This recent report from ComScore, More than Half of MySpace Visitors are Now Age 35 or Older, as the Site’s Demographic Composition Continues to Shift states that more people 35 and older are using MySpace and that the teen demographic has dropped 12% in a one year period. Once sites like MySpace, Xanga, and the whole social networking thing got around to the mainstream media all the teens left the building. They are no longer cool.
However, I see this is as the absorbing of this type of communication into the mainstream. Teens check it out first and it is cool because you are the first, plus it is this big secret. Once Mom finds out and gets an account, it is lame. What eventually happens is that these social networking sites became mainstream communication devices. Instead of using email or chat, they use MySpace and Facebook. It is a better communication device anyway because it looks like you are talking to a person not jdumb63. It seems to be the next evolution of communication among people in general.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Successful Saturday: Are well-behaved teens an oxymoron
Successful Saturday: Are Well-behaved Teens an Oxy Moron
This successful Saturday will focus on the library's success in attracting teens to the library without gaming, without offering special programs, and without doing anything but having one group at the library meet monthly.
A typical problem with teens is that they get into trouble. Libraries will actually try to avoid them because they destroy things, are too loud, and general annoy everyone, including the staff. When I first came to my library, we never saw any teens. We had some programs for them, mostly aimed at middle schoolers with very little success. We had a grant to set-up an E-Mag program which was an online website teens could create on their own. The product was fine, but it quickly fizzled out. By the time I came on board, the program was a program in name only. We wanted to attract teens and make the library a place for them to go and congregate. I looked to strategies to get them in the door and went to the local high school. At the time, the library still had its old Gates computers and only had 11. When I went to the High School and saw what they had after school it was shocking. They had dozens of computers all lined in a row, fast and up to date. There was no way we could compete with that, so I gave up on it.
When the library performed its strategic plan, one of the big needs of the community was to provide activities for teens. We decided we needed to provide recreational and educational opportunities that were open ended for teens to drop in whenever they wanted. We also said we would dedicate at least 10% of our computers to this population. We had a vague plan, but it was in the direction we already knew we needed to go.
We provided programs that summer for teens. We had game nights. We bought and Xbox and a Playstation. We had competitions and for a while the teens were showing up and playing the games and getting involved, then it stopped. For one month we had great participation, but then they just stopped coming. In the end we found out that we could not keep up on the gaming end. The demand for games was beyond our budget. We could not get the best and most desired games fast enough. We decided that we were not yet at the level that we needed to be in that area, so we tried a different approach.
Our Youth librarian created a group of teens that would meet once a week until they decided on what meeting day was best. They came up with their own name SPARC, Students Participating in an Advisory Reading Committee. It was just like a Teen Advisory Group, but we just did not call it a teen group. Never call anything a teen if you want teens to come. In my community, the Boys and Girls Club wanted to create a teen club where teens could hang out. After getting feedback, the number one complaint of theirs was that if you call anything a teen something, we will definitely not come.
After meeting with the SPARC group for some time, they gave us ideas on what books to buy, what graphic novels to buy, and what types of things they wanted to see on the computers. In the end, they wanted good material to read and a hands off approach on the computers. They did not want something specifically geared for them, but just to be allowed more freedom on the computers. Don't block MySpace or chat, let us use the computers in the way we want them and trust us. So we did.
In our first quarter of this activity, we found circulation in the Young Adult Sections go up 40 % and computer usage go from dismal to 28% of the collection. We dedicated 20% of the computers to the teens, but then decided to let them go where they wanted and to just perform the roving reference to make sure everything was ok. So all the numbers are up, but what about the behavior, had I turned our library upside down with unruly teens yelling, talking on cell phones, causing problems? The answer was no. They were well-behaved and good and showed an active interest in our collection, our computers, and the library itself. The library is a hang-out place. On Friday's the High School lets out early and by 1pm, all the High Schoolers come down to the library. Most people would have been scared. The funny thing was that yesterday a City Councilman came into the library to sit and check things out. He was down were most of the teens were and I was surprised to see him when I went downstairs near the end of the day. He said, “I was surprised by all the activity and all the teens. I see a lot of teens on MySpace, but they are all so well-behaved. They don't act unruly or cause problems. I know they use MySpace, but they are probably just talking to their friends and doing what teens do. It is great to see them here, this is a great place for them.” To have both the teens act that way and to have my councilman see it was perfect.
This successful Saturday will focus on the library's success in attracting teens to the library without gaming, without offering special programs, and without doing anything but having one group at the library meet monthly.
A typical problem with teens is that they get into trouble. Libraries will actually try to avoid them because they destroy things, are too loud, and general annoy everyone, including the staff. When I first came to my library, we never saw any teens. We had some programs for them, mostly aimed at middle schoolers with very little success. We had a grant to set-up an E-Mag program which was an online website teens could create on their own. The product was fine, but it quickly fizzled out. By the time I came on board, the program was a program in name only. We wanted to attract teens and make the library a place for them to go and congregate. I looked to strategies to get them in the door and went to the local high school. At the time, the library still had its old Gates computers and only had 11. When I went to the High School and saw what they had after school it was shocking. They had dozens of computers all lined in a row, fast and up to date. There was no way we could compete with that, so I gave up on it.
When the library performed its strategic plan, one of the big needs of the community was to provide activities for teens. We decided we needed to provide recreational and educational opportunities that were open ended for teens to drop in whenever they wanted. We also said we would dedicate at least 10% of our computers to this population. We had a vague plan, but it was in the direction we already knew we needed to go.
We provided programs that summer for teens. We had game nights. We bought and Xbox and a Playstation. We had competitions and for a while the teens were showing up and playing the games and getting involved, then it stopped. For one month we had great participation, but then they just stopped coming. In the end we found out that we could not keep up on the gaming end. The demand for games was beyond our budget. We could not get the best and most desired games fast enough. We decided that we were not yet at the level that we needed to be in that area, so we tried a different approach.
Our Youth librarian created a group of teens that would meet once a week until they decided on what meeting day was best. They came up with their own name SPARC, Students Participating in an Advisory Reading Committee. It was just like a Teen Advisory Group, but we just did not call it a teen group. Never call anything a teen if you want teens to come. In my community, the Boys and Girls Club wanted to create a teen club where teens could hang out. After getting feedback, the number one complaint of theirs was that if you call anything a teen something, we will definitely not come.
After meeting with the SPARC group for some time, they gave us ideas on what books to buy, what graphic novels to buy, and what types of things they wanted to see on the computers. In the end, they wanted good material to read and a hands off approach on the computers. They did not want something specifically geared for them, but just to be allowed more freedom on the computers. Don't block MySpace or chat, let us use the computers in the way we want them and trust us. So we did.
In our first quarter of this activity, we found circulation in the Young Adult Sections go up 40 % and computer usage go from dismal to 28% of the collection. We dedicated 20% of the computers to the teens, but then decided to let them go where they wanted and to just perform the roving reference to make sure everything was ok. So all the numbers are up, but what about the behavior, had I turned our library upside down with unruly teens yelling, talking on cell phones, causing problems? The answer was no. They were well-behaved and good and showed an active interest in our collection, our computers, and the library itself. The library is a hang-out place. On Friday's the High School lets out early and by 1pm, all the High Schoolers come down to the library. Most people would have been scared. The funny thing was that yesterday a City Councilman came into the library to sit and check things out. He was down were most of the teens were and I was surprised to see him when I went downstairs near the end of the day. He said, “I was surprised by all the activity and all the teens. I see a lot of teens on MySpace, but they are all so well-behaved. They don't act unruly or cause problems. I know they use MySpace, but they are probably just talking to their friends and doing what teens do. It is great to see them here, this is a great place for them.” To have both the teens act that way and to have my councilman see it was perfect.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Fix-it Friday: There's NOWHERE TO SIT or all dressed up and nowhere to grow
This Fix-It Friday will focus on the library's lack of space.
Once upon a time there was a little town. The women of this town decided that their community needed a library, so they built one with their own hands out of stones they found in the desert. When the library opened it had dozens of books for the community and the townspeople were happy.
As time went on, the little library was too little for the community. The little town founded by a train station did not have enough room for books.
“To the rescue!” the local boy scout group cried. “We will donate our small building for the library.” And so the town expanded its little library to three times its former size! Now there were more books for the community, and the townspeople were happy.
As time went on, the little library was too little for the community. The little town founded by a train station did not have enough room for books.
“Build us a building!” the townspeople cried. So the town did. They built a new library from scratch and a new city hall and a new police station. It was great! The library now had space for more books, places to sit, and many new things and the townspeople were happy.
“We are out of space!” the townspeople cried. The library again was too small for the townspeople need to learn and to read, but the town had no money. “What are we to do?” the town leaders said. We need to find a way to make space for our community. “I have an idea!”, a library director said, “We can play musical buildings.” The High School was moving out of the school and over to a new facility, the city hall building could move to the old high school, the library could move to the old city hall, and the senior center could move to the old library. It's perfect! “It will cost a lot of money.” some people said, but the town needed the space and so they played the game.
The townspeople were not happy. “The library does not have more space, yes we are using a bigger building, but there is less space for books, what are we to do?” The library had to get rid of books to fit into a bigger building. No one knew how it could have happened and did not understand why. “We need more space”, the townspeople cried, but the town leaders wanted a new police station, and a fire station and other things. A library would just have to wait, the town leaders said.
No we need a new library! There is no room for books that I like, there is no space to sit and to think, the people are poor and they need the help, don't put our needs down the sink.
So the town leaders said, if you want a new library you will have to tax yourselves, you will need to vote on a question that determine the fate of your library. Will you vote to build your library? Will you spend your hard earned dollar, like you have done in the past, to build a new library or two that will last? The question is posed to you on election day, don't let the library go astray, one question is the one you can trust, to vote for a new library or bust.
Once upon a time there was a little town. The women of this town decided that their community needed a library, so they built one with their own hands out of stones they found in the desert. When the library opened it had dozens of books for the community and the townspeople were happy.
As time went on, the little library was too little for the community. The little town founded by a train station did not have enough room for books.
“To the rescue!” the local boy scout group cried. “We will donate our small building for the library.” And so the town expanded its little library to three times its former size! Now there were more books for the community, and the townspeople were happy.
As time went on, the little library was too little for the community. The little town founded by a train station did not have enough room for books.
“Build us a building!” the townspeople cried. So the town did. They built a new library from scratch and a new city hall and a new police station. It was great! The library now had space for more books, places to sit, and many new things and the townspeople were happy.
“We are out of space!” the townspeople cried. The library again was too small for the townspeople need to learn and to read, but the town had no money. “What are we to do?” the town leaders said. We need to find a way to make space for our community. “I have an idea!”, a library director said, “We can play musical buildings.” The High School was moving out of the school and over to a new facility, the city hall building could move to the old high school, the library could move to the old city hall, and the senior center could move to the old library. It's perfect! “It will cost a lot of money.” some people said, but the town needed the space and so they played the game.
The townspeople were not happy. “The library does not have more space, yes we are using a bigger building, but there is less space for books, what are we to do?” The library had to get rid of books to fit into a bigger building. No one knew how it could have happened and did not understand why. “We need more space”, the townspeople cried, but the town leaders wanted a new police station, and a fire station and other things. A library would just have to wait, the town leaders said.
No we need a new library! There is no room for books that I like, there is no space to sit and to think, the people are poor and they need the help, don't put our needs down the sink.
So the town leaders said, if you want a new library you will have to tax yourselves, you will need to vote on a question that determine the fate of your library. Will you vote to build your library? Will you spend your hard earned dollar, like you have done in the past, to build a new library or two that will last? The question is posed to you on election day, don't let the library go astray, one question is the one you can trust, to vote for a new library or bust.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Digging for Archives
Arizona Republic Article on Polly Rosenbaum Archives and History Building
"With the turn of a shovel today, Arizona is finally on the way to protecting the priceless and irreplaceable records of our history.
It's the groundbreaking for the Polly Rosenbaum Archives and History Building, which will have state-of-the-art facilities to store and repair our heritage.
And what a heritage!
Pictures of Geronimo taken by famous Tombstone photographer C.S. Fly. Files from the precedent-setting Miranda case. The state Constitution. A complete set of mug shots of prisoners held in Yuma during territorial days. The meticulously labeled photo collection of the state's first governor, a window into the early 1900s with the walrus-like figure of George Hunt in virtually every picture.
These records are far more than a time capsule. They're vital for resolving a wide range of modern issues, from water rights to citizenship.
For more than two decades, studies have recognized that the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records lacks the space and climate-controlled environment to care for this critical documentation.
Thousands of boxes of records are stored under conditions that leave them vulnerable to heat, humidity, insects and rodents.
Veteran legislator Polly Rosenbaum was a leader among the Arizonans who pushed the archives project through a series of ups and downs in budgeting and politics worthy of the old "Perils of Pauline" movie serials. She herself loved coming down to the archives to research Arizona's past. It's too bad that the project she so passionately supported, which so fittingly bears her name, didn't get under way until now, three years after she passed away at age 104.
The archives building, at 19th Avenue and Madison Street in Phoenix, is due for completion in mid-2008. "
"With the turn of a shovel today, Arizona is finally on the way to protecting the priceless and irreplaceable records of our history.
It's the groundbreaking for the Polly Rosenbaum Archives and History Building, which will have state-of-the-art facilities to store and repair our heritage.
And what a heritage!
Pictures of Geronimo taken by famous Tombstone photographer C.S. Fly. Files from the precedent-setting Miranda case. The state Constitution. A complete set of mug shots of prisoners held in Yuma during territorial days. The meticulously labeled photo collection of the state's first governor, a window into the early 1900s with the walrus-like figure of George Hunt in virtually every picture.
These records are far more than a time capsule. They're vital for resolving a wide range of modern issues, from water rights to citizenship.
For more than two decades, studies have recognized that the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records lacks the space and climate-controlled environment to care for this critical documentation.
Thousands of boxes of records are stored under conditions that leave them vulnerable to heat, humidity, insects and rodents.
Veteran legislator Polly Rosenbaum was a leader among the Arizonans who pushed the archives project through a series of ups and downs in budgeting and politics worthy of the old "Perils of Pauline" movie serials. She herself loved coming down to the archives to research Arizona's past. It's too bad that the project she so passionately supported, which so fittingly bears her name, didn't get under way until now, three years after she passed away at age 104.
The archives building, at 19th Avenue and Madison Street in Phoenix, is due for completion in mid-2008. "
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