From the classroom: Teen Advisory Boards

My Youth Services class met for the second time tonight (we missed a week for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and last week because our instructor was sick). I gave a short presentation on Teen Advisory Boards to fulfill our assignment on current trends in youth services.

I’d first been introduced to TABs during my internship at the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library in Zionsville this summer, but I really had my mind blown by what they could be at ALA in July. One librarian on the panel discussion on TABs has transformed her teen council from just an advisory board to the real heart of teen services: they plan the activities, work within a budget, arrange for speakers to visit, and run activities for younger children. Rather than implementing teens’ ideas, the librarian’s job is to help teens develop as leaders and to provide them with teambuilding and leadership training. Imagine how much better equipped for the real world her TAB members are! And imagine how capable they must feel!

Anyway, the presentation is short, but it’s a decent introduction and it concludes with a list of resources for further information.

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Leave a Comment February 1, 2010