Recharge your library programs with pop culture and technology : connect with today's teens

Learn how to integrate pop culture and technology into school library programs and classrooms, and make today's digital content, mobile devices, and students' changing interests work to the educator's advantage.

Today's school libraries need to evolve and meet the needs of 21st-century students--the instruction, programming, and library services must be relevant to today's learners. Additionally, the interactions between educators and the students are what make the critical difference in the students' learning, and turn the library and classroom into places where they will find, assimilate, experience, and understand information. This book provides practical strategies for using pop culture and technology trends to connect with easily distracted middle and high school students and hold their attention.

Author Linda D. Behen addresses why school libraries are in transition and why there is a need for dramatic change. She discusses the evolution of all libraries in response to digital content; ubiquitous mobile devices such as smart phones, iPads, and other tablet computers; patrons' changing interests; and the ways in which schools and school libraries have found to effectively adapt to technology changes and student needs. This book is essential for middle and high school librarians and educators, library school students and instructors, and young adult public librarians.

• Preface: Why We Do What We Do p. ix
• 1 Schools and Libraries in Transition: So Much More Than Materials, Reference, and a Reading Room p. 1
• 2 Lead the Change p. 9
• Change Is Hard p. 9
• Digital Natives vs. Tech Immigrants p. 9
• Active Decision Making p. 10
• Outside Our Control p. 11
• Technology p. 11
• School Environments p. 12
• Time p. 13
• 3 Things We Can Control p. 17
• Time Is of the Essence p. 17
• Collection Inventory and Maintenance p. 18
• Don't Cover Paperback Copies with Expensive Book Covers p. 18
• Do Minimal Processing and Cataloging to Get Items into Students' and Teachers' Hands as Quickly as Possible p. 18
• Implement On-Demand Purchasing, Acquiring, and Providing That Ensures That Every Item Will Be in Demand p. 18
• Don't Worry about Beautiful Shelves p. 19
• Mark Books That You Want Students to Browse with Removable Stickers Instead of Pulling and Reshelving p. 19
• Technology Development Tools p. 20
• How's Your Attitude? p. 21
• Attitude Adjustment p. 21
• Transforming: Become Your Avatar p. 23
• Be Proactive and Flexible p. 23
• Be Nosey p. 24
• Help Out p. 24
• Go Beyond Academics p. 26
• Take a Holiday p. 26
• Surprise Them p. 27
• Win When Others Win p. 27
• Humility p. 28
• Satisfy On-Demand Requests p. 28
• Admire Your Students p. 28
• Curb Appeal p. 29
• Board Games Are the Original Social Tools p. 29
• Pack Up and Move p. 30
• Pop Stars Are Our Friends p. 30
• Throw a Party p. 31
• Break the Rules p. 31
• Break the Silence p. 31
• Are You a Genius? p. 32
• Be a Braggart p. 33
• If It Walks, Talks, and Looks Like a Leader, It Is a Leader p. 34
• 4 Engaging Today's Teens p. 37
• Pop Culture p. 37
• King of Pop p. 37
• What Is Pop Culture? p. 38
• Be Pop Culture p. 38
• Games, Pop Stars, and Media Literacy p. 40
• Not Just Fun and Games p. 47
• More Pop Culture p. 48
• For Immediate Release: Students Discover a Love for Writing p. 49
• Be Flexible: Games Are Not for Everyone p. 52
• Pop Culture Atmosphere in the Library p. 52
• Social Media Tools p. 52
• Humor Has Just Entered the Building p. 54
• Mix It Up with Teaching Styles p. 56
• Students Teaching Students p. 56
• Student Tech Stars p. 57
• Flipping the Classroom and Library Instruction p. 57
• Books p. 59
• Speed Dating with Books p. 59
• Book Displays p. 60
• Programming in Your Library p. 63
• Celebrities p. 63
• Tweet, Sing, and Be Merry p. 63
• America's Next Top Poet p. 64
• Pocket Poetry p. 65
• Invite Others to Play p. 65
• Post It in the Library p. 67
• Hunting Permits p. 67
• No More Bored Games p. 68
• Breaking News and Events p. 68
• Technology Show and Tell p. 69
• Holidays and Celebrations p. 70
• New Trends in Libraries p. 70
• Makerspaces p. 70
• Tomorrow's Librarian Living on the Leading Edge Today p. 73
• Tomorrow's Librarian Ready to Lead the Way p. 74
• Biography: Mia Breitkopf p. 75
• 5 Connect to Today's Teens through Media and Technology Tools p. 77
• The Device of the Moment p. 77
• BYOD p. 77
• Which Device Is Right? p. 80
• The Cloud p. 83
• Who, What, Where Is That Cloud? p. 83
• eBooks p. 85
• Library Catalogs p. 88
• Media Tools, Programs, and Platforms p. 89
• Slide Shows and Presentations p. 90
• Screen Recorders p. 90
• Prezi p. 92
• Video Content p. 92
• Images, Posters, and Digital Displays p. 94
• Word Clouds p. 95
• Digital Storytelling Resources p. 95
• Collaboration and Social Learning Spaces p. 101
• Social Media Curators and Aggregators p. 102
• Graphic Content Aggregators p. 104
• Real-Time Collaboration Tools Shrink a Large Space p. 105
• Pin It p. 106
• 6 There Is an App for That and That and That p. 109
• App Prices p. 110
• App Directories p. 127
• Library Apps p. 128
• 7 Discover Your Favorite Power Tools p. 131
• Media Tools p. 132
• Pop Culture p. 145
• Superheroes p. 147
• Networking and Professional Development Are Powerful p. 156
• Traditional Resources Are New Again p. 158
• Selected Bibliography p. 163
• Index p. 165