How can librarians help the tweenage outliers?

One often does not think of gay tweens when contemplated patrons of a children's or young adult section of the library but as is seen in this weeks reading, more and more tweens (junior high school age) are, in fact, coming out of the closet at school and or at home.  Providing materials that address their particular needs can be difficult for several reasons making outreach near impossible for many librarians.

According to the book, The New Gay Teenager, as cited in a Time magazine article, the average age of girls coming out in 2005 was 16 while for boys the age is 14.  These ages indicate a growing need for materials geared towards young teens or tweens as they struggle to determine their identity.  Trying to address the complex needs of tweens who are dealing with changing bodies, growth spurts, hormones and finding their sexual identity requires a gentle attitude, listening ear and the willingness to be open about sex and related topics.  Librarians are not usually called to be social workers but sometimes we are the only ones that tweens feel comfortable talking too.  After all, if they are checking out materials about alternative lifestyles, the library clerk or librarian is going to know first hand.

Publishers are working to produce more materials for the homosexual population but overall there is still a tiny portion of magazines, books, movies dedicated for this clientele.  Once librarians actually have materials, they face the challenge of making them accessible without being too public.  After all, not all patrons are ready for the world to see what they are reading.  So, how can we as librarians provide a decent selection of books on this sensitive subject and others?

Some libraries provide a separate section for youth or young adults with sitting areas, music collections and such making it easier for youth to relax and hangout in relative privacy.  But other libraries may not have the means or room to allow for this.  In Terrebonne Parish Library, Louisiana the library maintains a separate section of the library with books, magazines and computers for youth.  While not completely separate, the booths and tables are set in an alcove giving patrons privacy for reading or quiet talking but not enough privacy for inappropriate behavior.   By placing all books in the stacks, it is much easier for patrons to pull a book and peruse it without being seen. 

Youth is a rough enough time without the added challenges of being different.  Yet, as we have seen, more and more tweens and teens are choosing to expose themselves as different and not just in the sexual sense.  It is our job as librarians to do what we can to help each patron find the materials they need regardless of our personal beliefs.

Cloud, John. "The Battle over gay teens." Time Magazine 2 Oct. 2005: 42-51. Print.

Are tweens the new teens?

In the October 12, 2010 edition if Family Circle, Deborah Swaney writes a compelling article about the sexualization of younger and younger girls.   She starts with the time when her 7 year old asked to get a bra which stunned her completely until she started checking the local stores.  to her horror, she found that sure enough, manufacturers are marketing cute little bra and pantie sets to girls as small as 4 and 5.  It is bad enough that tweens are exposed to this stuff before they truly need it but the child sized gimmicks just tend to enhance the desire to be grown up.

Tweens are such a growing market in all areas and when it comes to books and clothes the girls dominate the market.  Girls spend more time with books compared to boys and relate to the teen idols on shows such as Hannah Montana, Suite Life on Deck, and animated shows like Phineas and Ferb.  All of these exposures to popular teen idols present incredible sales potential for markets of all items.  While books may not seem tied to these shows and idols, publishing houses have figured out how to increase sales by turning episodes of each series into books with some twists in the plot.  For the girls these books enhance their enjoyment of the shows and allows them "on demand" episodes through reading anywhere and any time.  

Ms. Swaney discusses the signals marketers are send our tweens when catering to their desires to be like the teenagers in real life and on television.  From my own experience, growing up in the 70's and 80's, young children were encouraged to stay young and play with Lincoln logs, Lego's, Barbies, and so on rather than giving them opportunities to be more grown up than they are ready to handle.

If one compares the tweens from today to the tweens from the late 70's and early 80's, it is easy to see that kids from 8 to 12 are more worldly now than previously.  They may consider themselves to be more mature but emotionally, I don't think that is accurate.  Some children, especially girls are maturing faster but having a physical maturity does not equate with emotional or social maturity. 

As librarians, how do these new "norms" for tweens effect our job?  There is a fine line between guiding and censoring reading material and magazines.  And where do we draw the line for teen nights, children's story hour and such?   Can we as librarians set aside our personal thoughts and concerns to support tweens in whatever they desire to check out? 

These are on-going concerns that all librarians must deal with.   How we handle it depends mainly on the rules for the library.  Some libraries do have rules about children checking out adult books, while other libraries have no rules what so ever.  The best solution probably lies somewhere in the middle but each librarian must figure that out for themselves.

Swaney, D. (2008, November 29). Girls growing up to fast. Family Circle, 100. Retrieved October 14, 2010, from http://www.familycircle.com/teen/parenting/sex-talk/growing-up-too-fast/?page=6

Reading up or censorship...

The discussion this week focuses on how librarians should handle children whose reading level is above their maturity.  While the conversations were all thought provoking, I decided to find some outside information on censorship in libraries still today. 

What I found really surprised me in some ways.  Censorship is still alive and well in the United States but not always in the way we think.   In an article titled "The Dirty Little Secret", Debra Lau Whelan  (2009)discusses the self-censorship that afflicts many librarians.   "Self-censorship. It's a dirty secret that no one in the profession wants to talk about or admit practicing. Yet everyone knows some librarians bypass good books-those with literary merit or that fill a need in their collections" (p. 23).   This statement reflects the concerns all librarians have when dealing with children and their reading needs.  A book can be a good read, enjoyable or thought provoking but not make it on the shelf due to the personal bias of the purchaser or purchasers.   Ms. Whelan uses Boy Toy by Barry Lyga as an example of an award winning youth book that did not make it on to many library shelves around the nation.  Apparently, the topic of a young man having an intimate relationship with an older woman is substantially more taboo than the reverse. 

Overall, I was rather surprised that self-censorship goes so far in the library world.  Our responsibility as librarians is to provide the materials and perhaps guide our patrons.  It is not to limit the accessibility of items because of our personal beliefs or concerns. 

Lyga, B. (2009). Boy Toy. United States: Graphia. (Original work published null)

Whelan, D. L. (2009). A Dirty Little Secret. School Library Journal, 55(2), 26-30.

Tweens most popular reading materials....

As we discuss tweens and what they enjoy at this age, one thing stands out.  Tweens are either readers or not readers.  There seems to be no middle ground at this age for most kids.  But with new series appealing to the tween market every day, authors and publishers hope to push more of the non-readers into the reader category. 

Ms. Oliveri points to several series including Artemis Fowl, Princess Diaries, Bailey School Kids as well as the oldie but goodies like Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys for tweens to be pulled into.   Some of these are what Ms Lesesne calls "naked reading" type materials.   As teachers, librarians and parents this is the type of reading we want tweens to love.   Finding the best way to present the books to each individual child is a task that all of us must work to achieve.  But this knowledge requires knowing the individual well enough to know which topics, titles or series will appeal to them.  

For example, know a tween girl is not a girly girl would lead someone away from suggesting the Princess diaries or some of the girly American girl stories.  That same information could lead to suggesting the American Girl book about Lanie or the series about Julie, perhaps Harry Potter, or the Red Blazer Girls.    Our knowledge of our clients or patrons, even children is a must if we want to truly help promote love of literature and libraries to the tweens we live and work with.



Oliveri, D. (2008, Jan 2).  Popular Book Series for Tweens. Retrieved from http://www.suite101.com/content/popular-book-series-for-tweens-a39739 on Sept. 29, 2010.