Teenagers reading

Last year I presented a paper at RAILS 4: Research Applications in Information and Library Studies in Melbourne. My peer-reviewed paper has been published in the June 2008 issue of Australian Academic and Research Libraries. I discussed some preliminary results of my focus groups with teenagers. “Teenagers talking about reading and libraries” is available from here or espace@Curtin.

Citation

Snowball, Clare (2008) “Teenagers talking about reading and libraries” Australian Academic and Research Libraries vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 106-118.

Abstract

Past research has shown teenagers to be reluctant to read and less likely to visit libraries than younger children. These conclusions are debated and further investigation is needed. Difficulties abound in researching teenagers’ opinions. Teenagers can be reluctant to participate in activities and peer support is often very important in determining their willingness to take part. Large-scale surveys of hundreds of student participants do not allow in-depth discussion of opinions and attitudes. Focus groups were conducted with metropolitan Perth high school students to investigate teenagers’ thoughts on reading and libraries. Although some teenagers were enamoured of reading and libraries, others were more scathing but still found ways to take part in literacy activities and acquire the information they needed to negotiate their world.

When I wrote my last post about my Library Review article Enticing teenagers into the library I thought it would be available online for all to read from espace@Curtin, but it still isn’t. Hopefully it will be sometime in May, but in the meantime, you can download it here.

When I first started working in a public library I saw all the programs there were for babies, pre-school age children, primary school age children, adults, and seniors and wondered why there weren’t any for teenagers. I asked if I could organize some. When given the go ahead I eagerly planned sessions on local music and graffiti. Then I discovered how hard it is to get teenagers to walk into a public library, no matter how relevant and entertaining your event is. If you have any comments on what I wrote in my article, please tell me.

Citation

Snowball, Clare (2008) “Enticing teenagers into the library” Library Review, vol.57, no.1. pp.25-35.

Abstract

Purpose: Children and teenagers are the future adult users of libraries, and how they are treated in our libraries, particularly school and public libraries, can cement lifelong memories and habits in these young people. This paper aims to address this issue.
Design/methodology/approach: The following paper is a review of the literature on young people’s, particularly teenagers’ use (or lack thereof) of libraries, the importance of library use and methods to encourage library use in young people.
Findings: Despite the findings from some of the literature that teenagers are less likely to visit libraries, there were many services and programmes in libraries that aim to reverse this trend.
Research limitations/implications: Some of the literature is peer-reviewed, but selected pieces were written by librarians in the field about their interactions with young people in their libraries. Although the latter cannot be generalised to all young people, they are important in providing examples of what occurs in some cases and what might be replicated in other settings.
Originality/value: Encouraging young people to visit and enjoy libraries can be a rewarding experience and is important in creating the next generation of library users.
Keywords: Adolescents, Youth, Public libraries, School libraries
Paper type: General review

Last year I wrote a literature review about teenagers in libraries for Library Review. It was published in the January 2008 issue. I was waiting impatiently to receive a copy so I could put it in the Curtin Institutional Repository. At the moment it’s only available online if your library has a subscription to Library Review. If you don’t have that luxury contact me and I’ll email you a copy. (Don’t go to the Library Review site and pay £13 for it, soon it will be online for all at espace@Curtin)

The animal on the espace@Curtin logo is a numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus). They are an endangered species and are Western Australia’s mammal emblem. Numbats are smaller than a cat and eat termites. They are one of only two marsupials in Australia that are active during the day, because that’s when their dinner goes out and about.

Citation

Snowball, Clare (2008) “Enticing teenagers into the library” Library Review, vol.57, no.1. pp.25-35.

I’ve finalised my paper from the RAILS 4 seminar, ready for publication. It needs to go through peer-review, but will be published in Australian Academic and Research Libraries in June 2008.

Last year I wrote a literature review about teenagers in libraries for Library Review. It’s been published in the January 2008 issue. I had hoped it would be available by now, but the editor has told me it will be in the next week or so. When I receive a copy I will put it in the Curtin Institutional Repository, so it will be available online.

Citation

Snowball, C. (2008) “Enticing teenagers into the library” Library Review, vol.57, no.1.

My paper from the RAILS3 seminar has been published in LIBRES: Library and Information Science Research Electronic Journal. “Researching Graphic Novels and Their Teenage Readers” is available online.

Citation

Snowball, C. (2007) “Researching Graphic Novels and Their Teenage Readers” LIBRES, vol.17, no.1.

My paper from the ACLAR conference has been published in Synergy, the research journal of the School Library Association of Victoria. “Graphic novels: Telling tales visually” is available online.

Citation

Snowball, C. (2006) “Graphic novels: Telling tales visually” Synergy, vol.4, no.2, pp.18-22.

My presentation at the ACLAR conference in Melbourne went well.

Papers from the conference are to be published in the peer-reviewed journal Papers: Explorations into Children’s Literature, vol.16, no.2. I’ve decided to submit the written version of my presentation to Synergy, the research journal of the School Library Association of Victoria (SLAV). Its readership is more the audience who would be interested in my research.

I have an article in the summer issue of Young Adult Library Services. I detail the beginnings of my literature review and the directions of my reading.

Citation

Snowball, C. (2005) “Teenage Reluctant Readers and Graphic Novels” Young Adult Library Services, 3(4), 43-45.