Teens Get HIP

Funded by $80,000 from the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services and Dutchess County, HIP is housed in the library's headquarters in Poughkeepsie and run by two part-time staffers—Barbara Lindsley and Barbara Clapp—with Web support from MHLS's staff. Are any other libraries running similar programs, bringing teens and health-oriented media together? "I keep looking for them," says Lindsley, "but I still haven't found any other programs like ours."

This summer, as they did in the summer of 2002, Lindsley and Clapp hired 48 interns ranging in age from 14 to 19. In 2002, the interns included two students who had been suspended from high school—"kids we thought could really benefit from the program," says Clapp. "We've also had several homeschooled students." The kids represent many racial and cultural groups, and five of the teens are fluent in Spanish. The interns first receive a two-hour, media-literacy training session from Clapp, as well as additional counseling as they write their evaluations. She gives them copies of HIP's video-evaluation form and helps kids articulate their feelings about the audiovisual and Web presentations. She also discusses the important questions they need to consider when making their assessments. For example, is the video presentation or Web site technically well done? Is its information up-to-date? Are the presentations culturally representative? What messages are they sending? As part of the online training, Clapp takes the interns to a bogus site, Clones-R-Us (www.d-b.net/dti), to test their evaluative skills. Then she shows them an example of a site that HIP endorses—How Can I Help Someone? (www.health.org/features/kidsarea/help/help.htm)—so kids can clearly see the difference between an exemplary site and a poor one.

Teens also learn how to use the MHLS catalog and how to find materials, request them, and check them out—basic skills that Lindsley and Clapp were initially surprised that the students didn't possess. Interns are encouraged to review relevant books as well, and the video, Web site, and book reviews they've created can be seen on the HIP site at www.midhudson.org/hip/main.htm. "We [also] write their comments into a spreadsheet," Clapp says. You can see the comments there that the interns have made: One video on drunk driving "held my attention," and included "good tips on how to decline a drink." But another reviewer thought the filmmakers went a little overboard assuming that all teens were tempted by alcohol. "In reality, many people don't drink," the reviewer wrote.

Does HIP's training actually make kids media savvy? "You can see the changes [in students] as they go through the summer," says Clapp. "At first, everything, including a video about smoking [produced by] a tobacco company, is 'great.' As we work with [the kids], and time goes on, they grow more critical."

Lindsley and Clapp have heard great things from "graduates" of the program. One teen recently wrote that HIP "has enhanced my knowledge of health issues as well as making me more attune[d] to what goes into the making of a video. I really learned a lot this summer." And another student wrote that the program had "piqued my interest in health-related issues. As a result, I became more involved in health-related organizations." Lindsley is proud that several of HIP's past interns have gone on to pursue careers in program-related professions. "One is going to be a librarian," she says, "another is going into social work, and a third one wants to be a film director."