Teens, Technology, and Libraries: An Uncertain Relationship

Thoai Truong

Agosto, D.E. Magee, R. M.  Dickard, M.  Forte, A. (2016, July). Teens, technology, and libraries: An

          uncertain relationship. Library Quarterly, 86(3), 248-269. Retrieved from   

          http://www.journals.uchicago.edu.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/686673

Descriptive Summary:

The goal of this study is to find the relationship betwee teens, libraries, and technology.  25 high school students were surveyed and interviewed at an urban magnet public school.  They all volunteered and were paid $20 for their time.  Students were asked about their most recent library visit.  What exactly did the do in the library and why?  The data collected revealed that most students use the library for social interaction and leisure opportunities.  Most claimed that their limited library use was due to a library being equated with books.  They also viewed the library as having limited resources.  The physical space of the library became a place to do things for non library purposes.  Overall, the library was not a place where students were seeking to use technology.  Most had access to the Internet and computer at home. There were a small number of students that enjoyed checking out books over e-books.

Evaluation:

Although the research only surveyed 25 students, it provided insight into the thinking of teenagers. Today most families have Internet access at home and a smart phone, which makes information retrieval at the library not very important.  Their reasoning and purpose for library use makes sense. I would like more students to be interviewed. I would also like to see if this is the same sentiment across the United States. Follow up questions allowed for more understanding to their reasons for using/not using the library. I like the fact that the researchers allowed the students to define the library.

Perhaps we are seeing more maker spaces and learning commons taking shape in libraries due to this attitude by teenagers.  Libraries are trying to draw in patrons, and need to find alternative ways, besides technology, which is no longer the main draw to libraries.

Review of: Teens, Technology, and Libraries

by Lindsay Lamar Schweizer

Agosto, D. E., Magee, R. M. Dickard, M., & Forte, A. (2016). Teens, technology, and libraries: An uncertain relationship. Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy, 86(3), 248-269.


This paper aims to look at how public and school libraries are meeting the information needs of teenagers. While the authors thought there had been research into how teenagers use technology, there hadn't been sufficient research on where school and public libraries fit into that equation.

Because this paper was published in 2016, I felt like it had relevant information for today. In the past, I have looked at information on the digital divide, and there are certainly portions of our population who have less access to computers and other technology. But I found it noteworthy that this article cited research from 2013 that indicates that 93% of teens have a computer at home, 78% of teens have a cell phone, and 37% of them are smart phones (Agosto, Magee, Dickard, and Forte, 2016, p. 248). So while it is still a valid idea that teens may need to use a library for its technology, it may not be the main reason, and it may shift students' perception of what they need from a library.

The authors did surveys and interviews with students at a high school. This particular paper focused on the in-depth interviews, as this was the form in which student perception of libraries was measured. Not surprisingly, most students in the study still equate libraries with books (Agosto et al., 2016, p. 255). About 40% of the students viewed libraries as obsolete, and do not connect technology with libraries, but rather in competition with what is easily available to them through the Internet (Agosto et al., 2016, p. 257). In fact, "these students also tended to view technology as easier and quicker to use than libraries. As one of the boys explained: 'Because everyone is so tech-based, it is kind of pointless to go into the library anymore' (age 17)" (Agosto et al., 2016, p. 258).

However, students were also asked about the reasons that they use a library. Library use seemed to focus around social opportunities, and use for leisure reading and leisure music. One student talked about being dragged to the library by a friend because he needed to check out something but had fines on his card so wanted to use hers. When they got there, they discovered a game night activity that was going on. They had so much fun that they started regularly attending it (Agosto et al., 2016, p. 258-259). Another student needed a couple books from her public library because they weren't in her school library, and rediscovered how great a space it was to work (Agosoto et al., 2016, p. 259).

Of important note, among the teens in the study, only 8% used the library for its technology (and one cited that it was because of technology malfunction at home, rather than no technology ever) (Agosto, et al., 2016, p. 259). The paper emphasized that the perceptions of libraries are outdated for teens, and some effort needs to be made to rebrand them for teens as a social space that can also be a quiet place to work as well.

Towards the end of the paper, the authors point out:

Just because the teens in this study tended to be infrequent library users does not mean that they were infrequent information users or infrequent information searchers.... For students with high levels of technology access, such as those in our study, librarians acting as technology educators to teach teens sophisticated information searching and resource evaluation and how to arm their phones or computers with available resources would probably be more useful than positioning libraries as technology access points. Thus, this work suggests an additional shift from the traditional focus on librarians as resource providers to librarians as information educators. (Agosto et al., 2016, p. 263)

I thought the insight of teaching teens how to access resources on their own devices was a powerful observation. If more and more people are walking around with a computer in their pocket, how can libraries arm them with what they need when both in the library walls and at home? Maybe libraries become less and less of a physical technology access point, but become a virtual one as well. And then maybe we look at the different ways that the physical space can meet other needs as well.

Social Media - Uses for Libraries

Bonaventure-Larson, Nichole

Wetta, M. (2016). Instagram Now. School Library Journal, 62(2), 30-32.

Summary: This short article outlines how libraries can use the social media application Instagram for the promotion of their programs, inclusion of their teenage patrons in goings on at the library, and the significance of the image-based site over other resources like Twitter.

Evaluation: I though this is was a really interesting short piece. I think Wetta makes some pretty good points about the simplicity of including an Instagram account in your promotional planning. She also makes several good points about the inclusion of day to day library life - such as posting photos of new books as they come into the collection - and how these kinds of posts are on par with how teenagers and young adults are expressing themselves through the internet. We don't see, as often, the long stream of consciousness blogging from the days of MySpace and LiveJournal. Accessing patrons who are active on social media is simpler now than it has ever been.  All it takes is a photo, a quick caption, and the proper use of hashtags. I think it's a brilliant way to connect and I would definitely follow my library if it had an account on Instagram. What do you all think? Is it as worthwhile as it seems?

Posted by Jenny Cofell

'A Culture of Empathy'

Jensen, Karen.  (November 2015).  A culture of empathy:  We must help youth who are facing mental health challenges.  School Library Journal, 40 - 43.

Summary:  This article notes that teens suffering from mental illness often come to the library because of the calm environment and friendly staff.  On the one hand, this is a good thing, but on the other, it can leave library staff unprepared for the unpredictable and sometimes dangerous behaviours that can come along with mental illnesses. There are over 200 mental health disorders and, since mental illness often shows up in the teen years, it becomes important for those working with Teens to educate themselves on these issues so that they can advocate effectively for those teens who come into their building.

Evaluation:  This article point out the important role teen librarians have an important role in advocating for their patrons who might be struggling with a mental illness.  The library is where teens may come first to seek out information about what is happening to them. It is important to have current materials available on the topic in the collection for teens to consult. The article also lists titles of books that cover the different types of mental illnesses making it a great resource for collection development.