Using social networking to connect teens with young adult literature

Saeteurn, Chi.

Hilbun, J. (2011). Using social networking to connect teens with young adult literature. Public Libraries, 50(3), 42-49.

Summary: Hilbun writes about the different ways that youth services librarians can connect with teens through social media platforms. Hilbun begins by highlighting the importance of librarians in connecting teens to reading. While there is a misconception that teens no longer read, teens are reading but what they are reading has slightly changed. Teens continue to read traditionally, such as books and required reading for school, but they are also reading websites, text messages, blogs, Facebook, and other social media nowadays. Thus, youth services librarians can step up and incorporate Web 2.0 tools in order to reach teens in platforms that they popularly converge. One step would be making the library webpage more appealing and teen-friendly and other methods include incorporating blogs, contests for teens to make video book reviews and trailers, online book clubs, book-sharing sites such as Goodreads, Facebook/Myspace, Twitter and RSS, and Avatars and Second Life. It is important to attract teens through these various platforms as well as keep teens engaged by asking their input.

Evaluation: Hilbun continues the push to incorporate more Web 2.0 technologies, providing informative examples of free tools to use. The section on the library webpage as a way to attract teens offered examples and links to public libraries with great teen webpages in order to provide the reader with a visual understanding. The promotion of author blogs and book-sharing sites as a way for teens to connect to literature provides a refreshing look at what resources teens may find valuable. Librarians can use the free Web 2.0 technologies to their advantage by creating a space to not only connect teens to literature, but to also enable teens to take an active role. These tools are useful especially as a way to promote the available collections at the library and to also solicit feedback on what teens would like to see added to the collection.

I would personally like to see the teen webpage of my library system redone in order to attract more teens.