Reflection on Tween programing; Week 4 of Library programing.

I could really relate to the tween articles this week, as my son is just now passed this phase and is now 13. One thing that was mentioned over and over was the fact that tweens feel left out when there is not a space created specifically for them. They feel too old for the children’s programing, but are not allowed in the teen areas/programs. I remember hanging out in our local library during summer break a couple years ago, and wandering over to see a new ‘teen’ area. As my son was I believe 11, and going to turn 12 in the fall, I wanted to check it out to sort of get him excited about the library and what they might offer. We were browsing the books that were in front of the section, when a librarian asked us if we needed any help. We explained we were just browsing, and she told us that we were welcome to look at the books, but we couldn’t come any further into the section until he turned 12, their beginning age for their teen area. We could see a pool table and foosball table, and we were both disappointed that we couldn’t at least tour the area. Just as the articles mentioned, there was only the children’s area, and the teen area. Nowhere for my son. It was quite disappointing, and I couldn’t help but feel like we were missing a huge opportunity to get him involved with the library. This was the age where he was most open to any activities available to him. In the Ideas for Tween Programing from the ALA article, one thing they mentioned were cooking programs. I remember taking my son to the local children’s museum for cooking lessons that summer, which he loved! They were quite pricey, and I would have loved it if there were more programs like that at the library. My experience has been that since he has hit teenage years, he has zoned in on the activities he likes, and isn’t as open to trying new things. Because of this, I think it is so important to sort of catch them at that tween age, and expose them to all the library has to offer. Especially because, like author Jon Scieszka mentions in the interview he did on the The Leonard Lopate Show, boys can be particularly difficult to get interested in reading. I agree with this sentiment, and I have to say that my experience is that my son began to lose interest during the tween years, or right after, as soon as he became a teen.

One takeaway I have from all the articles this week is that it is important to involve the tweens in the decisions being made about the tween area/programing that the library does. They are opinionated, and are just learning to be independent and make their own decisions. What better place to explore that then in the library? That is why this age group is probably the age group that needs to be the most involved with the development of programming. Also, they are an ever evolving age group, as the trends they may be into are always changing. They can teach the librarians better than anyone what the tweens are into and want. As a school librarian, I believe I can use these thoughts to make sure to remember that the older elementary children at my school will probably feel set apart from the rest of the children. I want to make sure they don’t feel like they school library is a place just for the little kids of the school. I will try to bring their ideas of what will make them feel comfortable into the school library.

The Leonard Lopate Show, interview with Jon Scieszka

https://www.wnyc.org/story/jon-scieszka-boys-reading/

Marshall, K. (2016). What tweens want. Edmonton Public Library.

Witteveen, A. (2015). What do tweens want. School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=what-do-tweens-want

American Libraries Magazine. Stuck in the Middle Tween advisory boards help improve library engagement. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2015/05/08/stuck-in-the-middle/

ALA. Tween Programs. http://www.ala.org/alsc/sites/ala.org.alsc/files/content/issuesadv/kidscampaign/tweenprogs.pdf