“The library is so much more than books”: Considerations for the design and implementation of teen digital mental health services in public libraries.

Knapp, A. A., Hersch, E., Wijaya, C., Herrera, M. A., Kruzan, K. P., Carroll, A. J., Lee, S., Baker, A., Gray, A., Harris, V., Simmons, R., Kour Sodhi, D., Hannah, N., Reddy, M., Karnik, N. S., Smith, J. D., Brown, C. H., & Mohr, D. C. (2023). “The library is so much more than books”: Considerations for the design and implementation of teen digital mental health services in public libraries. Frontiers in Digital Health, 5, 1183319. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2023.1183319

Summary: 

This study examines the potential for implementing digital mental health (DMH) services for teens in public libraries. Researchers interviewed 17 library workers at a Chicago-area library serving diverse communities to identify implementation considerations. The study found that libraries function as crucial safe spaces for marginalized teens, with library workers serving as “conduits” who guide patrons to resources. Several facilitators for implementing DMH services were identified, including strong leadership support, existing technological resources, the library’s community hub status, and cultural values emphasizing equity and antiracism. Barriers included library workers’ lack of confidence in addressing teen mental health, uncertainty about finding effective resources, community concerns about “library overreach,” and mental health stigma. The researchers concluded that public libraries are promising settings for implementing DMH services, particularly for historically underrepresented teens. They emphasized the importance of co-designing services with teens, developing protocols for high-risk concerns, and training library workers.

Opinion/Evaluation:

Overall, this study makes an important contribution to the field of digital mental health and community-based interventions. By recognizing public libraries as trusted, accessible spaces for youth, Knapp et al. highlight an innovative and socially responsible avenue for addressing teen mental health disparities. Their ongoing commitment to centering marginalized voices and fostering collaboration is particularly commendable. Public libraries across the country are implementing similar initiatives and can greatly benefit from the insights provided by this study.

Putting the Science Back in Library Science: Collection Development, Diversity Audits, & Understanding Teens – Analyzing Data for Decision Making

 Aleen Houseman 

Citation:
            Jensen, K., & says, A. (2018, March 21). Putting the science back in library science: Collection development, diversity audits, & understanding teens – analyzing data for decision making. Teen Librarian Toolbox. https://teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2018/03/21/putting-the-science-back-in-library-science-collection-development-diversity-audits-understanding-teens-analyzing-data-for-decision-making/ 

Link: Click Here

Descriptions:
            Description: This rescore includes a first-hand perspective of collection developments and diversity audits. Librarian Karen Jensen of the Mount Vernon Public library walks the reader through her process of evaluating/ creating and auditing a collection at her library. 

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.

Developing Library Collections for Today's Young Adults

Chase, Matthew
Fall 2016

Citation:

Pattee, A. S. (2014). Developing library collections for today’s young adults. Lanham: Scarecrow Press.

Summary:

This book addresses the complexities and issues surrounding collection development that specifically targets youth populations. The author highlights the many steps and procedures to an effective development, ranging from needs assessment to evaluation to selection and expansion to even the weeding and removal of collection materials. She balances the book by approaching the development of print materials as well as the digital, to reflect the diversifying and ever-evolving process to youth collections.

Evaluation:

I really appreciated the approach of the author to the topic, as she reflected on collection development as a cyclical process and she developed guidelines around that principle as a result. It allows librarians to adopt a more open-minded framework in their development of collections. For youth services in particular, this principle continues to grow in importance given the ever-changing trends in technology and the diverse needs of youth. Being advocates for youth then, as she explained, it is important that we as librarians also stipulate collection development policies to explain the mission and goals of the collection as to successfully navigate the concerns of adult stakeholders (e.g., parents) and still meet the needs of youth.

We will Survive

Wilson, Shibrie

American Library Association. (2013). Social Networking: Technology marches on, and so do libraries. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/news/state-americas-libraries-report-2013/social-networking

Libraries fear that due to increase of social media that they may not be able to compete with rapid changes. ALA disagrees and says that libraries will be able to do so considering librarians have been the trailblazers for technology leaders for decades. Essentially in order to so libraries must learn their community and find out what technology works best for them. We are service providers and providing good service to patrons is ultimate goal. Studies found that the library will not go anywhere anytime soon simply being that it is essence of community. Trial and error and learning what technology and social networking best fits needs of patrons in your community. During such time it is important to engage patrons at young age so that they will become lifelong users of library and understand its importance to community. 

Opinion:
There is a common theme in most articles geared to library services and that is knowing your community. Gaining knowledge and understanding of what methods of technology and social media your community uses and interested in using. Libraries will survive but it is up to the libraries themselves to continue to evolve along with technology. 

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.

Diverse population, diverse collection? Youth collections in the United States

Kimura, Camden

Williams, V. K., & Deyoe, N. (2014). Diverse population, diverse collection? Youth collections in the United States. Technical Services Quarterly, 31, 97-121. doi:10.1080/07317131.2014.875373

Summary: In this article, Williams and Deyoe present a study of diverse titles in youth literature (ages 0-18) in 5,002 public, academic, and school libraries. Their research consisted of building three lists of books with ethnic/racial minority characters, characters with disabilities, and LGBTQ characters. All the books on the lists were published between 2000 and 2009, had positive reviews or been recommended, and had been vetted for “cultural authenticity and avoidance of stereotypes” (Williams & Deyoe, 2014, p. 104). They then searched OCLC for libraries’ collections that contained books from the checklists.  Among other findings, they found that more than one-third of libraries spending over $100,000 per year on materials did not meet Williams and Deyoe’s minimum level for titles on the racial/ethnic minority and disability checklists and half did not meet the minimum level for LGBTQ titles (in fact, 15% of all libraries surveyed did not have any titles from the LGBTQ checklist.) Williams and Deyoe recommend that librarians assess their youth literature collections for diverse representation, paying particular attention to books with LGBTQ characters as these books seem to be the most under-represented.

Evaluation: Williams and Deyoe present an important study of diverse literature in youth collections. However, it is only a beginning; I think that this study serves as a very good starting point for further research into the area of diverse youth literature in libraries. The data are interesting and it is disheartening to read that there are so many libraries with materials budgets of over $100,000 that don’t meet the minimum level Williams and Deyoe set for good representation. I take issue, however, with their decision to only include books that had good reviews or were on recommendation lists. While I absolutely think that including books that have been vetted for cultural authenticity is necessary, I do wonder how many books did not make the cut simply because they had not been reviewed well. Their checklists of books were not terribly long, all things considered; the race/ethnicity checklist had 964 titles, the disability checklist had 334, and the LGBTQ checklist had 116 titles. Surely there were, for example, more than 116 titles with LGBTQ characters with suitable cultural authenticity published between 2000-2009, including books that hadn’t been reviewed well or recommended. I assume that Williams and Deyoe did not have the page space to fully detail their selection process but I am curious to know why they chose to use books that had only been reviewed well or recommended. (I know that there is probably a lot of overlap between well-reviewed books and books that have vetted for good portrayals of minority characters and this could be the reason why they only chose well-reviewed books.)

In sum, this is a good article with interesting data, but it is only the beginning of what is possible for studies on diverse youth literature in libraries.

Edited to Add: I've just discovered that a review of this article has already been posted on the blog. I'm going to leave my review up for anyone who is interested, but I won't count the article as part of my 300 pages. My apologies for double-posting and I am very sorry that I did not see this article had already been reviewed before submitting my own.

Teens & Technology: Connecting to Health Information

Laudato, Maricar

Farmer, L. (2014). Issues in teen technology use to find health information. The Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults, 4(1). April 27, 2015.

Summary

Lesley Farmer’s article outlines the information seeking behavior of teens in regards to them looking for information related to health issues. She says that teens seek health information when they need it or are in fear about their health (are afraid that they may be sick), rather than being proactive about wanting to maintain or stay healthy. Another reason they may seek health info is because they value anonymity because of a health condition they may feel embarrassed asking about (acne, mental illness, sexuality). Because of this, a great majority of teens will not seek librarians for help. Rather, teens will oftentimes go to the internet first for confidentiality reasons. Due to the information-sensitive nature of the content teens are seeking, Farmer lists ways in which libraries can help connect teens with the health information they seek. 

Evaluation

I wanted to read this information because of HIPAA laws. In what capacity can librarians aid patrons, especially minors such as teens, find the health information they need? For example, what types of reference interview questions are we permitted to ask, and which ones should we refrain from asking at all? As a librarian working at a school, sometimes I hear too much information that a teen divulges about their personal well-being that I am mandated to report (i.e. suicidal thoughts, abuse, etc). I found Farmer’s suggestions on how libraries could still involve themselves in helping teens (whether directly in person or as an intermediary by including/referring good health website links on our website) as something I’d consult in the future.

Teen Services: A Call to Action

Laudato, Maricar

Institute of Museum and Library Services. (2014). Executive Summary: The Future of Library Services for and with Teens: A Call to Action (pp. 1-59, Rep.). Chicago, IL: Young Adult Library Services Association. www.ala.org/yaforum/project-report

Summary

In this 59-page report, the Institute of Museum and Library Services works in conjunction with YALSA to provide an in-depth analysis on the issues affecting teens today and how libraries can utilize its resources to best serve them. Things to note: there have been a drastic decrease in library services available to teens due to library closures, reduced hours, lack of trained staff, and insufficient resources to attend to their specific developmental needs. In addition, there has been a significant shift in the demographics of the teen profile, which is becoming increasing of minority and/or immigrant background, while those staff in the field of librarianship is still overwhelmingly Caucasian. It has also been seen in the report that teens are entering the workforce without any critical skills, which is extremely problematic.

Evaluation

I’ve been wanting to read this report for quite some time now. As you can probably already tell from my choices in additional reading, my bent is in school and teen librarianship. While this report was lengthy, I found that the material was relevant to what I see in front of me every day. However, the teens I work with are definitely teens who are the “haves” and not the “have nots” so they do not have to worry about the digital divide. But from my previous stint as an English high school teacher in urban Los Angeles, I can attest to the fact that the inequities are real, and that libraries have an opportunity to be the “equalizers” in this social dilemma. For the teens I used to teach, they did not have access to a computer at home, and they had to wait in line to use the computer in the library during its limited operating hours. I feel that this report was not that eye-opening because I’ve seen the bad stuff first-hand, but it’s good for those communities that, I suppose, are not exposed to the inequities that teens face in regards to library services. The good thing that the report does do, however, is make suggestions on how to improve library services for teens.

Bringing Mental Illness & YA Literature to the Forefront

Laudato, Maricar

Scrofano, D. (2015). Not as crazy as it seems: Discussing the new YA literature of mental illness in your classroom or library. Young Adult Library Services.

Summary

Diane Scrofano underlines the importance of including literature that focus on the topic of mental illness into your classroom or library’s collection if your patrons are young adults. The reason for this, she argues, is because the age of onset, for a majority of the lifetime cases of mental illness, are those from 14-24 years old. She writes how, unfortunately, having a mental illness continues to have a stigma attached to it. Because of this, many teens affected by mental illness have no source of literature that they can see themselves (or their family/friends) on the written page and have their experience be validated.

Evaluation

Diane Scrofano makes a compelling case for including literature on mental illness into our libraries’ collections. I recently attended the YALLWEST book festival in Santa Monica this past April and one of the author panels was “I’m a Basketcase.” It was an awesome panel in which these best-selling authors that you would think have their ducks all in order shared their fears and personal experiences with mental illness. I thought it was really brave of them to do that, especially with all of the stigma associated with being mentally ill. I feel that the more that mental illness becomes part of the dialogue in regards to human rights, in the same vein that cultural diversity is, it will only help us to serve the developmental needs of our teens better.

Rethinking How We Organize Teen Spaces and Collections

Laudato, Maricar

Pattee, A. (2014). Rethinking library collections for young adults. Young Adult Library Services, 15-17.

Summary

In this article, Amy Pattee wants her readers to reconsider how young adult library collections are organized. In regards to the physical space, Pattee feels that placing literature that is deemed as “young adult” in the teen section is preventing adults who like reading ‘YA” books from accessing those materials. The same thing happens to teens who may like readings books that are in the “adult” collection. Pattee argues that this problem would be solved if librarians interfiled the young adult and adult print collection together. If libraries put the YA print collection with the adult collection, Pattee argues that it would free up the teen space for other opportunities, such as creating a Makerspace or create a computer lab.

Amy Pattee also discusses the importance of promoting the library’s eBook collection to teens. According to a Pew Internet Study, less than a 1/3 of adults own ereaders, and even fewer young adults. It is unclear whether teens are using their cell phones to access eBooks. Because of this, Pattee argues that librarians must actively enable and promote access to the library’s eBook collection to teens.

Evaluation 

I agree with Pattee that we should rethink how we organize our print collections because it is restricting our patrons to certain sections of the library and making them feel unwelcome in certain areas, or even discouraging patrons from accessing different genres of literature. In addition, if libraries interfile their YA collection into the adult collection, libraries can transform their teen spaces into a Learning Commons. Then, instead of merely inhabiting a space, teens would be using the space; thus making libraries more relevant in their lives.

In regards to eBooks, I personally feel that teens still prefer the print source when it comes to reading for fun, and I remember reading about it in a recent survey. When it comes to schoolwork, students prefer online eTextbooks. Students do not like reading on their phones because they equate that with socializing with their friends. But when it comes down to reading for pleasure/recreation, students seem to prefer holding the actual book in their hands.

Teens are from Planet Earth too: Adopting a Whole Library Approach

Laudato, Maricar

Braun, L. B. (2011). The importance of a whole library approach to public library young adult services: A YALSA issue paper. Young Adult Library Services (Issue Paper). Chicago: IL.

Summary

In this article, Linda Braun advocates for the equitable treatment of teens from all library staff personnel. Even though teens have very specific developmental needs, Braun argues that teens deserve the same level of high customer service from all library staff they come in contact with. Braun cites different ways in which library staff can support young adults with its library spaces and resources: staff training and professional development, collaboration in collection development, information literacy support, programming for parents regarding trends that affect teens, and cross-generational mentoring opportunities. For the most part, Braun contends that everyone should be an advocate for young adults, and that it is everyone’s responsibility to be aware of the specific developmental needs of teens. In regards to collection development, Braun discusses the importance of young adult staff, reference staff, and children’s services staff to collaborate and plan how they will build the library’s collection together. To do so, they need to find out the personal interests of teens, along with knowing their educational needs.

Evaluation

I thought that Braun’s article was important because she stresses the importance of every staff member being an advocate for teens. Too often, any issues or problems that have to do with teens are often relegated to the YA or teen specialist, and no one else is expected to think about the needs of teens. With the “whole library approach,” Braun has a refreshing outlook on how to strengthen services to teens. If the library staff views providing quality library service to teens as providing quality library service to future tax-payers, then I think that service to teens would be very different from what it looks like today.

Match Point: Online Readers Advisory for Teens

Laudato, Maricar

Bass, H. (2014). Teens and personalized reading lists: A perfect match*. Young Adult Library Services, (Spring), 21-23.

Summary

In this article, Hayden Bass details how the teen services librarians at Seattle Public Library piloted an online readers’ advisory program that was popular among teens. For this program, librarians provided personalized reading lists to teens who emailed them information on the types of books they liked to read. The teen librarians called this program, “Your Next Five Books” (YN5) because they would recommend five titles based on the teens' likes, complete with links to the catalog and short abstracts of each title. The article outlines how this service was an immediate success, mainly because the teens liked the personalized service and human interaction with an adult who is truly listening and paying attention to their interests and needs.

Evaluation

This article showed me the important role that readers’ advisory should play in collection development. Since the nature of readers’ advisory is grounded in human interaction, librarians should use this interaction with patrons as an opportunity to gauge which types of books to add to the collection. Also, it is important to note that teens are an underserved population because many are afraid to “bother” the librarians at the desk face-to-face. Perhaps we could serve more teens if we can provide them with readers’ advisory web forms since teens like the convenience and confidentiality afforded by web forms; all the while still providing personalized service to teens. In addition, this article underlined the importance of getting patron input in regards to understanding their reading interests. 

YA Authors and Intellectual Freedom

By Terry Funk

CA 

Shoemaker, J. (2011). Nine YA authors talk about intellectual freedom. Voice Of Youth Advocates, 34(2), 122-129.

On one side of the intellectual freedom (IF) issue are readers. Do teens know that they are free to inquire about anything that interests them? Do they feel free to make such inquires?    

On the other side of IF are the authors of YA literature and for this article they respond to questions about their own experiences. In response to the question:  Have your books ever been challenged?  Several authors make the distinction between open challenge (which can be viewed as a badge of honor) and passive challenges – not acquiring their book(s). Sometimes the challenge comes from editors rather than the public who want the author to know that crossing certain boundaries (such as language, sex or drugs) will limit sales. One author had several invitations to visit schools rescinded when they found out more about his books. Using the F-word even once can change sales (especially when the audience is a middle school). The n-word is also an issue, even in Twain’s classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. One author discussed not putting in anything too raw (content) although, reconsideration of a book is often focused on the choice of words rather than content, even when the content seems much more questionable. Another indicated that nothing is taboo in YA except perhaps intelligence – adults sometimes distrust an intelligent protagonist, such as the mathematical prodigy in John Green’s An Abundance of Katherines.

Evaluation: In the effort to write realistically for teens, authors may find that their works are not reaching the shelves for the intended audience because of the objections of adults who may disagree with the author about controversial topics or the language in the book. Some authors are more flexible about content and revision during the publication process while others are ready to defend their stand on issues or language as it is written. Also, librarians are choosing books that they believe have relatable characters and reflect the culture(s) of their students. While more publishers and authors are concerning themselves with diversity and including characters with many different backgrounds in their works, librarians may choose books that mirror students’ lives. Of course the case can also be made that we need books about all types of people not just those like us. Authors write for different reasons and their ideas of what is “best” is also varied. The discussion lends insight into the way different stakeholders play a part in deciding what teens are reading today.

By Terry Funk

CA

Moulton, E. E. (2014). Bibliotherapy for teens: Helpful tips and recommended fiction. Retrieved from: http://www.slj.com/2014/11/teens-ya/bibliotherapy-for-teens-helpful-tips-and-recommended-fiction/#_

Summary: This is a recollection of real life encounters with a reference desk librarian helping teens navigate the shelves for books about topics related to Mental Health. More than informational texts, teens wanted fiction books that give understanding of various conditions, e.g. Anxiety, Asperger’s, etc. She created a display with several realistic teen fiction books, and the next day six of eight books in the display were checked out. The author gives some statistics about teens and Mental Illness and what bibliotherapy promises which is basically insight for a teen with the condition(s), family, peers and others.  

Evaluation: The list of books under 12 specific conditions is very helpful since the term Mental Illness is vast and encompasses many different conditions. Also, labels sometimes carry stigma and authors may avoid them. The librarian contacted authors to verify categories when MARC records were unclear. For more about individual titles, one might want to prepare an annotated bibliography from this list. There are still not enough books for teens about Mental Illness and situations that may affect emotional/mental well-being, such as substance abuse, rape, etc. and finding books on the shelves helps teens realize they are not alone, that others have had similar experiences. The author also points out that while not a substitute for therapy, readers gain insight on problem-solving and coping skills in the lives of characters, and that understanding and knowledge may be transferable to their own lives. There is also a place for comments and discussion.