Teens.Library: Developing Internet Services for Young Adults

American Library Association

Chicago and London

2002

Teens.library

Developing

Internet Services

for Young Adults

LINDA W. BRAUN

While extensive effort has gone into ensuring the reliability of

information appearing in this book, the publisher makes no

warranty, express or implied, on the accuracy or reliability of

the information, and does not assume and hereby disclaims

any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by

errors or omissions in this publication.

Cover and text design by Dianne M. Rooney

Composition by ALA Editions in Bookman and Barmeno using

QuarkXPress 4.1 for the PC

Printed on 60-pound white offset, a pH-neutral stock, and

bound in 10-point cover stock by Batson Printing

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requirements of American National Standard for Information

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ANSI Z39.48-1992.

ISBN: 0-8389-0824-1

Copyright © 2002 by the American Library Association. All

rights reserved except those which may be granted by Sections

107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976.

Printed in the United States of America

06 05 04 03 02 5 4 3 2 1

FIGURES v

PREFACE vii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi

1 What’s So Good about the Internet? 1

Developmental Assets 1

What’s the Point? 15

Summing Up 16

2 What Teens Want on the Internet 17

Communication 18

Shopping 25

Information Gathering 28

Summing Up 31

iii

CONTENTS

3 Creating a Library Website for Teens 32

What’s Up with Library Sites for Teens? 32

Reference and Homework Support 33

Programming 35

Readers’ Advisory 38

What It Takes 41

What Else Is Possible? 44

Is It Worth It? 46

4 Making It Happen 48

Learning by Example 48

How to Do It—with the Help of Web Designers or

Technical Specialists 50

How to Do It—without the Help of Web Designers or

Technical Specialists 54

What It Takes to Get on the Web 56

Evaluation, Statistics, and User Testing 60

Site Maintenance 63

APPENDIXES

A Teen Website Development Checklist 65

B Checklist for Teen Involvement in Website Development 68

C Programming Opportunities for Teens Involved

in the Development of the Library’s Website 70

D Teen Website Evaluation Checklist 72

E User-Testing Tips 74

URL INDEX 75

SUBJECT INDEX 79

iv CONTENTS

1-1 Search Institute’s Developmental Assets for Adolescents 2

1-2 Springfield Township High School Virtual Library 6

2-1 What are chat and instant messaging? 18

2-2 AIM preferences and buddy list screens 22

2-3 What are they saying? 23

2-4 Main screen of the Bolt website 24

3-1 Main page of Teen Hoopla’s Say What? section 37

4-1 Pickering Public Library teen website main screen 50

4-2 Web design tips 51

4-3 What to include in an RFP for a web designer or technical specialist 52

4-4 Questions for potential web designers and technical specialists 53

4-5 Sample user-testing questions 62

v

FIGURES

In June 2001 the Pew Internet and American Life Project pub￾lished a report highlighting how and why teens use the Internet.

The report, titled “Teenage Life Online: The Rise of the Instant￾Message Generation and the Internet’s Impact on Friendships and

Family Relationships,” found that much of the appeal of the

Internet for teens centers around the communications functions

the technology makes available.1 Using e-mail, chat, and instant

messaging are favorite pastimes of many of today’s teens. How￾ever, not many libraries or library websites provide features that

give teens the chance to use these functions as a part of their pro￾grams or services. Therefore, there is a gap between what teens

find most appealing about the Internet and what libraries are pro￾viding to teens via their websites.

There is a host of possible reasons for this gap. Many librari￾ans don’t have the technical know-how necessary to implement

some of the high-tech features teens find most appealing.

Librarians struggle to find ways to integrate features like e-mail,

chat, and instant messaging into their services in such a way that

they complement and support the libraries’ vision and mission.

Some librarians don’t understand what the appeal of the Internet is

to teens and think that it would be better if they just stuck with a book.

vii

PREFACE

Each of the above reasons for moving slowly into providing

library programs and services to teens via the Internet has valid￾ity. However, we are at a point in time where it’s not possible to

take things slowly and to wait to learn how to use technology or

to see how well others succeed. Teens are finding they can go

other places than the library to get the information they need or

to communicate with others online. If library websites for teens

don’t pay attention to the features of the Internet teens are most

interested in using, one day there may be no reason for those web￾sites at all.

That’s where Teens.library: Developing Internet Services for

Young Adults comes in. In this book is information about how the

Internet meets teens’ developmental needs. Any librarian who is

wondering why teens gravitate to the Internet, if the Internet can

have any sort of positive influence on a teen’s life, or what web￾sites are available that help teens grow up to be healthy adults will

find answers to her questions here.

Also included is information on what teens look for in a web￾site or Internet resource and how libraries are integrating some of

these same components into their own sites. This information is

provided to start the creative juices flowing to help librarians

develop their own ideas for meeting teen recreational, educational,

and developmental needs via the Internet. And, while the creative

juices are flowing, it’s important to figure out how to get teens

involved in the website-development process. Tips on doing just

that are also included in Teens.library.

For those librarians who don’t have a clue about where to start

in creating a library website for teens, the information on web

design, working with designers and technical specialists, and

technology needed in order to get a site up and running will cer￾tainly come in handy.

Throughout Teens.library are notes about websites of interest

to librarians serving teens and resources that can be used in

developing a library website. URLs are included throughout the

text. Anyone interested in easy access to these materials can visit the

Teens.library website at http://www.leonline.com/Teens.library.

The website will be updated regularly to include links to library

websites for teens that demonstrate uses of technology that sup￾port teen developmental needs, links to teen library websites in

viii PREFACE