The thing is, designing for mobile isn’t just something to think about for library websites. It’s something to think about when planning programs, services, and collections that tend to be face-to-face but could really have an on-the-road or on-a-device aspect. For example:

Research and Reference

• About 15 years ago I used to joke with friends that we should setup library satellites in Starbucks. We were seeing even then a lot of people tmaking Starbucks, and similar places, their office outposts. In the late 90s having a library satellite in a place like Starbucks was a sort of crazy idea. In 2012, that’s no longer the case. While it can be difficult to get out of the library to be where teens are, the technology tools for roaming around your community are available so that you can be in a local mall or pizza place or baseball game with a tablet and a wireless connection and provide services to teens (and anyone else for that matter). What if you were to start to brainstorm with teens, colleagues, and administrators how you could provide service in the community outside of the library using mobile devices? What would it take to get started? How can you work towards getting there?
• A few weeks ago the Pew Internet and American Life Project released a report on the just-in-time information seeking behaviors of adults using mobile devices. (Adults in this case are anyone 18 or over.) The report states, “Users’ ability to access data immediately through apps and web browsers and through contact with their social networks is creating a new culture of real-time information seekers and problem solvers.” What does this mean for how librarians serve teens who are similarly seeking information quickly via their devices? Do we make sure to have chat going on Facebook to make it easy to ask a question of a librarian? Do we make sure we have apps and mobile web presences that make information seeking fast and painless? The answer to both is “yes.” While the report focuses on those 18 and older, it does note that younger (The 18 to 29 age range) mobile users are more likely to perform just-in-time information seeking than older users. That being the case, doesn’t it make sense that teens are a younger audience doing the same and that you need to serve them so that they succeed in that information seeking?

Programs

• Another Pew Internet and American Life Project report that came out a few weeks ago was on teens and online video. One finding is that, “37% of internet users ages 12-17 participate in video chats with others using applications such as Skype, Googletalk or iChat.” What a great way for you to connect with teens for mobile programs. Teens can be on a device at home, in school, at the house of a friend, or even in the local pizza place. You could have video conversations with teens from anywhere – the library, the school, home, the local Starbucks or pizza place. You and teens don’t have to feel tethered to a location for face-to-face programs. Get out of the library and into the community and stream a video book discussion group or TAB meeting from anywhere.
• One of the topics I talk a lot about is social reading within the app environment. (I’ll be discussing just that at YALSA’s YA Lit Symposium in November.) The thing is you and the teens you serve should be able to talk about books and reading anywhere and anytime. Again, no need to be tethered to a physical location. That means you can have ongoing book discussions with teens on their devices using apps like Subtext. While reading a book with friends, and librarians, it’s possible to have conversations about what’s happening in the text, what doesn’t quite make sense, and even other books that might be of interest. A teen might be riding the bus to school, reading the latest Ally Carter, and talking with you and her friends about the book right from inside the book on her mobile device.

Collections

• We talk a lot in libraries about e-books, circulation of e-books, and making sure teens have access to e-books via their mobile devices. We should. Yet, there’s something else that we need to talk about and that’s apps and how they fit into library collections. Sure, you might not be circulating apps, yet. But, you do need to think about them and how to connect teens who are mobile with the apps that best suit their needs. Perhaps it’s starting to add apps to Pinterest boards and resource lists so that teens know what’s available, even if it’s not from the library. Maybe it’s suggesting to parents, grandparents, and others who ask for gift-giving advice the apps that a teen might want to have on a device. (YALSA’s App of the Week is a great resource for starting to learn about apps.) Apps are a big part of the mobile culture and you need to be in on that. (As a matter of fact the Pew Internet and American Life Project also recently published a report on parents and app downloading. It’s well worth investigating.)

What does all of this mean within the context of think mobile first? It means every time you talk with teens about anything you develop for and with them, you want to discuss how it can work in a mobile environment. Is it something that should be only mobile-based? Is it something that needs a mobile component? Is it something that requires you to get out of the library’s physical space so that you can reach the most teens possible? Mobile is everywhere. Embrace it and do that by thinking mobile first, the rest will follow.

The speed networking event is a fun, simple way to connect with others who work with teens in libraries. It’s inspired by the speed dating model of getting to know someone: everyone will be divided into small groups and seated at tables. Every few minutes, groups will swap tables, giving you a chance to get to know a lot of your fellow teen-serving librarians in a more personal way in short period of time.

You’ll talk about great ideas, swap stories of successes and failures, and have the opportunity to meet people from across the country who are at all different points in their careers and professional involvement. Conversations will be informal and fun. Bring your expertise and your curiosity!

This session will be held on Sunday, June 24th at 1:30 in the Pacific A room of the Hilton Anaheim hotel. I hope I’ll see you there!

And of course, you’ll need to eat.

Looking for unique street food without the big city hassle?  Try Bruxie in the city of Orange: a gourmet waffle sandwich restaurant that has gotten a lot of buzz this year.  From over a dozen savory or sweet waffle sandwiches filled with deliciousness, each pairing appears increasingly more delectable the longer you stare at the menu.  Lightly crispy with a doughy center, these authentic Belgium waffles are more like bread than pancakes, which makes them perfect for any meal of the day.  Be warned: sandwiches are generous in size and you’ll have a very difficult task of selecting just one.  This is the perfect place to get a group together and order everything off the menu!

Start with something savory.  For good ol’ American soul food, try the Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Waffle sandwich, battered fried breast with a sliver of chili honey and a sprinkling of cider slaw.  If you’re looking for more meet, try the Bruxie Burger, Angus beef with all the proper toppings wedged between a wide crispy waffle, or the Hot Pastrami Bruxie with gruyere cheese and cider slaw.  Or for something a little more fancy, try the Smoked Salmon Bruxie—Michel Cordon Bleu smoked salmon with herb cream cheese, crispy cucumbers and chives in a waffle fold.

Feeling nostalgic for your favorites?  Bruxie takes care of that, too!  In their waffle sandwich alter egos, PB and J, S’Mores, and Lemon Meringue Pie never sounded better.  There are also vegetarian and gluten free options, but if you’re not satisfied with their offerings, as long as they have the ingredients, they can make it!

In keeping with the theme, Bruxie also offers waffle cut fries and Belgium waffle originals; get the Liege waffle with caramelized pearl sugar or a chocolate filled Liege with nutella or chocolate sauce.  There’s also an entire menu of specialty drinks: Peets lattes, old fashioned sodas, ice cream floats and shakes.  As if that wasn’t enough, they also have soft serve Wisconsin frozen custard and sundaes served in waffle cones!

Bruxie is located about five miles east of the Anaheim Convention Center in a quaint little neighborhood in the Chapman University district.  Down the street are shops and cafes that look like homes interspersed between houses that are actually homes.  There are no shortages of antique stores, so if you feel like a stroll, catch them before they close!  For more info and pictures, visit their website at www.bruxie.com.

Bruxie | Old Town Orange | 292 North Glassell Street, Orange, CA | 714-633-3900

Hours: 9am-9pm Sunday – Wednesday | 9am-10pm Thursday – Saturday

See you in Anaheim!

The Alex Awards are named in honor of Margaret A. Edwards (who was known as Alex to her friends, hence the name). She’s probably best known for her book The Fair Garden and the Swarm of Beasts: The Library and the Young Adult, a classic in the field of young adult/teen library services. (The chances are good that if you take a YA literature or youth services course while getting your library degree that you will hear mention of it—and rightly so.)

Each year, the Alex Awards committee chooses ten books written for adults that are judged to have particular appeal to young adults between the ages of 12 and 18. These books are fiction and non-fiction, well-known and not. They encompass pretty much every genre and also include literary fiction, and the tone can range from dark to side-clutchingly funny. The non-fiction titles have tended to skew towards adventure, history, and modern society.

Some books may be familiar to you, such as this year’s winner The Night Circus, and some may not be, such as another 2012 winner, Salvage the Bones. Here’s a link to the complete list of this year’s Alex Awards. And while you’re there, take some time to go back through the older Alex lists. You’ll find a mixture of now-classic crossovers such as Neil Gaiman’s Stardust, Dianne Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale, and Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich. (A small piece of trivia: Neil Gaiman is the only author—-so far-—to make the list twice: in 2000 for Stardust and in 2006 for Anansi Boys.)

So how can you use the Alex Awards?

1. For some of your more advanced, curious, or sophisticated teen readers, who may be more challenging to do readers’ advisory for, these awards are a boon. The Alex titles are a rich source of interesting and more complex reading material, which is also still emotionally appealing and accessible to teen readers.

2. Don’t forget to add them to your teen booklists (print or digital). I usually include a section of related or crossover adult titles at the end of my teen booklists and the Alex lists are an excellent place to start.

3. Familiarize yourself with them in the name of readers’ advisory and collection development. I always make a point of taking a look at all of the Alex Award winners and also checking to see if my system owns copies (and if so, how many). The winning writers may have other titles that would make good recommendations or read-alikes that would have teen appeal as well. Crossing teen and adult readers over into each other’s sections is always fun regardless of the direction. (And don’t forget that these still make excellent suggestions for adult readers, too.)

4. Add some more books to your own towering stack of books to be read. I try to read several of the Alex winners every year and have been introduced to titles and authors I might not have come across otherwise. And I’ve read many books that I’ve loved and still recommend to friends, family, and patrons whenever the opportunity presents itself. (Soulless, Persepolis, The Eyre Affair, Gil’s All-Fright Diner, The Spellman Files, and The Vanishing of Katharina Linden, to name a just a few.)

Several of this year’s winners are on my personal summer reading list. So if you’re not sure where to begin in adult fiction these days or you’ve simply enjoyed as many YA apocalypses as you can stand for a few days, don’t forget Alex!

Jennifer Brannen is a YALS Editorial Advisory Board Member.

Many teens, and probably quite a few librarians, will find DoInk an app that they could spend hours with. Why? Because it makes it possible to, through a fairly simple process, create animations on an iPad.


The basics:

• Create “drawing sequences” in DoInk on the iPad. For example, in the animation above, that shows my lack of drawing skills, I created a sunny day drawing sequence, a person starting to walk drawing sequence, and a thought bubble drawing sequence.
• Create a composition that is made up of the drawings available. For example, I put the sunny day background, the person, and the thought bubble into one composition.
• Size each of the drawing sequences so they fit the animation canvas available.
• In the composition organize when you want each drawing to play, set the timing for each drawing (for example should the pieces loop), and arrange the drawings so that they play in the sequence that you would like.
  
• Add paths to any of the drawings that you add to the composition. For example, for the person I drew in a walking position, I used the pathing tool in DoInk to show movement across the screen.
• Save to the iPad camera roll, to the DoInk.com website, or just to the DoInk app.

Those are just the basics. The drawing tools in DoInk are pretty extensive and include shapes, brushes, a full color palette, and more. When in composition mode it’s possible to add drawings that others have created in DoInk to one’s own composition. That means drawings teens create in the app can be seen and used by others (if uploaded to the DoInk website). That can be pretty exciting for a teen. This also gives you a good chance to talk about copyright with teens who are using DoInk. Teens can consider the impact of allowing others to use their drawings in works not created by themselves.

If you have teens that are DrawSomething players DoInk might be a perfect way to expand their horizons. Have teens use some of the drawings they’ve produced, or seen, in DrawSomething as a starting point for a DoInk animation.

Or, why not suggest teens put their DoInk animations on their Facebook pages and then you can also embed them in your library’s teen social media presences. Perhaps a gallery of teen created DoInks and even a celebration of their creations virtually and/or face-to-face could be organized.

Just beware when you, and the teens you work with, start with DoInk, you may find the process at least slightly addicting.

For more YALSA App of the Week posts, visit the App of the Week Archive.

The ALA Washington Office Twitter feed (@ala_wo) is an informative resource year-round, but their tweet-by-tweet coverage of the day was an excellent way to track the action. Many advocating librarians took the time to Tweet their activities in between meetings using the #NLLD hashtag. It was truly heartening to see so many librarians on the frontlines.

 Those who could not meet their legislators in person still had (and have) the opportunity to communicate their concerns. YALSA’s Tweet Your Senator Map is a quick and easy way for those with a Twitter account to connect with their senators regarding library issues. The Map saw a lot of use over the days. The Legislative Action Center is an excellent clearinghouse for understanding legislation impacting libraries and how to communicate with legislators. Though the official day has passed, advocating for libraries is a year-round endeavor.

 If you are considering attending next year’s Library Legislative Day from May 6-7, check out this informative piece on NLLD in American Libraries Magazine to get a clearer picture of the experience.  And take a minute to browse the ALA Washington Office flickr account to see the action for yourself and hopefully get pumped to advocate.

• After I’ve waited for what seems like forever (but is really just since I joined Twitter and started following Levar Burton), the website RRKidz is finally live and going somewhere! This 21st century incarnation of “Reading Rainbow” promises access to the classic episodes that I know I adored as a kid as well as new content for today’s media devices, those ubiquitous tablets and genius phones, curated by Burton himself. My first recommendation is for you just to get excited. But also consider that some of your patrons may still remember the original show, and my guess is that even if they claim to be non-readers, they’ll have some great memories of it. “Reading Rainbow” may be for younger children, but you can get your teen volunteers excited about it by mimicking the show’s popular “You don’t have to take my word for it” section, in which real kids recommended their favorite books to others. What a great way to get teens to sit in on storytime, or to volunteer in your children’s section, and they can just as easily create videos on library computers to share their favorite YA stories with fellow teens, along with your help.
• The New York Times magazine recently held a contest for the best essay answering the question “Why is it ethical to eat meat?” The contest subject and its judges (all white men, mostly already known for championing animal rights and being vegetarians or vegans) immediately prompted outrage, interest, and annoyance, and all of the comments and criticism are well worth reading. But it also prompted a lot of discourse, and that’s always a good thing. Teens may not always be interested in debate or writing, but food and vegetarianism tends to be an area in which they are already developing strong opinions. Consider hosting your own essay contest, debate, roundtable, or poster display of the various standpoints on dietary choices.
• The recent outrage surrounding a derogatory Chronicle of Higher Education blog post about black studies programs at universities has got me thinking–about a lot of stuff, but also something really simple. I had never heard of this publication until the end of college, and while I don’t read it regularly, I find it covers a lot of bases and topics relevant not only to professors and administrators, but also to students. I imagine it would have been helpful and informative to read some of the blog posts and articles when I was in high school applying to college. So. Are you subscribing to CHE? Do you provide online access? And are you telling your teen patrons about it and providing it along with your other resources on college readiness and education?
• “It could be argued that our role as educators is to allow students to encounter a variety of images and texts, as well as to promote reflection and analysis, so that they have robust as well as pleasurable learning experiences,” says Jon Callow. In his article on visual literacy in the coming issue of Screen Education, he describes the various ways teachers use illustrations, photographs, and advertisements as “texts,” both as supplements to literature being studied and as focal points for study in their own right. In an academic collection of children’s literature that I visited recently, I saw poster displays that education students had made of the themes and issues they had studied in various books, and I would love to see something similar in public and high school libraries. Since we all know it’s our job to reach non-readers as well, why not take a look at Callow’s article, in which he argues that literacy can also come out of looking at media that’s not made out of the printed word, and encourage your teen patrons to do a little analysis and reflection on various images? Pull out some magazine discards, or pick up cheap coffee table books and magazines from thrift stores, and encourage them to rip out the images that say something to them, and then to create a display board from them. It could be all images that tell the story of someone’s life, a couple images plus text about what they mean to the teen, or a series of thematically linked photographs (according to the teen, not the magazine) with big keywords inspired by them. The possibilities are endless, and this sort of activity can invite readers and non-readers, artists and non-artists, to either work together or at least work in the same space.
  Callow, Jon. “The Rules Of Visual Engagement.” Screen Education 65 (2012): 74-79.
• Last month, I wrote about innovation with Etsy, but I didn’t really touch on what you could do with youth. Aside from being a great place to pick up housewarming gifts and one-of-a-kind clothing, it’s also a place where young people can learn about running a business within a structure that allows them to learn on a curve in a somewhat safer environment. While any teen who seeks to start selling on Etsy needs their parent or guardian’s permission, not yours, you can do a lot to foster the growth, innovation, and confidence a teen will need to broach the subject with her parents and to actually turn a profit. Start by making sure you pull out books in your collection (or order some new ones) like Start It Up by Kenrya Rankin, Young Guns by Robert Tuchman, or one of the huge number of books about selling on Etsy that already exist. Other ways you can bring entrepreneurship and the business world into your library? Host a screening of an episode of “Mad Men” (check the episode carefully and provide a disclaimer, since “Mad Men” contains sex and partial nudity), follow it with a discussion on workplace politics of class and gender, and don’t let people file out of the room without info on how to find their first job, internship, or volunteer position. And take a look at the insane amount of categories on Etsy’s site to prompt events and clubs dedicated to things like sewing, eco-friendly beauty products, furniture making, and more. Just about anything you find lends itself well to critical discussion, innovative crafting, and use of your already existing collection of cookbooks and other how-to and DIY guides.
• If you look through my iPod, you’ll find more than twenty dedicated playlists, with titles like “tired tears for sad days” (I don’t like capital letters), “dancing in my underwear,” and “making pictures.” Poke around my apartment and you’ll find a notebook with working lists of playlists-in-progress. The curator in me loves to highlight certain songs, especially when they’re singles for which I don’t have entire albums (and thus otherwise would not often listen to), and put them into easily accessible playlists that I can pick based on my mood. I’m sure I’m not the only one who does this. But in case you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet, consider the new book Your Playlist Can Change Your Life by Galina Mindlin, Don DuRousseau, and Joseph Cardillo, a psychiatrist, CEO, and psychologist, respectively. The book argues that understanding your moods and listening to music that soothes, inspires, or pumps you up can have a beneficial effect on your brain and body. Invite a local DJ or radio producer to come speak, and get your patrons to gather together to create collaborative and individual playlists, as well as to talk about what music means to them. Print out some of your group playlists, post them around your teen room, and link them to your CD collection and library Freegal access for more incentive.
• Have you ever heard the term “twice exceptional?” I certainly haven’t, but after reading this article on giftedness and learning disabilities, it strikes me that this is not an area many people consider when they’re working directly with people or choosing how to collect resources or materials. Take a look at the article and its suggested resources–it should provide anyone with a well-needed reminder of what happens when we assume, and how teachers, parents, and others (like librarians!) can approach helping, working with, or responding to students who exhibit learning disabilities in some areas and giftedness in others. (You’ll also find that, apparently, I’m not the first person to write a column with this title.)
  Horowitz, Sheldon. “Giftedness and Learning Disabilities.” National Center for Learning Disabilities, 2006.

Have you read anything that needs to be covered here? Have you taken any of the suggestions and created your own dynamic programming, services, or collections? I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. See you next month!

Of course, with all the excitement of the conference, you’ll need to take a break from the convention center once in a while– why not go to the beach for some fabulous BBQ?  Only 20 miles away from Anaheim is Seal Beach, home to the second largest wooden pier in California.  Take a walk on the beach to work up a good appetite, and then stop into Beachwood BBQ: Where the Fork . . .  Meets the Pork.  Beachwood is BBQ with a twist, and can be a hot spot to eat, so try going at off hours or plan on having time to look at the shops on Main Street.

Photo by asmythie

The food is so good, you may find it difficult to pick just one thing off the menu.  Try the BBQ favorites like brisket and pulled pork.  Be more adventurous and order the Mini Lamb Corn Dogs with Habanero-berry “katsup” or the amazing Tater Tot Casserole.  By its name alone, the Tater Tot Casserole may not catch your eye, but wait till you hear about it.

The dish has tater tots dusted with porcini mushrooms, which are then cooked in duck fat.  But that’s not all.  Then the tater tots are covered with melted smoked cheese curd and a duck gravy.  Is your mouth watering yet?

Photo by punctuated

Vegetarians have lots of choices too at the Beachwood BBQ, including a fabulous fried green tomato sandwich with smoked mozzarella and Tabasco vinaigrette or the baked macaroni and cheese with bacon and a Gruyere beer sauce.  

Speaking of beer,  Beachwood has a huge selection of microbrews on tap.  Chalkboards on the wall of the restaurant list the many choices.  Feel like trying the local flavor? Beachwood also makes their own craft beers.

If you aren’t full after all of that, walk a couple store fronts down towards the water and stop at Sweet Jill’s Bakery for a giant cinnamon roll or a chocolate chip cookie dough brownie!

Find Beachwood BBQ just a block away from the beach at 131 ½ Main Street, Seal Beach, CA. 90740 and plan your meal by checking out their Web site at http://beachwoodbbq.com.

Find Sweet Jill’s Bakery at 123 ½ Main Street, Seal Beach, CA. 90740 or look at their tasty treats at http://www.sweetjillsbakery.com.

See you in Anaheim!