Professional Organizations Helpful in Working with Young Adults
http://www.schoolbug.org
This site is devoted to teen issues within the different counties of California and public schools within these counties. The parents and teachers can find information to a specific issue, pertaining to their own school, and help is also provided under 'Troubled Teens'. Besides public schools, information about teenage issues in various other types of settings, including homeschol is also provided.
Posted by Maninder Ghuman
Young Adult ARCS
http://yaarc.blogspot.com/
This is an online ARC (Advance Reader Copy) exchange for librarians, teachers, and other professionals working with teens. Persons who receive ARCs because they are on committees, or attend professional conferences, can post ARCs on this blog. The first four people to post interest in the ARC are then contacted, and the ARC is sent on its merry way. This facilitates book discussion and awareness of new publications and authors. It particularly benefits those whose libraries can’t afford to send them to the big conferences. See the web site for more details and restrictions.
-Katharine Miller 8/10/07
826 Valencia - The Writing Center
http://www.826valencia.org/
826 Valencia is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing and supporting the writing skills of children ages 6-18. The offer a variety of workshops that result in the publication of books, games, podcasts, animated movies, and other products, authored by the students. They also offer in-school services in the San Francisco Bay Area where volunteers come into the classroom to provide one-on-one help with projects.
Keisa Williams, August 4, 2007
BookPALS - Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools
http://www.bookpals.net/index.php
BookPALS, a program of the Screen Actor's Guild Foundation, provides guest readers to preK-5 classrooms....FREE!
From the website: Our all-volunteer team consists exclusively of professional actors - SAG, AFTRA, and EQUITY members - who read aloud to children at public elementary schools in at-risk neighborhoods, helping introduce them to the world of reading and literacy. Founded in 1993 by actress
Barbara Bain
, our original chapter has grown to 20 cities across the United States, where our volunteers read to more than
100,000 children
each week!
Keisa Williams, August 4, 2007
LYRIC (Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center)
http://www.lyric.org
LYRIC is a peer-facilitated Bay Area organization that gives GLBTQ youth a place to just hang out and be themselves. It offers some case management and some peer-led support groups, but for the most part it is a community center with activities, dances, educational workshops, and leadership development. It also sponsors the Queer Youth Talkline staffed by GLBTQ youth 23 and younger (toll-free throughout California): 1(800) 246-PRIDE.
Rachel Bernstein, May 5, 2007
Using del.icio.us
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=7c623fbd095b4a565b5b
The link above is to a 30 minute tutorial on using del.icio.us. It is intended as a way to teach teachers how to use the social bookmarking site. This is very helpful for the uninitiated.
Submitted by Carolyn White, May 5, 2007
Teacher Tube
http://www.teachertube.com/index.php
TeacherTube is the education equivalent of YouTube. The educational videos can be searched by keyword or by the following categories: Most Recent, Most Viewed, Most Discussed, Top Favorites, Top Rated, Recently Featured or Random. This site has the potential of being very interesting, but still needs more good videos at this point.
Submitted by Carolyn White, May 5, 2007
ATN (All Together Now) Reading Lists
Original site - http://nancykeane.com/rl/default.htm - Readalikes
Current Wiki version - http://atn-reading-lists.wikispaces.com/
ATN – All Together Now was originally (1996) a web site with reading lists to help librarians, but it became unmanageable to maintain the lists. In 2006 the site was updated to a wiki, so it could be the collaborative resource it was originally intended to be. Book title suggestions are included in the following lists: authors, genre, professional reading, read alikes, read alouds, readership targeted, school subjects, themes and values. This is a great resource for librarians, especially librarians looking for read alike ideas.
Submitted by Carolyn White, May 5, 2007
The Diary Project
www.diaryproject.com
This fascinating website serves as an anonymous online diary for a wide number of teens. 24 different topic headings are offered, and teens are able to both post entries, and to read the entries other people make. After reading, it is possible to comment on what others have written. Many of the entries are deeply personal, allowing students to share ideas and also to maintain their anonymity. The site is partially cathartic as well. Students can read an learn that others are experiencing similar drama and issues. The site monitors content and makes an effort to ensure that people are not trying to manipulate or damage the teens who post.
Elizabeth McMunn 4/22/07
GLSEN
http://www.glsen.org
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, according to their mission statement ”strives to assure that each member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.” More than half of all high school students experience some form of bullying or harassment, and real or perceived sexual orientation is one of the leading causes of harassment. GLSEN is one of the major sponsors of No Name-Calling Week (www.NoNameCallingWeek.org). Inspired by James Howe’s YA novel The Misfits, this is a week of educational activities for the middle school set that is aimed at stopping verbal bullying.
Jessica Rothberg. 2 December 2006.
The Girl Scouts
www.girlscouts.org
Lots of interesting articles in the research section (http://www.girlscouts.org/research/). Materials and resources for “uniquely ME!” the Girl Scout/Dove Self-Esteem Program (http://www.girlscouts.org/program/program_opportunities/leadership/uniquelyme.asp), a program for 8-17 year olds that was created in 2002 to address the critical nationwide problem of low self-esteem among adolescent and pre-adolescent girls. Studio 2B (www.studio2b.org), the Girl Scout place for teens on the web, has the girl pages for the uniquely ME! program, as well as advice, travel, relationship, style, and more web pages of interest to teen girls.
Jessica Rothberg. 2 December 2006.
National Dissemination Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities
NICHCY (http://www.nichcy.org/), has a wealth of information on disabilities of children (birth to about age 21) with an emphasis on education. The comprehensive web site includes up-to-date news, toolkits on teaching students with disabilities, and much more. NICHCY also maintains a site for kids (Zigawat!, http://www.nichcy.org/kids/index.htm) where youth can play games, connect with other kids, and most importantly for librarians: share their stories in a variety of storytelling formats.
Jessica Rothberg. 2 December 2006.
Soccer Divas
www.soccerdivas.com
A site dedicated to women and girls youth soccer. The website provides information on players, coaching, and parents. This website is strictly dedicated to women only. Soccer is the fastest growing sport nationwide among females. Lisa Katz, November 2006
www.jewishlibraries.org - A Jewish association that has access to information, learning, teaching, research, the Jewish experience and Judaism, and Israel. It promotes Jewish literature and leadership for librarians and libraries. Lisa Katz, November 2006
Bay Area Young Adult Librarians
Bay Area Young Adult Librarians. (n.d.) Retrieved November 4, 2006, from http://www.baya.org/.
Local organization for public and school young adult librarians. BAYA provides continuing education, reviews and an annual top pick list. They meet six times a year at different Bay Area locations.
Sarah Fowlie, November 4, 2006
Health Information Project
http://hip.midhudson.org is the website created by the state funded Health Information Project, based in the Hudson River Valley in New York State. This project was originally developed with the idea that teen interns could both benefit from their involvement in the selection process, as well as aid educators in reaching out to teens through media; including DVDs and websites as well as books. The topics covered by the project are many and varied and include such pertinent topics as: alcohol, drug and tobacco use; sexual behavior; interpersonal relations; decision making and peer-pressure; nutrition and body image; violence prevention; mental health issues; coping skills and pregnancy and teen parenting. In the summer of 2005, these 35 teens spent two months and approximately 50 hours each reviewing all manner of materials related to the aforementioned topics. During this process, the teen interns were taught how to properly evaluate the various materials, as well as how to research additional materials using the library as well as the web. They also presented their finding to groups of their peers at the projects end. The end result is this wonderful website which serves not only as a comprehensive project overview, but also as an efficient means of gaining access to teen-tested and approved materials which target teen issues! This information was obtained Nov. 2nd, 2006 from Wilsonweb: "The Health Information Project: Involving Teens in Lifestyle Issues in the Library," Source: Voice of Youth Advocates 28 no.5 374-5, D 2005. This article also provides a framework for those who might be interested in implementing a similar program in their own library, as well as a long list of additional websites recommended by teens. Lindsay Negrello, Nov. 3rd, 2006.
Pew Internet and American Life Project
http://www.pewinternet.org
Pew released invaluable studies about what Americans are doing and how they're using technology.
Of particular interest to people who work with teenagers is:
Findings submitted to the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, July 11, 2006 Available at http://www.pewinternet.org/ppt/Pew%20Internet%20findings%20-%20teens%20and%20the%20internet%20-%20final.pdf
Some of the findings include:
87% of those ages 12-17 use the internet. The older they are, the more likely they are to use the internet. 60% in 6th grade and 94% in 12th grade
Teens from the poorest families lag in internet use.
Teens log on most often from home, but library use grows more than any other location.
Email is still a fixture in teens’ lives, but instant messaging is preferred.
More than half of online teens are content creators. This includes creating art, photos, stories, videos, blogs and more.
Also relevant is this longer, but older (July 2005) publication that the Report to the House was drawn from:
“Teens and Technology: Youth are leading the transition to a fully wired and mobile nation.” Available at: http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Teens_Tech_July2005web.pdf
Cynthia Baran, August 8, 2006
Teen Ink
www.teenink.com This is a monthly print magazine, website, and book service that is written for teens by teens. They have the experience of publishing for 17 years. The website is very engaging with poetry contests and free publishing for teen writers. There is a Student Advisory Board which involves the teen to simply check the Members Only page once a month in order to answer questions and participate in other activities if they are of interest. The student gets to share ideas about improving the website and/or magazine. All the student needs to do to become a member of the Student Advisory Board is simply fill out a short form on the website.
Tracy Frie, August 4, 2006
TeenLit
www.teenlit.com
This is a site where young adults can participate in a wide range of topics dealing teen literature. This website has not been updated in a while but they are presently looking for book reviewers as well as other Teenlit volunteers positions. This is excellent experience and can be counted as community service for college applications and scholarships. This site provides free online publishing for teen writers. Teenlit currently publishes poetry, essays, short stores, and book reviews. They welcome new ideas and genres to be incorporated into their website.
Tracy Frie, August 4, 2006
826LA
http://www.826la.org "A non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write." Located at 685 Venice bl. Venice, CA.
Judith Toebe, July 15, 2006
YALSA
The Young Adult Library Services Association of the American Library Association http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/yalsa.htm contains great booklists, advice for teen programming, and mailing lists in which librarians can meet one another and discuss issues and collection development specifically geared towards Young Adults.
Ryan Gan - June 26, 2006
ALAN
The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents http://www.alan-ya.org/2/, a part of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) publishes the ALAN Review and sponsors the annual ALAN workshop which includes presentations by dozens of YA authors over a two-day period.
Richie Partington 15 June 2006
CSLA
The California School Library Association (CSLA) resources page http://schoolibrary.org/res/ has good educational technology links & CSLA also has great publications.
AASL is the national ALA division - http://www.ala.org/aaslhomeTemplate.cfm?
The American Library Association (ALA) http://www.ala.org/. As with CSLA, they do profesisonal development & networking as well as political advocacy. You can choose a division that fits (school, public...).
Association of Independent School Librarians (AISL) http://www.aislnews.org/
Check out local library consortiums in your area -- they may not be professional organizations, but many have professional development opportunities like workshops, conferences, listserves, and networking for jobs & collaboration. Multi type organizations are great because it will help you collaborate with different kinds of libraries, while other networks can get you in touch with your peers. Examples: Library of California Regional Consortiums (multi-type), independent school consortiums (ISLE for So. Cal. or BASL for No. Cal.).
California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) is an independent school organization that has great regional library conferences & networking http://www.caisca.org/.
NAIS is the national version http://www.nais.org/.
Michelle Bone 6/14/2006
WriteGirl
http://www.writegirl.org
Empowering Girls through Mentorship and Self-expression
This is a great nonprofit organization that encourages adolescent women to write about who they are and what they are going through. Using mentors (mostly female professional writers) and workshops, participants produce anthologies and stage readings. Focuses on promising Los Angeles area teenagers who otherwise would not have access to creative writing mentoring programs. Like 826 (which has now set up branches in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Michigan, and Seattle), WriteGirl is definitely an organization worth spreading to other cities. Are there ways for teen services librarians to get involved?
Jeanie Miller, 3/21/07
Outward Bound
http://www.outwardbound.org/
This "adventure-education" organization is a nonprofit that aims to foster personal growth and social skills by using challenging expeditions in the outdoors. Activities like backpacking, rock climbing, sea kayaking, mountain biking and whitewater paddling are just some of the activities designed to help young people (from different economic backgrounds) to build inner strength, courage, compassion, and leadership skills. --Terra Black, March 26, 2007
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