Serving Teens (ALA Readers' Advisory)

Getting teens to read for fun is the ultimate challenge, yet research shows that it improves skills in grammar and spelling while expanding vocabularies. Accessible and encouraging for beginners and an informative refresher for those more experienced, this hands-on expert guide addresses teens' unique needs with practical tools that help readers' advisors: build winning relationships with teens and connect on their terms; communicate with this hard-to-reach audience to create a positive RA experience; use proven questions and techniques to uncover teens' worldview; get up to speed fast using "sure bets" lists; and deal with challenges of controversial topics, homework reading, and recommending "by proxy." Filled with concrete advice, this ready-to-use resource supports public librarians as well as middle and high school library media specialists and library support staff who want to make an impact with teens at a critical time in their lives.