Connecting Teens with Technology at the Library

Connecting Teens with Technology at the Library presents a balanced view of the often complex relationship between teenagers and their technology. This book will help support fellow teen-serving staff nationwide in program creation and collection development on this relevant topic. Throughout the chapters, the authors take a lens of inclusivity to address the needs of many teens-not just those that are avid users. While programming is central to most books about teens and technology in the library, this read goes beyond a mere listing of program ideas or reviews but offers practical advice for linking these technology programs with real-world applications such as future careers and community partnerships. The authors provide options of low-tech and high-tech as well as how to engage youth during the pandemic and beyond. The book also explores areas of connecting teens with technology beyond programming and into areas of mentoring and community building; the foundational blocks of the library. Whether readers are just starting out in libraries or are a seasoned library worker, this book has tips to engage every reader in welcoming teens to the technology resources of the library. With Connecting Teens with Technology at the Library, Czarnecki and Harris have created an essential manual for working with teens through and with technology. From matching your program with the library's mission, to developing your professional and teen collections with technology centered materials, to sample programs that your teens will love, this book has everything you need to create an impactful technology program that works in and out of the library.

Author: Kelly Nicole Czarnecki, Marie L. Harris
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 05/29/2021
Pages: 118
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.48lbs
Size: 10.00h x 7.00w x 0.25d
ISBN: 9781538135884


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 11/30/2021

About the Author
Kelly Czarnecki completed her MS in 2002 and MEd in 2001 at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. She worked at the Bloomington Public Library in Illinois for four years as the young adult services librarian. Czarnecki started at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library at the ImaginOn Branch in 2005 as the teen librarian and is now the teen loft manager. She has over twenty years of experience in working with persons experiencing homelessness who are sheltered. Czarnecki has contributed extensively to the literature on teens and libraries, particularly with technology as a focus. She is currently a columnist for Tag Team Tech with VOYA. Marie Harris completed her MLIS at the University of North Carolina Greensboro in 2018. She began working for Charlotte Mecklenburg Library in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2012 in the Loft at ImaginOn as a teen library services specialist. While in this role, she worked with Kelly Czarnecki to plan many technology-related programs for teens, including facilitating the use of Studio i digital media lab for individuals and groups, planning and implementing a Google Maker Camp series for preteens and teens for two summers, collaborating with community experts to bring coding to the library, planning and implementing dozens of technology-related programs for the public, and partnering with a community teen robotics team. She is currently employed as a branch leader at the Cornelius and Davidson branches of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, where she manages a team of fourteen library staff members.