Starting From Scratch: My 18-Month Quest to Fill the Library with Teens, Convert my Colleagues, and...
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Transcript of Starting From Scratch: My 18-Month Quest to Fill the Library with Teens, Convert my Colleagues, and...
By Jenn Cournoyer
• How I came to
libraries
• What else I do
• My passion
Spoiler alert: there is
no magic formula!
What we WILL talk about
Your turn!◦Make it your goal to walk away
with at least one change you
can make
What I inherited:
-Good collection of roughly 10,000 items
-Usable Space that was changing
-Teen Den
Café
Area
(I’m happy
to chat
funding
after)
Old “Fortress” New, smaller desk
A blank calendar except for Anime Club
A tangled mess of bad communication, hurt
feelings, and the old “us against them”
mentality.
“This is how we’ve always done it”
“That doesn’t work here”
“We can’t talk to the teens or Jenn will give us
dirty looks when she walks by”
Image courtesy of Switchpitch.com
I had anime club so that’s
where I started to get to know
some of the teens
Use your fresh eyes
to assess the space,
and how patrons
are using it
Food and drink
Wifi and computer access
Comfortable seating
Positive Signage
Attractive displays of
teen materials
Where is your desk?
Do they know how to contact you? Email,
Facebook, text
message, etc?
SAY HELLO!
Hang out
BE YOURSELF
White board/ chalk board
Geek Posters
Teen Pick in Newsletter
Showcase their work on
Facebook, around the library,
in the local newspaper,
on the library website
Build off the audience you have, not the audience you wish you had
(anime vs. book club)
• Use your own passions and interests as a springboard (writer’s workshop, coding club)
Don’t be afraid to fail (it’s the program that didn’t work, not you)
(but don’t cancel a program just because no one signed up)
• Market, market, market
Program reviews
Teens guiding programs
Anime club has president
and own FB page, etc.
Tarantino Thursdays
Improv Club
Start listservs
Got rid of spinners
Added genre baskets
Face-out Shelving
New books displays
2-3 displays at any given time
Series project
A little about my school experience
Boys and Girls Clubs, etc.
• My awesome second floor
• Model how to talk to and interact with teens
• Introduce your teens and brag about them
• Talk about how you handle issues- it’s not a
secret! Let them know when you think you
could have handled something
better/differently
• Empower the staff to use behavior
modification they are comfortable with (3
strikes, etc.)
• Have a staff training with role play
• Remind the staff they don’t have to be
you, or use your style
• The power of a name
• Get your admin’s blessing
• Only you know how much you can do– Are you full or part time?
– Do you have to cover a reference, children’s or
other department’s desk?
– What’s in your budget?
Ask for what you need- the worst that will
happen is you will be told “no”
• Find a formula and go with it for as long as it
works! My formula is roughly - 4, 4, 4, 2
4 anime, 4 monthly, 4 specials, 2 passive
Don’t reinvent the wheel! Your colleagues
(and Pinterest) are great resources!
Take a vacation – you should want to come
to work when you get up in the morning
Good is not the enemy of perfect
Some final thoughts ◦Drinks + rug = bad idea
◦Never make it you and the
teens against the other staff
◦Ask for your colleagues’ input
No teen computers
Not enough space
Magazines are weird
Furniture doesn’t hold up
Tied to reference desk
I’m just one person
Now I have the teens coming
in-where do I put them??
Change your story:
Use the sheet and
come up with at least
one thing that is in your
power to change
What is your ONE THING
from the brainstorming
session?
Any questions for me or for
the group?
It’s
about
the
teens!!
“Enthusiasm is one of the
most powerful engines of
success. When you do a
thing, do it with all your
might. Put your whole soul
into it. Stamp it with your
own personality. Be active,
be energetic, be
enthusiastic and faithful,
and you will accomplish
your object. Nothing great
was ever achieved without
enthusiasm.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson