangeness about one's self and body • Lowered opinion of parents, withdrawal of emotions from them • Effort to make new friends • Strong emphasis on the new peer group with the group identity of selectivity, superiority and competitiveness • Periods of sadness as the psychological loss of the parents takes place • Examination of inner experiences, which may include writing a diary • Career Interests • Intellectual interests gain importance • Some sexual and aggressive energies directed into creative and career interests

7. Middle Adolescence • Sexuality • Concerns about sexual attractiveness • Frequently changing relationships • Movement towards heterosexuality with fears of homosexuality • Tenderness and fears shown towards opposite sex • Feelings of love and passion • Ethics and Self-Description • Development of ideals and selection of role models • More consistent evidence of conscience • Greater capacity for setting goals • Interest in moral reasoning

8. Late Adolescence (17-19 years) • Movement Towards Independence • Firmer identity • Ability to delay gratification • Ability to think ideas through • Ability to express ideas in words • More developed sense of humor • Stable interests • Greater emotional stability • Ability to make independent decisions • Ability to compromise • Pride in one's work • Self-reliance • Greater concern for others • Career Interests • More defined work habits • Higher level of concern for the future • Thoughts about one's role in life

9. Late Adolescence (17-19 years) • Sexuality • Concerned with serious relationships • Clear sexual identity • Capacities for tender and sensual love • Ethics and Self-Direction • Capable of useful insight • Stress on personal dignity and self-esteem • Ability to set goals and follow through • Acceptance of social institutions and cultural traditions • Self-regulation of self esteem

10. Ten Core Values for Library Service to Young AdultsFrom: New Directions for Library Service to Young Adults by Patrick Jones. Chicago: ALA Editions. 2002. (p. 17) • Developmental Needs • Example: online chatting fulfills teens’ need for social interaction • Youth Development • Example: librarians can support healthy, positive youth development by offering programs and promoting reading through booktalking. • Developmental Assets • Example: connecting teens with the information they need promotes healthy relationships and has a positive impact on the community as a whole.. • Youth Advocacy • Example: making a case for materials that appeal to teens, such as Graphic Novels, is one way to advocate for them within the library; another is simply showing them the same respect you would a child or adult. • Youth Participation • Example: use teens to assist with craft programs and take suggestions they make for improvement to library service seriously. This shows respect for their point of view. • Collaboration • Example: anytime you coordinate with a school to do a special program, you are collaborating on behalf on teens, such as the planned Research Methods unit for 8th graders. • Information literacy • Example: when you walk a teen through the process of a google search instead of handing over the information, you promote information literacy and self-sufficiency. • Adolescent literacy • Example: by showing an interest in what teens are reading, librarians strengthen the relationship between a teen and a book. • Learning and achievement • Example: by supporting the school curriculum and assisting with research and homework, libraries play a critical role in the learning and achievement of teens. • Equity of access and intellectual freedom • Example: by offering full and equal access to resources that help teens make the transition into adulthood, libraries support teens.