YALSA introduces Teen Tech Week Wiki
Contact: Stephanie Kuenn
Communications Specialist
312-280-2128
skuenn@ala.org
For Immediate Release
July 10, 2007
YALSA introduces Teen Tech Week Wiki
Teen Tech Week 2008 theme is Tune In @ your library
CHICAGO - The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the fastest-growing division of the American Library Association (ALA), kicked off Teen Tech Week for 2008 by launching the Teen Tech Week Wiki at
http://wikis.ala.org/yalsa/index.php/Teen_Tech_Week. Next year's theme for Teen Tech Week is Tune In @ your library(r). Teen Tech Week will be celebrated March 2 - 8, 2008; registration will begin September 1, 2007.
"Our goal is to take advantage of the collaborative aspect of wikis to create resources about programming, collections, and services," said Stephanie Iser, chair of the 2008 Teen Tech Week task force. "The Teen Tech Web site launches on September 1. In the interim, librarians can find ideas for celebrating the Tune In @ your library theme on the Teen Tech wiki."
The 2008 theme was chosen by teens from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds for its focus on music and sound. Music is a vital part of teens' lives; Tune In @ your library encourages teens to take advantage of the library's music and media resources, such as music CDs, DVDs, audiobooks and Internet access to online media. The theme will also give librarians a chance to improve music and media collections, discuss ethical downloading with teens and build exciting programs that are associated with music and media.
With the Teen Tech Week wiki up and running, the Teen Tech Week task force has more planned for the second annual celebration.
"In the coming months, we plan to provide more incentives for participation, to get the word out to the public and to offer more basic technology resources such as how-to guides," Iser said. "Starting in September, we'll release a series of free guides that overview the what, why, and how of emerging technologies that can be used to enhance teen services as well as professional development."
Teen Tech Week is a national initiative to ensure that the nation's teens are competent and ethical users of technology, especially those technology resources available in libraries such as DVDs, databases, audiobooks, video games and more. Teen Tech Week began in 2007 and has a general theme of Get Connected @ your library.
For 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, videos, and audio books for teens. For more information about YALSA or for lists of recommended reading, viewing and listening, go to
www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists, or contact the YALSA office by phone, 800-545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail:
yalsa@ala.org.
