Teens – Boyd County Public Library http://thebookplace.org Wed, 20 Jul 2016 16:10:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.5.3 Spotlight on teens and technology http://thebookplace.org/spotlight-on-teens-and-technology/ Wed, 26 Feb 2014 20:10:32 +0000 http://thebookplace.org/?p=15138 Continue reading ]]> As we get ready to observe Teen Tech Week (March 9-14), it seems like a good time to showcase all the outstanding technology that BCPL offers – to folks of all ages.

The theme of Teen Tech Week 2014 is “DIY @ your library,” which is appropriate, given that modern technology helps us do all kinds of amazing things someone like me, inching near the half-century mark, never dreamed possible.

Boyd County Public Library is doing a couple of cool things to mark Teen Tech Week. First, our monthly teen programs at Main and Kyova will give teens the opportunity to play around with the awesome items in the library’s Tech Lab. These items are not available for checkout, but are used at library programs, and anyone can stop by the reference desk at the Main Branch and ask to see something. It’s a great idea if you are considering a tech purchase, but want to see it and use it before you buy it.

Items in the BCPL Tech Lab include: iPads 1 and 4, iPad Mini, Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite (the smaller, lighter, no-glare version), Google Nexus 7 tablet, Microsoft Surface RT tablet and the Samsung Chromebook. The collection also includes some other neat items, such as:

  • Pivothead video recording camera hands-free sunglasses
  • Sony high-def flash memory camcorder
  • Sony Bloggie touch camera
  • Bolse NFC-enabled Bluetooth music receiver
  • Google Chromecast HDMI streaming media player
  • Lytro Light field camera
  • 3M streaming projector powered by Roku
  • Sifteo Cubes intelligent game system

Teens can play with any or all of those items at our Teen Tech Tryout programs, on Tuesday, March 11 at the Main Branch, and on Thursday, March 20, at the Kyova Branch. Both start at 6 p.m. We will also be doing a bit of technology recycling – making art out of old CDs.

And, we’re sponsoring a DIY contest, of sorts, for teens. The winner of the Create A Meme Contest gets a $25 gift card to the download store of their choice (iTunes, Google Play, etc.)

What is a meme, you ask?

Officially, a meme is “an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture” and was originated in a 1976 book by a British biologist. In the Internet world, a meme may take the form of an image, hyperlink, video, picture, website or hashtag. It may just be a word or phrase, and may include an intentional misspelling. These small movements tend to spread from person to person via social networks, blogs and email.

We would like teens to come up with their own, unique library or literary-related meme. No foul or offensive language or images, of course, but beyond that, just be creative! Email your entry to ddillow@thebookplace.org by March 18.

We’re excited to be spotlighting technology with our teens in March, but it’s something we are proud to offer all year round. Teens know that the library is a trusted resource for accessing information and that librarians are the experts who can help them develop the skills they need to use electronic resources effectively and efficiently.

From e-books, audiobooks, music and movies, to games, databases, homework help and more, BCPL is the hub where teens can plug in and stay connected.

So, what else do we have?

For starters, we have Tutor.com, an online resource offering free homework help from 2 to 9 p.m. each day.  Qualified tutors are at your fingertips for one-on-one help with algebra, trigonometry, calculus, earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, American history, political science, essay writing and more.

You can upload a problem to the interactive whiteboard and solve it together with your tutor. You can share documents and proofread your essays in real time. You can use the shared web browser to find resources. And you can save files to your online “locker.”

Students who use an iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad can download the Tutor.com To Go mobile app, and get help whenever and wherever you need it.

Thebookplace.org features other helpful sources for teens, such as Learning Express Library. It’s a great resource to help you study for an upcoming standardized test, like the ACT, SAT or GRE. You can read the online study guides and take practice exams, all from the comfort of home. The program will score the practice exams, and then offer study tips to help you score better the next time. Just like Tutor.com, Learning Express Library is free – just click here. All you need is your library card.

It’s not all about homework and studying, though.

You can download free tunes with Freegal Music – up to five free MP3s per week. And the songs are yours to keep. There’s also a mobile app for Freegal, just as there is for Freading – a way to check out popular ebook titles quickly and easily.

Speaking of a mobile app, BCPL now has its own. You can download it free (BCPL Mobile) from the iTunes store, Google Play, Amazon, Windows 8 Desktop and Windows 8 Phone, and with it you can instantly tap into library resources from any mobile phone or device connected to the Internet.

BCPL also has video games – lots of them. We carry games for the three major consoles, Xbox, PlayStation and Wii, including the new XBoxOne and PS4 systems. The games range from the classics to current popular releases, from rated “E” for Everyone, to “M” for Mature.

For more information on anything and everything teen related at BCPL, just call Denise, the head of our youth services department, at 606.329.0518, x 1310.

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Teen Read Week winner http://thebookplace.org/teen-read-week-winner/ Wed, 23 Oct 2013 19:23:52 +0000 http://thebookplace.org/?p=14952 Continue reading ]]> Aryssa Damron was the winner of our writing contest during Teen Read Week 2013: “Seek the Unknown @ your Library.”

The challenge was to rewrite the ending of your favorite book or movie, using a science fiction or fantasy twist.  Aryssa, a senior at Paul G. Blazer High School, rewrote the ending to “The Great Gatsby,” by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

She received a book of her choice as her prize. Congratulations!

“Forgotten”

aryssa damron

The shot rang out and Jay’s blood ran cold. He did not have time to physically react before the water consumed

him wholly. He was acutely aware of the strain spreading across his torso. Mentally, he chided himself. This suit ha

d just arrived last week from Paris. Now he’d have to throw it in the rubbish and Daisy would never get to see it. Daisy. Daisy.

“Daisy?” Jay was snapped out of his interior monologue by a sharp voice, like pins prickling in his ears. Before him

stood a tall man, cloaked in a heavy white suit, leaning against a towering cast-iron gate. This chap, with an impressively groomed beard and shined shoes, was just the sort of person Jay liked to be around. New money masquerading as old, a tale as old as tim

“Say Old Sport, how’d you feel about you and me headin’ into the city? I’ve got a nice…”

Jay was quickly cut off by the man’s domineering voice. The man, his face aged with wrinkles, was not amused by Jay’s friendly offering.

“Do you know where you are, James?” The man asked. His plain white nametag said ‘Peter’ in little gold letters.

Jay glanced past Peter, over his own shoulder, and at the ceiling. He’d definitely never been here before, but it didn’t look too foreign. Oak desk, hanging lamp, navy carpet. A clock hung on the wall, ticking rhythmically. A typewriter was perched on the desk, surrounded by papers.  Peter took Jay’s silence as an answer.

“This is your final judgment James.” Jay flinched at the use of his birth name, which he had shed many years ago. Final judgment? That sounded awfully..final. Final judgments were usually reserved for the dead. Peter crinkled his caterpillar-like eyebrows and gave Jay a condemning look.

“James, do you see anything besides dollar signs?” Peter asked critically, referencing Jay’s extravagant life style.

Silence. Jay closed his eyes. All he could see was Daisy. Daisy’s hair, her eyes, her lips. Daisy.

Then the floor dropped out beneath him.

Jay landed with a thump on the cold floor of God-Knows-Where. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw a plain white business card floating before him. When he read the little words printed beneath Peter’s name, he finally knew where he was.

This was hell. Living hell.

Jay’s skin prickled with heat. He felt watched, like eyes were bearing down upon him from every angle. His hea

d snapped around, and in an instant his body was taken over. His skin was moving, bubbling and stretching against and from his narrow frame. When Jay looked down upon his affliction in horror, he witnessed thousands of tiny flesh colored seperetines slithering through his pores and alighting his skin.

An open mouth, but no sound. His body crashed to the ground, consumed by an internal fire. Daisy danced through his mind, her toes tickling his nerve endings. He spasamed in joyous pain, images of Daisy’s smile, her eyes, her hair, her everything, flashed in a montage set to Cole Porter tunes.

 

“Excuse me?” Jay’s eyes snapped open, banishing Daisy’s image from the back of his eyelids.

“Excuse me, Mr. Gatsby, Chicago on the line.” Cain handed Jay the phone, as hell became reality. When Jay lay down to sleep that night, and closed his eyes tight, he tried to bring Daisy’s face to the forefront of his mind. He tried to remember the way she kissed and smelled and the way she danced in the moonlight.  But she would not come, vanished like smoke from his cerebrum.

Jay vaguely recalled his afternoon with the infamous brother of Abel. Strapped tightly against himself, every inch of his body on fire as his mind was deflated of those marvelous memories of Daisy and filled with hot air, thoughts

without substance.

A life without Daisy, without even the idea of Daisy to keep him

company. That was true hell.

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Teens can check in with us http://thebookplace.org/teens-can-check-in-with-us/ Fri, 01 Mar 2013 21:32:19 +0000 http://thebookplace.org/?p=14036 Continue reading ]]> As we get ready to observe Teen Tech Week (March 10-16), it seems like a good time to showcase all the outstanding technology that BCPL offers the 13-18-year-old set.teen tech week poster

The theme of Teen Tech Week 2013 is “Check In @ your library.” It’s a time where libraries nationwide throw open their physical and virtual doors to teens to showcase all the neat stuff we have for them.

Teens’ use of technology has increased dramatically in recent years. So much so, in fact, that teens hardly need to leave their homes for anything these days. A recent survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 93 percent of teens go online, with many using social networking sites, finding news and information, and sharing content they create.

Teens know that the library is a trusted resource for accessing information and that librarians are the experts who can help them develop the skills they need to use electronic resources effectively and efficiently.

From e-books, audiobooks, music and movies, to games, databases, homework help and more, BCPL is the hub where teens can plug in and stay connected.

So, what do we got?

For starters, we have Tutor.com, an online resource offering free homework help from 2 to 9 p.m. each day. Just clock on the Tutor.com link on this site. Enter your library card number and get started. Qualified tutors are at your fingertips for one-on-one help with algebra, trigonometry, calculus, earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, American history, world history, political science, essay writing and more.

You can upload a problem to the interactive whiteboard and solve it together with your tutor. You can share documents and proofread your essays in real time. You can use the shared web browser to find resources. And you can save files to your online “locker” to work on them later.

Students who use an iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad can download the Tutor.com To Go mobile app, and get help whenever and wherever you need it.

This site, thebookplace.org, features other helpful sources for teens, such as Learning Express Library. It’s a great resource to help you study for an upcoming standardized test, like the ACT, SAT or GRE. You can read the online study guides and take practice exams, all from the comfort of home. The program will score the practice exams, and then offer study tips to help you score better the next time.

If you are already out of school, or nearly finished, Learning Express Library is also a great resource for job seekers. It can help you determine what type of job is best for you, what training or education is required for that job, and even create a resume to help you get that job.

Just like Tutor.com, Learning Express Library is free. All you need is your library card.

Want to learn a language – or just get help with one you are already studying? Try Mango Languages, an online language-learning system teaching actual conversation, grammar and cultural skills for 52 languages. And there’s an app for that.

It’s not all about homework and studying, though.

You can download free tunes with Freegal Music – up to three  free MP3s per week. And the songs are yours to keep – forever. There’s also a mobile app for Freegal, just as there is for Freading – a way to check out popular ebook titles quickly and easily.

OverDrive has even more ebooks and audio-ebooks available for digital checkout. There are tons of young adult titles, and all books can be checked out for three weeks, just like the physical ones on the library’s shelves.

Inside the library, we also have music, movies and video games available for checkout. Don’t have an eReader? Then check out one of our Nooks. Each one features a different genre, including popular fiction and young adult books.

BCPL has video games for the three major consoles: Xbox, PlayStation and Wii, including the new Wii U games. The games range from the classics to current popular releases, from rated “E” for Everyone, to “M” for Mature.

At the Kyova Branch, there is an Xbox gaming system in the teen space, available for use at any time. You can bring your own game, or borrow one of ours (it can’t be a rated M one.)

To reserve a copy of any game, movie, music CD or book, just use the library catalog.

For more information on anything library related, just give me a call at 606.329.0518, ext. 1130.

 

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Young people love libraries http://thebookplace.org/young-people-love-libraries/ http://thebookplace.org/young-people-love-libraries/#comments Mon, 29 Oct 2012 13:59:32 +0000 http://gotwp.com/?p=13006 Continue reading ]]> In the library world, there was some uplifting news last week – a national study that shows how books, libraries and technology play a prominent role in the lives of young people in this country.

The study, conducted by the respected Pew Research Center, looked at the reading and library habits of nearly 3,000 people ages 16-29 during a 12-month period.  More than 80 percent of people in Generation Y and Generation Z said they had read a book in the past year, and 60 percent had used their local public library. Yay!

The report also examines how younger readers encounter and consume books in different formats. Of the 83 percent who had read in the past year, a print book had been the chosen format for 75 percent of them; an ebook for 19 percent; and an audiobook for 11 percent.

Among those under age 30 who read ebooks, about half prefer to read them on a cell phone or computer, compared to 23 percent on a Kindle or 16 percent on a tablet.

“We haven’t seen for younger readers that ebooks are massively replacing print books,” said Kathryn Zickuhr, the study’s main author. “That might happen in the future, but right now we’re just seeing them sort of more as a convenient supplement.”

The study found that high schoolers (ages 16 and 17) are especially reliant on the library for their reading and research needs. They are more likely than the other age groups to have used the library in the past year.

High school readers were also more likely to have borrowed the last book they read from the library than they are to have bought it – a pattern that reverses for adults in their late 20s. One thing high schoolers in the Pew survey answered significantly higher on than any other group: they are very interested in checking out pre-loaded ereading devices from their local library.

Well, we have good news for them at BCPL. We have had a Nook checkout program in place for more than a year. We currently circulate five different genres of books on Nooks, and plan to add more soon.

It’s nice to know we are already doing what high schoolers are asking for.

The college-aged adults in the survey (ages 18-24) had the highest overall reading rate of any age group, and more of an interest in ebooks and audiobooks – all materials that BCPL already provides.

Adults in the 25-29 range were less likely to have read a book in the past year, and if they had, they were more likely to have purchased it than borrowed it from a library. But even though they rely less on the public library, they expressed a greater appreciation for libraries – nearly 75 percent said that the library is important to them and their families.

We are glad to hear that, and very glad to know we are already offering many things the survey respondents want. Of course, we also know there are things people would like that we aren’t yet doing or offering. That’s why the information in this recent Pew Center survey is helpful – even if it’s on a national scale. Any and all input helps us as we look at how we provide materials and services to our nearly 40,000 patrons.

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New Nook Color with Teen Titles http://thebookplace.org/new-nook-color-with-teen-titles/ Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:30:49 +0000 http://gotwp.com/?p=1302  

 

Nook ColorHey Teens!

Check out our new Nook Color exclusively loaded with the latest in titles just for you!  If it is currently checked out, just as any staff member to place you on hold.  Due to the demand and popularity of the Nook, we will be adding more to the collection very soon!

Mark your calendars!! Hunger Games Party: Tuesday, April 10th @ 6PM at Main Branch and Thursday, April 19th @ 6PM at Kyova. 

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