{"id":12,"date":"2026-06-20T20:06:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T20:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/fromstackstonetworks\/?p=12"},"modified":"2026-06-20T20:09:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T20:09:22","slug":"assignment-x-some-initial-thoughts-about-getting-teens-in-the-school-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/fromstackstonetworks\/2026\/06\/20\/assignment-x-some-initial-thoughts-about-getting-teens-in-the-school-library\/","title":{"rendered":"Assignment X: Some Initial Thoughts About Getting Teens in the School Library"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reading \u201cLibrary 2.0\u201d (Casey & Savastinuk, 2007) felt inspiring, like when someone brings fresh ideas to you that tickles your mind and gets you to connect that perspective with your personal experience in order to push an idea further. It also felt right, like it made sense, almost common sense. I particularly clicked with the tenet of \u201creaching out to potential library users\u201d (p.5). As a prospective teacher librarian who just did fieldwork, I noticed that I often saw the same students though we have a huge school and I was there only two afternoons a week. I would be curious to know the percentage of students who never come to our school library outside of a class. Just like Casey & Savastinuk ask \u201cWhy aren\u2019t we reaching those not using our services, and what do we have to do to reach them?\u201d (2007, p.16) , I\u2019m wondering how to get these students in the school library.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2013 Pew Report<\/span><\/a> reports about what people want to find in libraries, but it did not really address too precisely what teens would like to find there. After a bit of a search, I dug out a more recent <\/span>Pew report<\/span><\/a> (2024) about teens and video games: 85% of US teens play video games and as much as 40% of them identify as gamers. The picture displaying <\/span>the Portland Public Library in Maine<\/span><\/a>, I visited their website.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Teens compete in a video game tournament at the Portland Public Library in Maine in 2018. (Ben McCanna\/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It offers so many cool ideas of resources, programs and services directly targeted at teens such as the EBSCO Learning website to prepare for life after high school, driving tests, video game Thursdays & Fridays, the teen art table with professional-grade supplies., a nature photography program, and many more!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It is obvious that as public libraries are changing, schools are changing, and therefore school libraries need to change as well. If they don\u2019t, they will not meet their students’ needs and interests. As a teacher librarian, having a diverse and relevant collection and providing media literacy as well as instruction that allows our students to be successful in their classes is a top priority. Another top priority is reading engagement. And I do not see how you will get reading engagement if they don\u2019t even come to the library. I believe that if students start seeing the library as a space they enjoy going to (and that can be for ANY reason), they may start to also engage more with reading literacy. And here I do not mean to sound like I\u2019m trying to lure teens into the library to set them up with a book asap! I genuinely want them to feel welcome and comfortable here. Regardless of the end goal. If they end up picking up an interest in reading, I\u2019m not going to complain ! But if they come and end up honing their video edit skills or simply socializing with friends over <\/span>shared interests, I will take that too. A bit like the HOMAGO concept (Hanging Out Messing Around Geeking Out) described <\/span>in O\u2019Brien<\/span><\/a> article, \u201cthe youth will engage on a higher level eventually, but they have to get comfortable. And for some of them, their lives are really high pressure, so they appreciate that this is a chill space\u201c (2019).<\/span><\/p>\n