Question 5- How do you find out about books you want to read and
events you want to attend?
Image courtesy of Creative Commons user - fredthechicken
Teen 1: (12-year-old female) from laura peowski Teen 2: (15-year-old male) most of the books i read i get from my little sister or my friends recommend them Teen 3: (14-year-old female) I google them, ask my friends. go to barnes and noble, sometimes i just buy it if it sounds good lol Teen 4: (14-year-old female) usually the bookstore or from my friends Teen 5: (14-year-old female) I find out a lot of the books I read from my older sister and then i branch out to the same authors who wrote different books. I also go by what some of my friends requested that are good books. Teen 6:(17-year-old female) I use facebook, family, friends, and school. I look for posters at school, facebook posts or inboxs. I sometimes look in the newspaper. If my friends hear about an event/book they usually inform me. Teen 7:(17-year-old female) I usually find books that I want to read by going to Barnes and noble and looking around or going on paperback book swap online. I read the summaries of the books and if they sound interesting then I get them. Events that I want to go to, I usually find on facebook. Facebook tells me everything. I get information from all those sources…facebook, friends, family, school, newspaper (very occasionally) other websites that show news articles like yahoo homepage…. Teen 8:(17-year-old female) Books- the school library. Or I borrow them from friends / teachers. I don't understand what you mean by "how do i find events I want to go to?" I suppose just word of mouth. Teen 9:(18-year-old female) I search through the newspaper or listen to wat my friends have to say about what is new and good out. Teen 10:(15-year-old female) I ask friends what books they are reading. I ask if they think its good. If they say yes i read the back of the book and decide for myself. I also go to like Barnes and Noble or Border's and check out the literature that i like and see if there is anything i can relate to and if there is i write it down and im come home and google it and read about it to see if its a truely good read.
Amber's Analysis: Unsurprisingly, friends play a large role as critics and sources of information. Second to that are family members and bookstores, mixed with several online sources. Friends are trusted sources, and therefore teens naturally consider what their friends say as honest and important. Spreading information and news about events is a very social thing that is facilitated by technology like texting and Facebook. The interesting thing in this section is the use of bookstores as places that the teens get book ideas. The materials are the most recent and popular books/magazines/music available. Bookstores are also almost unanimously more inviting than libraries, so naturallty teens congragate there. Walking through a bookstore past interesting displays with a cappuccino is easier and more fun than walking through dark, crowded bookstacks in a library that doesn't necessarily want you to borrow anything. A welcoming atmosphere and teen-centric advertising will help libraries become information hubs for teens in the area.
Laura's Analysis: Again what this boils down to is word of mouth and trust, oh and bookstores. Now that we know what teens want all we need to do is give it to them. Using texting and Facebook to get info to teens is a great idea. They can be used to alert teens when there is an upcoming event at a library or teens can get alerts when new books are added to the collection. New books can be displayed on a table and accompanied by a short review or two by library staff (if the person has a good relationship with the teens) and other teens. This way we are giving teens the ease and convenience of a bookstore with the friendly recommendation/review they desire. It would be great if the library had a cafe, but for many that just isn't feasible. However, just allowing teens to bring in their own drinks would be a huge step in the right direction. There are at least three coffee shops within walking distance to my town library and they are definitely frequented by local teens. If these teens could bring their drinks with them into the teen area they probably wouldn't hang out in front of the library all brooding and menacing looking. Finally, if we are going to change the atmosphere of the library we really need to get the word out. Nearly every person I talk to about libraries sees them as quiet places for getting books and conducting research. It's not enough for librarians to talk about changing library's we need to get the buy-in from the community, and in this case the teen community especially.
Question 5- How do you find out about books you want to read and
events you want to attend?
Teen 1: (12-year-old female) from laura peowski
Teen 2: (15-year-old male) most of the books i read i get from my little sister or my friends recommend them
Teen 3: (14-year-old female) I google them, ask my friends. go to barnes and noble, sometimes i just buy it if it sounds good lol
Teen 4: (14-year-old female) usually the bookstore or from my friends
Teen 5: (14-year-old female) I find out a lot of the books I read from my older sister and then i branch out to the same authors who wrote different books. I also go by what some of my friends requested that are good books.
Teen 6: (17-year-old female) I use facebook, family, friends, and school. I look for posters at school, facebook posts or inboxs. I sometimes look in the newspaper. If my friends hear about an event/book they usually inform me.
Teen 7: (17-year-old female) I usually find books that I want to read by going to Barnes and noble and looking around or going on paperback book swap online. I read the summaries of the books and if they sound interesting then I get them. Events that I want to go to, I usually find on facebook. Facebook tells me everything. I get information from all those sources…facebook, friends, family, school, newspaper (very occasionally) other websites that show news articles like yahoo homepage….
Teen 8: (17-year-old female) Books- the school library. Or I borrow them from friends / teachers. I don't understand what you mean by "how do i find events I want to go to?" I suppose just word of mouth.
Teen 9: (18-year-old female) I search through the newspaper or listen to wat my friends have to say about what is new and good out.
Teen 10: (15-year-old female) I ask friends what books they are reading. I ask if they think its good. If they say yes i read the back of the book and decide for myself. I also go to like Barnes and Noble or Border's and check out the literature that i like and see if there is anything i can relate to and if there is i write it down and im come home and google it and read about it to see if its a truely good read.
Amber's Analysis: Unsurprisingly, friends play a large role as critics and sources of information. Second to that are family members and bookstores, mixed with several online sources. Friends are trusted sources, and therefore teens naturally consider what their friends say as honest and important. Spreading information and news about events is a very social thing that is facilitated by technology like texting and Facebook. The interesting thing in this section is the use of bookstores as places that the teens get book ideas. The materials are the most recent and popular books/magazines/music available. Bookstores are also almost unanimously more inviting than libraries, so naturallty teens congragate there. Walking through a bookstore past interesting displays with a cappuccino is easier and more fun than walking through dark, crowded bookstacks in a library that doesn't necessarily want you to borrow anything. A welcoming atmosphere and teen-centric advertising will help libraries become information hubs for teens in the area.
Laura's Analysis: Again what this boils down to is word of mouth and trust, oh and bookstores. Now that we know what teens want all we need to do is give it to them. Using texting and Facebook to get info to teens is a great idea. They can be used to alert teens when there is an upcoming event at a library or teens can get alerts when new books are added to the collection. New books can be displayed on a table and accompanied by a short review or two by library staff (if the person has a good relationship with the teens) and other teens. This way we are giving teens the ease and convenience of a bookstore with the friendly recommendation/review they desire. It would be great if the library had a cafe, but for many that just isn't feasible. However, just allowing teens to bring in their own drinks would be a huge step in the right direction. There are at least three coffee shops within walking distance to my town library and they are definitely frequented by local teens. If these teens could bring their drinks with them into the teen area they probably wouldn't hang out in front of the library all brooding and menacing looking. Finally, if we are going to change the atmosphere of the library we really need to get the word out. Nearly every person I talk to about libraries sees them as quiet places for getting books and conducting research. It's not enough for librarians to talk about changing library's we need to get the buy-in from the community, and in this case the teen community especially.