Teen Librarian’s Toolbox 101

Using the TLT
I created the TLT as a way to keep doing what I love to do – create teen programs and RA tools and discuss teen fiction.  Last year I created a Teens Top 10 Trends in Fiction poster which was shared on YALSA-BK and VOYA.com and got a very positive response and you all inspired me to create the Teen Librarian’s Toolbox (TLT).  In a time when many libraries are struggling financially, I am happy to help provide ready made resources for you to use with your teen patrons and staff.  The TLT is for teen librarians who are “short on time, short on money – but not short on passion.”  Please feel free to use any of my tools at your convenience.  If you do use a tool, please consider dropping me a line to let me know how you used it, feedback is good.

RA and Promotional Posters
All of my posters are made in Microsoft Publisher in a size of 18×24 using elements from PowerPoint, Gimp and more.  I then save them as a .jpeg and upload them to box.net for easy download.  You can follow the link to download the files.  If you have a printer that prints 11×17 sheets it will print out as 4 sheets and then you piece them together.  You can also get them printed at places like Office Depot and Office Max.  I have several of them decorating my previous teen area at the Marion Public Library and they print off well.  Since they are a .jpeg you can manipulate the size to your convenience and use them on Web pages, blogs and FB pages as well.

Mini RA Slides
All of my mini RA slides (or one-sheets) are created in Microsoft Powerpoint and saved as a .jpeg.  They are uploaded to FB and you can download them by enlarging the imaging and using the download option provided by FB.  Powerpoint allows for some different capabilities than publisher – like glow text and shape options – that I really enjoy.

The mini RA slides can be printed off as an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet, made smaller to fit into shelf talker frames (I am a big fan of these), etc. to decorate your teen area.  Often your most popular reads are checked out and this is a great way to let teens know you have the titles and recommend similar reads.

The RA slides can also be used in a powerpoint presentation for booktalks, staff development, and more.  I have presented them on a continuous loop on my laptop on for things like open houses and just in the background at programs.  You could also use them in a digital photo frame or computer in your teen area as a promotional devise.

And, of course, they can be uploaded to web pages, blogs, FB and more.  Teens are visual, so give them visuals.

Programs
After the great move, I plan on providing pre-packaged programs and include a ready made flyer which you can add your library info on.  I know that this is something that would be of great use to smaller libraries and libraries that don’t have a full-time dedicated teen librarian.

Contact Me

If you have any questions, ideas or needs – or if you want to send me pics and tell me how you used these tools – please feel free to contact me via FB or e-mail me at kjensenmls@yahoo.com

Filed under: Marketing, Meet TLT, Professional Development, Programming, Reader's Advisory