Adolescents and Juveniles and Tweens, Oh My!!!
This week's reading about tweens really hit home for me, as this will be part of my target demographic in my new library this fall. I am VERY aware of the tween in the middle school setting, but now I'll be in elementary school. How is an elementary tween different than the middle school tween? Answer: Not very much! They are all trying to navigate friendships, social groups, worrying about what others think about them, trying to act older than they are, but then don't wear deodorant. The hormones are flowing, just at different rates. The focus on tweens and giving them their own space really made an impact. This is true in the public library, but also in the elementary and middle school libraries. Tweens need their space!
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The idea of having a TAG (Tween Advisory Board) team is something that also stood out to me in Gregory's article. So much of the focus has been placed on children and teens, but this "in-between" group cannot be overlooked. It is so important to realize that many times they feel out of place; too old for the children's area, but not quite ready to delve into the teen arena. I have always agreed with surveying students about what they like, but what a fabulous idea to give them their own space, their own collections, and their own activities within a safe space. This has made me think about creating my own "tag team" at the school level for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders to be reading leaders in the library.
Another thing that really hit me was the fact that even though the teen novel content may be too much for some tweens; teen programming ideas seem easily abatable for tweens. The big picture teen ideas can be downscaled to tween issues and concerns. I really found the Teens Leading Change to be a great take away for tweens to use in their school community. Tweens can work to make changes to the playground or new library books, etc, This early start can lead to teens having the skills they need for the next step to create change in their community and beyond. This is just another take away from this week's readings. Ways to get students of all ages with a focus on keeping our tweens reading and engaged.
Resources for Librarians of Tweens
References
Gregory, J.G.
(2015, May 8). Stuck in the middle. American
Libraries. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2015/05/08/stuck-in-the-middle/
Witteveen,
A. (2015, October 8). What do tweens want? School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com/story/what-do-tweens-want
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ReplyDeleteGreat work, Liz! I especially enjoyed your points about the usefulness of teen advisory boards. You demonstrated full engagement with the weekly readings and made numerous insightful points.
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