Passive Programming or How to Engage Teens in Your Library

Teens can be an elusive element in the library. You can plan Teen movies, crafts, Hunger Games parties and offer pizza. Yet, sometimes the only evidence of their existence is a disordered shelve in the Teen area. Plus, if your library is anything like many libraries I have been in, teens are relgated to a small section not even near the Youth Services Information desk, making getting to know your teens even more of a challenge. Recently my library began experimenting with passive programming with the younger children. We had success with a decorate your own snowman contest during December and then began looking for more ways to bring passive programming, not just to the young children but to our teens as well. We decided to start small with a brightly colored poster with sharpies attached to it that asked, "What are you reading...?" Given our struggles to get teens to come to programs I was impressed with speed and number of responses, with our teens writing everything from John Green novels to "The Giver" and "To Kill a Mockingbird". One tip: get your staff to write a few things on a poster first to get a passive program started so that teens feel welcome to add.

Next, I decided to try an idea that allowed for a little more interaction with the teens and I placed a poster next to the computers that asked, "What kind of programs would you like to see at your library?" It took a little longer for responses to appear on this one but I eventuall I got comments and queries on everything from volunteer oppportunities to movie programs. My coworkers and I then ended up adding comments and responses to the poster. Making it an, admittedly low tech, but effective way to communicate with teeens that don't usually stop by our information desk.

This month we have decorated the wall of the teen area with Post- It note art. This is easy as all you need is a container of markers and pile of Post-It notes. We also added a small sign that encouraged teens to draw a picture, write a favorite book title, song lyric quote, a poem, a goal or express team/school spirit to get them started. A few members of the staff then drew a few pictures to get the program started. We now have several dozen Post-It notes and counting decorating the wall, with everything from Taylor Swift lyrics to doodles of flowers and it looks wonderful!

Other ideas for passive programs include asking teens to choose which Hogwarts House they would be sorted into, which fictional place they would most like to visit, starting a round robin story. For this year's summer reading program which is based around superheroes I also found a funny chart that allows you to figure out what your superhero name would be.