Serving Teens Through Readers’ Advisory by Heather Booth
My rating: 4/5 cats
this is an excellent and approachable textbook, or maybe i just love the subject matter. not the teen part—i am pretty regularly irritated by the teenagers i come into contact with on a daily basis, but this book makes me want to be less annoyed; it presents situations that are ideal and rewarding and makes me want to be a better person and be the best librarian ever instead of, “that bitch that scowls at the teenagers sprawled on the floor bending back the covers of books with their loud voices and backsass.”
if you have read the saricks books for adult readers’ advisory; one or two, this is going to be repetitive, and not as comprehensive; it is about half the size, but this one focuses on many things that are teen-specific, which are largely psychological and useful if you are going to be working with the little monsters in the field. this works as a good supplement to the other book, so get on it, and start recommending some books to teens already.
the big difference between younger patrons and the rest is that with adults, reading patterns have already been established. teens are less immutable, so you have the opportunity to really expand a reader’s horizons, without being dismissed immediately on the grounds that “i don’t read those kinds of books.”
YOU WILL READ WHAT I TELL YOU TO READ!!!
another exciting opportunity is with the teens who aren’t even hanging out at the library to read the books, they are there for the porny computers or a place to interact with their peers when it is cold outside and free inside, and they can go make out in the corners somewhere. but, if you can get their clothes back on them and hand them the one right book, you may be able to turn someone who is reading only the stuff they have to read for school (or not) into a reader, you know?? making that one right recommendation may turn one of them into one of us.
and the ones that are already reading may not have the best taste, but they can probably be swayed into giving a book a chance, if it is presented in the right way for them. play up the elements of more challenging books that teens are naturally going to respond to: sex and death and danger and violence and whatever the kids are into these days; pogs?? jelly shoes?? teens are fickle—their tastes are still evolving. vampires won’t last forever, guys—you are going to have to keep up with some trends—read some teeny magazines, ask the kids who are already responsive to your advances, get to know what is happening so you can predict the next fad and adapt your displays accordingly.
and honestly, even if they are only reading the crappy teen fiction, god bless ’em. at least they are reading something other than text messages. and someone needs to grow up to buy all the danielle steel books and those cheesy romance novels! it is something at least. help it to blossom.
there are many tips on the ways in which teens are different than the grown: there is a chapter on reading teen body language/posturing—either, “yes, please approach me and teach me all about books, please” or “stay away, old lady—i am too cool for library.” sometimes, you are going to have to use tactics from nature; to isolate one from the group and pounce with your availability and book-knowledge.
this is why display are so important. teens don’t really want to talk to some old cat-hair covered spectacled librarian about their interests, but if you make good enough displays—no one ever needs to talk. they will see the books and be drawn to them and everyone gets to stay in their own bubbles of existence. that is the dream, for me. remote readers’ advisory.
the fact that teens are choosing the library as a place to hang out—whether it is for the books or otherwise, is a step in the right direction. tread carefully. do not rock that boat.
and you have to be prepared for the mood swings. oh, yes. just because a teen likes you once you have isolated them and you have bonded ever so sweetly does not mean they will make eye contact with you when they are with their friends. you are the same as a parent—you are not cool.
that is another thing—do not try to be cool.
no teen is going to respect you for using their expressions and it will dissolve your authority if you use last week’s slang. it will be an “epic fail.” see what i mean?? i sound like an asshole.
the book also talks about “sensitive subjects” that may cause the teen shyness or embarrassment in their approach. this i find hilarious because at my store, all i ever seem to get from teens is the swagger-approach of a hickey-studded young male with one hand clamped onto a girls arm or butt or boob and the other on his junk yelling “where the sex books at??” so, yeah, not the shyest. but i assume there are some out there for whom the adult gymnastics are still mysterious and embarrassing. so there is a chapter about how to handle blushing whispered requests for books about sex or pregnancy or venereal diseases or abuse or eating disorders.
there is a chapter about dealing with teens when their parents are there, and the ways to appear to be listening to the parent but really focusing on the child, who is the true patron it is a delicate balancing act, but is a pretty important skill to master. and dealing with censor-parents, ugh.
all in all, a great textbook. there are many handy lists in the back for quick reference, and it is so much more fun than my information representation and retrieval textbook, i can’t even stress it enough.
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