Marketing the Lamar Public Library to area Teens Joe Arthur Debbie Reynolds Erika Zeitz LI850 Management of Information Agencies July 28, 2006

Attracting teens to Public Libraries Research – Importance of providing space for teens in libraries (I’ll post another article soon). – Need to be able to feel free and safe to express themselves. – Others???

Stage One: Identify Target Audience Identify community target – Teen/Young Adults are currently 25% of the patrons nationwide (Bishop & Bauer, 2002 p. 36) - % Teen/YA patrons at Lamar Public Library. Distribute survey to all teen/YA patrons with Lamar Public Library cards. – Offer incentives to target patrons who complete and return survey. Candy bars. Coupons.

Stage Two: Goals & Objectives Establish goals and objectives – Objective As part of our mission statement we strive to provide services for all age groups within our community. The teen/YA age group has recently been identified as an underserved population at the Lamar Public Library. – Goals To attract more teen/Young adult patrons to Lamar Public Library. Gain support of library board, and community to remodel current Teen/YA space in the library. Build on popularity of teen poetry contest held in spring Create space that teens/Young adults can call their own in the LPL.

Potential Problems with current space to attract teens to use the Lamar Public Library No designated space for teens to hang out that is just for them. – Current space for teens shared with adult large print books. Limited programming offered for the teen population: – A homework/tutor help day once a week during school year. – Teen Poetry Contest held in March of 2006.

Stage Three: Strategies, Ideas Develop activities and strategies – Move adult large print books to new shelving within adult fiction area. – Paint mural in this section; use local teen artists. – Create space for such programs as which will be limited at certain times to Teen/YA usage only. – Build on popularity of poetry contest. Create a Poetry Café Program – Create additional programs to utilize space Graphic Novel/Movie Discussion Group Create Teen Advisory Group “Library After-Hours Night” Conduct audience assessment to tailor strategies – Allow activities with limited adult supervision. – Create small advisory group to suggest potential programs.

Stage 3 continued Develop a plan to implement activities – Present proposal to board to create a space for teens/YA. – Seek support for programs Friends of the Library. Grant opportunities or fundraisers. Other Resources (support, training and information)  YALSA: Young Adult Library Services Association, division of ALA YALSA also sponsors the Great Book Giveaway--could help collection development. (  Colorado Library Consortium (CLiC)

Proposal for Space for Teen/YA Programs Budget – Printing and distributing surveys. – Purchase of incentives. i.e. candy bars. – Painting of walls and mural 2 gallons for walls. Pay local high school for art supplies and paint. Offer small donation for painting of mural to art program - $ Purchase furniture and posters – Furniture – Posters Advertising Staff time Food (always a good thing when teens are involved)

Step Four - Determining Evaluation-- Quantitative & Qualitative Measures Quantitative Measures: Keep statistics on use of teen area Statistics on program attendance Adherence to budget limits.

Step Four Continued Qualitative Measures: Create evaluation form for programs. Exit polls and informal interviews with participants. Talk to staff: how do they see new teen programs going? (Address challenges at a later time, but note what the challenges to staff are). Invite city council members to be part of the fun and evaluation process.

Library Program Evaluation Form

Step Five: Analysis Do stats reflect YA population? Did we stay within budget? Response to changes. -- Staff: Any transitions difficult or easy? --Library Users: What did people enjoy? Was the experience educational?

Step Six Re-evaluate library usage by Teens/YAs at six months and one year. – Modify programs as needed. Because of large geographical area served by LPL, think of expanding to a web environment as well. – Blog – MySpace page – Consider IM availability

Bibliography Alessio, A. and Buron, N. (2006). Measuring the Impact of Dedicated Teen Service in the Public Library. YALS (Young Adult Library Services), vol. 4, no. 3, pp Bishop, K. and Bauer, P. (2002). Attracting young adults to public libraries. Journal of Youth Services in Libraries vol. 15, no.2, pp Retrieved July 10 th from Hwwilsonweb at Chelton, Mary K. (2005). Perspectives on YA Practice. Common YA Models of Service in Public Libraries: Advantages and Disadvantages. YALS (Young Adult Library Services, vol.3, no.4, pp3-6, 11. Retrieved July 10 th, 2006 from Hwwilsonweb at

Bibliography Continued Jones, P. (1998). Connecting Young Adults and Libraries, 2 nd ed. New York: Neal Schuman Publishers, Inc. Jones, P., Gorman, M., and Suellentrop, T. (2004). Connecting Young Adults and Libraries, 3 rd ed. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. Note: The 3rd edition contains lots of material about newer technologies and more case studies from workshops. Taney, K. B. (2003). Teen Spaces: the Step-by-Step Library Makeover. Chicago: American Library Association.