Writing With Patrons

Braelyn Dempsey, Algoma Public Library, Algoma, WI is a member of our Wisconsin Teen Librarian Services Group. She shares her experiences with running a Creative Writing program in her library.

Programming can be hard, though the task sounds simple on paper: “Make a fun and engaging program for your age group.” As many Librarian’s know, there is a lot to compete with in patron’s calendars:

• Football Games
• Dentist Appointments
• Night Shifts
• Lack of a Babysitter
• Last Minute Homework Crunch
• Volunteering
• and more…

That being said, there is one program that I have had personal success with: Creative Writing.

The program only happens once a month for two hours.

The first hour is dedicated to writing. I usually put on some instrumental music (my personal favorite is ukulele or piano playlists) to help everyone focus. On the table, I’ll have blank sheets of paper, a container of pencils, a container of pens, and a variety of writing prompts (for those that need a little inspiration).

The second hour of the program is for sharing. Anyone taking part can share the piece that they wrote during the previous hour (though a lot of patrons choose not to because they want to refine it more) or they can bring a piece/story they are working on and share that.

For newcomers, I always have a few key rules: -This is a safe space for individuals to be creative. Please respect other writer’s privacy and do not discuss what has been shared with other people that are not in the group.

• This is a place of respect. Please come into this experience knowing that someone in the group might not have the same ideas, beliefs, or experiences as you. If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything.
• This is not a class. No matter how comfortable or familiar you are with writing, you are not doing any of this for a grade. We are a community of writers that are here to write, share, and support one another.

These rules, so far, have worked wonderfully. Anyone taking part knows immediately that I value and care for every voice that is willing to share with us and that I will protect the “vibe” of the program at all costs. I have absolutely no issue asking anyone wanting to be rude or condescending to vacate the program and never come back. Thankfully, I haven’t had to do that yet.

The “scary” part (but the part that I love the most), is that I, as the facilitator, will also write and share during these programs. (As a rule, I always share last and am the one we can skip if the sharing portion of the program goes too long.) I know that not everyone might be comfortable with the idea of that: “I don’t like to mix my personal and professional life”, “I don’t feel like I have anything worth sharing”, “I am not a strong writer, myself.” It’s okay if you identify with any of those statements, however, I think the connections that our patrons make with each other, and with us as librarians, is well worth it.

Additionally, there is nothing say you HAVE to share a supremely revealing or traumatic piece during this session. If anything, it’s nice to just have a couple hours a month that are set aside to write and bond with patrons instead of the hustle/prep/cleanup involved with more complex programming.

That being said: I have done two different variations of this program: one for teens, and one for adults.

Despite the fact that I struggled to get the teens to come (a well-known librarian struggle), the one teen that previous attended consistently has continued to use the library and has stayed connected with me (personally) even though they aren’t a “teen” anymore.

The adult version of this program has been the most requested program of mine to come back since the March 2020 shutdowns. The adults that took part have said that they loved having a time and date where they knew they could set some time aside for writing, and the connections they made with other members of the community have lasted (despite not being able to take part in the program) because of the pieces they shared together.

As a group, we have laughed, cried, winced, and sighed together. We have shared pun-filled retellings of classic fairytales, early drafts of screenplays, and heart-wrenching recaps of real near-death experiences. Every story they bring to the group, every piece of themselves that they open up, makes our library and our community stronger. They are able to see each other as individuals with complex backgrounds and experiences, instead of a passing face on the way to the Circulation Desk. And, for the librarian that is willing to participate and share, it allows our patrons to see a different side of us that isn’t tied to a reading recommendation or library service. Thankfully, more often than not, my main role as the Librarian is to keep track of the time so that everyone gets to share, since conversation often happens so warmly around pieces that it’s easy to not want to watch the clock.

I’ll be the first to admit: on paper, this is not my most successful program. Like I mentioned before, I only had one teen regularly coming. For the adult version, it averaged out at about six patrons coming every month. For a Library that services 3,100 people in a county with only two libraries, those aren’t numbers to write home about. When it comes to the quality of the program, however, they have been the best.

So, I guess if you were to ask me what my main point of writing this is, I would have to say: Write with each other.

The writing doesn’t have to be great (it doesn’t even have to be good), but the effort of sharing a piece of your life/your story/your heart won’t be forgotten. I mean, we’re librarians… We, more than anyone, know the value of some solid character development.

We're always looking to connect with other young adult services librarians in WI! If you, or someone you know, wants to join our monthly meetings, please contact Taylor Wilcox at twilcox@waupacalibrary.org.

Deep Breaths, Everybody…Stress S.O.S. Care Kits for Teens

Caitlin Schaffer, Oconomowoc Public Library, Oconomowoc, WI is a member of our Wisconsin Teen Librarian Services Group. She shares her experiences with programming and creating Stress S.O.S. Care Kits in her library.

So, Spring of 2020 happened and opened the floodgates of virtual programming.

Which flowed into summer...which smashed into fall. 

And somewhere along the way, I had a realization: Teens were sick of staring at me through a screen. I wasn’t actually providing a service to my teen library users by trying to create a packed schedule of trivia, Jackbox, and online meetups. Were some of those events appreciated in that they provided some source of socialization? Sure, for a time and for some of the most dyed-in-the-wool library teens. But I was starting to get the general impression that, outside of my core group of regulars, I wasn’t reaching or serving the teens of my community at a time in which they REALLY needed to be reached and REALLY needed to be served.

The crushing truth is that teens were and continue to be one of the age demographics most affected by the pandemic. One national poll conducted by the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Michigan had almost 50% of parents reporting that they have noticed “a new or worsening mental health condition for their teen since the start of the pandemic.” 50 PERCENT. Mental health insurance claims for teens also roughly doubled in March and April of 2020 as compared to the same time in 2019, according to another study. So, while I would hope that my Digital D&D group was really helping a few people through, I am really doubting the reach of my efforts to teens during the spring and summer of 2020. 

What WAS reaching a lot of our patrons, I noticed, were our grab ‘n’ go activities and crafts. Until then I hadn’t put much thought into providing them for teens, not thinking enough were coming into the library to make it worth it. I did a little brainstorming with the help of teens on our Discord server, and the Stress S.O.S. Care Kits were born! (Yes, I know Stress.O.S. was right there, but when I looked it up another company was already using that term and I didn’t feel like getting served or something. Not on the top of my list. ANYWAY, MOVING ON.) I’m going to use SSOSCK to shorten that sucker for the rest of this post, because it’s a long name.

Initial Steps: My first thought was to reach out to the high school and see if they were already doing anything to support students’ mental health, or if they would be interested in having some of the SSOSCK available on location. After having a meeting with the principal and school’s psychologist, they decided they wanted to give creating their own Stress S.O.S. Care Kits a go, while simultaneously promoting mine and mental health resources in my collection. So, I really encourage reaching out to your community’s schools or other organizations that serve and support teen mental health to see if there’s a partnership opportunity there.

What soothes the teenage anxiety beast? A valid question to tackle as I considered what to include in the kits. I knew I wanted to make them available monthly, and that I wanted to put together at least 20-30 each month. There are ways to make them affordable, but if you’re talking at least six months of kits...that’s quickly going to add up. I consulted the oracle (Pinterest) by doing searches for things like “mental health care kit,” and I went straight to the source: I talked to my TAB, the teens on our Discord server, and my teen nieces and nephews. I also did the very tough task of soul searching: “What little things make me feel better when I’m stressed out and anxious?” Arduous work, but anything for the youth.

Turns out, the little things that give us a boost of endorphins are pretty universal:

· Chocolate

· Bubble wrap

· Tea and cocoa

· Fun stickers

· Fuzzy socks

· Chapstick

· More chocolate 

Little stuff like this, partnered with suggestions from therapists and others who keep calming items on hand for panic attacks, gave me a nice, long list to work off of. Small, simple things, paired with something that requires action, such as:

· A yoga deck

· Breathing exercises

· Mantras and affirmations

· Mood trackers

· DIY stress ball craft

· Etc., etc. (I’m happy to email my brainstorming list of items to anyone who wants them!)

Cost: The cost of each kit can vary depending on what you want to include. I usually had about 5-6 items in each kit, always including a Monthly Mantra and list of virtual resources for mental health assistance and suicide prevention. Some things I made in house, like the yoga deck, or I made use of stuff we already had around (Ex. We had a bunch of leftover mini-playdoh from summer prizes, so one month I included that and bought some playdoh stamps and tools from Amazon to add.). However, if I wanted to throw in mini-lotions, notebooks, socks, etc., those were usually purchased on Amazon or through Dollar Tree. I had quite a bit of wiggle room in my programming budget due to COVID and the lack of in-person summer programming, and I also used some local grant money as well. Depending on your funding and how many you make/how often you put them out, the cost might come more in the form of staff time versus dollars spent.

Le fin. I offered a monthly SSOSCK for pickup at the library once a month from October, 2020 through May, 2021 for a total of seven kits, 20-30 each month. I did not offer the kits in December or over the summer, as I was offering craft kits for teens at those times instead. The kits were always gone within the course of a week, often with some teens coming in within the hour after I announced each month’s kit on Discord. I always took a picture of the kit and its contents to post on social media, as shown:

 

While I decided against doing monthly SSOSCK this fall, I still intend on offering them seasonally, like over the winter to help with teens who deal with seasonal affective disorder and/or in the spring during testing and finals.

Do I deserve a Nobel Peace Prize for my efforts? Sure, if they’re just handing them out! But in all seriousness, it’s hard to feel helpless in the face of such a monumental catastrophe. It really, really sucks. We may not be therapists or counselors, but if one teen starts to feel the onset of a panic attack and can keep it at bay by remembering a breathing exercise, or if just for one bright, shining moment they feel a little bit better and a little less hopeless because they’re holding a warm mug of cocoa that we provided...worth it.

We're always looking to connect with other young adult services librarians in WI! If you, or someone you know, wants to join our monthly meetings, please contact Taylor Wilcox at twilcox@waupacalibrary.org.

3 Helpful Hints for Transitioning Your Programs from Winter to Spring During A Pandemic

(Above Image: Example of a active passive program. A collaborative sticker puzzle from Stick Together.)

Hopefully, this doesn’t come too late for some of you. It’s important to make sure your programming is fun, free and innovative at a time when your teens are super stressed. Think of the MUST HAVEs as the cute accessories to your program planning. Here are some helpful hints for you to consider as you plan out your Spring programs.

Creative Communication: Paper flyers are an awesome way to get the word out about your programs but you should consider using all of your social media options, because you never know which one your community of teens and parents might prefer to use communicate with you. MUST HAVE – A direct email for teens and their parents to communicate with you.

Active Passive Programs: Yes you can still program for your teens safely. DIY programs can be packaged creatively and provided by any library that has curbside service. You can organize scavenger hunts within your library or with community partners to get your teens out and about. Interactive displays (which can be virtual) that allow your teens to not only find great books but leave you their thoughts on the titles are also fun. MUST HAVE – Fun. Research this concept till you smile and you will find the right program for your teens.

Get Out(side): Partner with your parks and rec department and start using the outdoor spaces provided to your teens. Don’t be afraid of the cold- your teens aren’t afraid of wearing coats to hang out with their friends. If it’s at least 50 degrees and you can use open air shelters, consider doing programs in your local parks. You might consider sending out a survey to assess the social media platform that your targeted demographic might want to use. MUST HAVE – Get outside and walk your local area, this will let you see your community from your teen’s perspective. Change your paradigm and see your community from your feet.

 Alicia Woodland - McMillan Memorial Library- Wisconsin Rapids, WI 

This post was made by a member of our Wisconsin Teen Librarian Services Group.

Scribe Tribe: A Creative Writing Rollercoaster

Starting a creative writing club for teens was something I was pretty nervous to do. Creative writing was never a strong talent of mine but there was a need for it in my community and with the encouragement of my director, I started planning Scribe Tribe. I had a vision of teens working around our community room, papers spread out on tables, teens brainstorming in the corner with friends and getting inspired at the library. That was in The Before Times. Once the world shut down and no programs could be in-person, the Scribe Tribe creative writing club became a virtual event held over Zoom as part of our SLP. Turns out, this change was for the better.

The plan was for Scribe Tribe to meet every week for an hour on Zoom from mid-June to mid-August. I was extremely dubious that a creative writing program would translate to this virtual format but I was proved wrong and Scribe Tribe became one of my most successful programs of the summer. 

Each session generally included a warm-up game, a short lesson about a writing topic, discussing the writing prompt, silent writing time, and optional sharing time. Let’s break that down:

Warm-up: I found it really helpful to have a warm-up game to get the teens to turn on that creativity switch in their brain and get them comfortable in the (virtual) space. We would play MadLibs to get them thinking about word choice. I tried other word games, with only mild success (these games would be much better in person). The most successful warm-up was based on the game What Do You Meme? This game works much like Apples to Apples except with meme pictures. I do NOT recommend buying it for your library as it very much R-Rated! But I happened to own it myself so I would hold up one of the (appropriate) meme cards and the teens would have to come up with their own captions. For example, I’d hold up a picture of a sad looking cat and the teens would come up with a caption like, “that feeling when you can’t see your friends because of quarantine.” Another successful warm-up was having the teens write a story one line at a time in the chat function on Zoom. That story ended up going in about a million different directions but the teens were cracking up! 

Writing Topic & Prompt: Never at any point did I want the teens to feel like I was their English teacher and they were in class. When we’d talk about aspects of creative writing like theme, plot, setting, character, etc., I always kept it broad and tried to relate it back to a story they knew. It would usually tie-in with that day's writing prompt. For example, when talking about plot, we used this Random Plot Generator (or this one) and they had to map out a story based on their results. The same applied to writing about random characters. To get them thinking about setting, teens picked a place off this list and wrote about life there. I also gave them visual prompts and question prompts. 

These prompts were a great stepping-off point and gave each Scribe Tribe session structure but as the weeks went on, the teens used the prompts less and less and instead wanted to work on their own stories. 

Writing and Sharing: This is what the kids really wanted, designated time to write, and I gave them almost half of our hour long program to do it. I would ask them to mute themselves on Zoom, with the option to unmute themselves if they had a question. Occasionally I would find piano music or video game music (which is designed to help you focus) on YouTube to play while the teens were writing. When that time was done, I would leave the last 5-10 minutes of the program for them to share what they wrote. Every program I would emphasize that it was completely optional and I never forced anyone to share. That being said, almost every teen wanted to read their work outloud to the group. I think this is where having Scribe Tribe on Zoom was actually an asset. It was much less intimidating for them to read in front of their peers on a video call as opposed to reading in person. 

By the end of the summer, I was so impressed with my regular group of 6-7 teens! The stories they wrote were so creative and I was so proud everytime they would choose to be vulnerable and read their story out loud to the group. I wanted to reward my dedicated teens with an author visit! Many expressed interest in becoming published authors someday and had a lot of questions. After doing research and asking around, Melissa Carollo at the Sun Prairie Public Library put me in touch with YA author Geoff Herbach. He enthusiastically said yes! The teens absolutely adored him and thought he was just hilarious! He gave them great advice, answered questions, explained to them what it takes to get a book published, and told some funny stories along the way. It was a fantastic experience!

 

When the new school year rolled around and fall programming started, I didn’t hesitate to add Scribe Tribe to the lineup. I felt that it was so successful during the summer and guessed that the teens would want to keep the ball rolling during the school year. I was sorely mistaken. Out of everyone, only one teen returned to the weekly fall session. I kept it going for that one person, mostly because he just wanted time to write and read his story out loud to me to get feedback. I didn’t talk about any themes or give any prompts. While I was happy to help this one teen, I was disappointed the momentum of Scribe Tribe didn’t carry over (and the one teen also missed writing with his friends). As librarians, we never truly know why one program is successful while another one fails. My best guess is that, despite my best efforts, creative writing felt too much like homework which was unappealing during the school year. Scribe Tribe was fun while it lasted but this program is going on the shelf for a while and I hope it has a resurgence someday! 

 Abby Seymour - E.D. Locke Public Library- McFarland, WI 

This post was made by a member of our Wisconsin Teen Librarian Services Group.

WVLS Bitmoji Library Making Tutorial

In a recent blog post, YSS board member Taylor Wilcox shared her experience and practical tips on creating a teen space using bitmoji. It's a great way to connect in a positive way with teens.

In December, Anne Hamland at WI Valley Library Service (WVLS), created a short 13 minute tutorial on creating a bitmoji library as one of their Digital Bytes. The tutorial also links to an instruction/resource page. It's a great way to enhance your services in a fun way!

Digital Bytes, a series containing over 60 CE tidbits, are available for free on WVLS' website.

So You Want To Start A Bitmoji Library Space?

                                         

Our library is back to computer-use and curbside services only, meaning that our teen patrons aren’t able to come in and explore our collection the way that they normally would: Through browsing, cover admiration, and asking for recommendations from their Teen Librarian. On top of that, I’ve heard many of them say that they just don’t use or really know how to find new books by using our library catalog. I get it, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s heard this. But how could we help our teens browse through the collection in a way that’s appealing to them? How could we share new and exciting titles with them in a way that was engaging and appealing to them? 

Let's Get Started: 

Well, for starters, let’s take our Teen Spaces to a virtual format that’s visually appealing, interactive, and easy-to-use. One of my co-workers mentioned an article about libraries and classrooms using Bitmoji spaces for their patrons to explore their collections and I loved that idea! But where should I start? And what did I want to include in our virtual space? 

What Do I Need?:

To start, I needed a Bitmoji avatar, a Google Slides presentation, and a picture from my department that our patrons might recognize. I made myself a Bitmoji and started a brand new, untouched Google Slides presentation. Before organizing my page, I had to figure out what would be necessary and helpful to my teens. I knew that this new webpage needed to offer my teen patrons access to our library resources, be easy to follow, and, while we were at it, promote our teen programs and activities.

Promote Your Collection!:

As I mentioned earlier, we’re limited to curbside services, so I needed to find the best way to show off our newly added books in our collection. When I took my background photo for the slide, I intentionally cleared off one shelf so I could use it to display my virtual collection. Then, I found images of each book that I wanted to display and pasted those on top of the bookshelf. After this, I manually linked each book image to their records in our library catalog so patrons can place their holds quickly and easily.

Don't Forget Your Programs: 

After the books were added, I added a few other details that I thought my teens would find useful. I added the image of a blackboard and on it I listed our catalog, and all of our current programs on it. I linked each program to their description pages on our library’s main website to save space on my Teen Room landing page. My Bitmoji also has a link that would take teens to a slide of my personal reading recommendations. And last, but not least, I inserted a video tutorial of how to use this interactive page and what’s all included on it.

Google Slide Formatting & Settings:

Once I finished creating all of my slides, I made sure all, but the main slide, were skipped. This allowed my Google Slides presentation to feel more like a webpage and less like a slideshow. Then, I clicked on the File button in the toolbar, and published my Google Slide presentation to the web. This is very important! It will make it so the link to your presentation opens up like a webpage/link as opposed to taking your patrons to a Google Slide presentation.

Keep It Simple and Engaging!:

Overall, I think it’s important to keep these interactive pages simple and fairly easy to explore, as they are still resource pages for your teen patrons. If there’s too much hidden, it can easily get overlooked or become too overwhelming for a patron. If you have the time, update it at least once a month and change up the books on your shelf so it’s new and engaging to your patrons. And while this method might be working for me, you can definitely customize your interactive page to best fit the teens (or other audiences) in your area best. You know them better than I do! Maybe you want to advertise your movie collection someway, or showcase a new service that your library is providing during these crazy times! That’s completely up to you and them.

P.S. Don't forget to share this resource with your school librarians as well! They might want to share it with their teachers, and they with their students.  

I hope this is helpful and if you ever have any questions, feel free to send them my way! 

Tools & Resources Used in Creating My Virtual Space:

• Google Slides
• Bitmoji (There’s an add-on you can use on your Google browser, but you may need to download the Bitmoji app on your phone/tablet to edit what your Bitmoji character looks like)

Want to see some examples? The virtual spaces featured below are from the Waupaca Area Public Library.

Waupaca Area Public Library - Teen Department

Waupaca Area Public Library - Children's Department

TikTok at the Library

Check out this super fab post on the IFLS Keeping Up With Kids blog, where Claire and Lindy from Rice Lake Public Library share how they helped their library join the world of TikTok!

Click HERE to read more.

Have you utilized TikTok at your library?  Tell us all about it in the comments!

 

Teen-Friendly Horror Movies

I don't know about you, but I am already thinking about pumpkins and crisp leaves, apple picking and HALLOWEEN.  That's right people, it might be sweltering outside, but in my little library office, I am all about the orange and black.  Also, I love movie showings at the library.  So, imagine my joy at discovering that Brooke Windsor over at the YALSA Hub has compiled a list of recommended horror movies that teens will love (and parents won't hate).  Including A Quiet Place and Lights Out, Windsor also includes some "horror-lite" selections like Gremlins, for younger teen audiences.  Check out the whole list HERE.

THE HATE U GIVE: Angie Thomas Shares Her Thoughts On Challenges

Recently, Angie Thomas was interviewed by Entertainment Weekly, where she discussed her best-selling book The Hate U Give and her thoughts on the recurring resistance her book has faced since its publication. 

Many of the adverse parties are concerned about the graphic depictions of drug use, police brutality, and the regular use of explicit language throughout the story.  Thomas responds as such:

“When you say ‘Black Lives Matter’ to three different people, you get 30 different reactions,” Thomas says. “There are so many misunderstandings. There’s the assumption that it’s an antipolice book, when the fact is it’s anti-police brutality.” She continues, in regard to the language: “There are books with way more curse words in them, for one. And two, there are 89 F-bombs in The Hate U Give. But there were 800 people killed by police officers last year alone.”

Read the whole article HERE.

With the film adaptation being released in select theaters this month, the book and its story are likely to be a topic of conversation for quite awhile.

And speaking of the movie, have y'all seen the trailer?!  

2016 Middle Grade Titles with Teen Appeal

If you are not already obsessed with all things the HUB (YALSA's Teen Collections Blog), check out this awesome post by Danielle Jones, teen and youth librarian at Multnomah County Library.  She highlights, BY GENRE, some awesome middle grade titles that have serious teen appeal.  Her lists include titles like Pax by Sara Pennypacker, Ghost by Jason Reynolds, and Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo.

Check out the full post HERE.