Springfield Teens: Meet Your Library!
RSSJanet Loew, Communications & Public Relations Director, Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County (PLYMC)
"Teens can be a hard-to-reach audience," says Janet S. Loew, PLYMC's communications and public relations director. "We welcomed the opportunity to do a pilot program with Springfield High School to sign up students on their turf—their high school—and reach students who might not otherwise get a library card." It all began when Anthony DeFelice, Springfield High's principal, and Amy Crowe, its school librarian, contacted the public library to find out how they could encourage all of their students to sign up for library cards. Soon Diane Vicarel, PLYMC's digital services manager, and Paula Kane, the public library's clerical trainer, were meeting with the school to work out the details. PLYMC requested that students' names be given to the library in advance, so its staff could determine which kids already had cards. The public library also decided to wave previous late fines for kids who owed $25 or less. Additionally, PLYMC's staff quickly realized that it would need to complete the registration process back on its home turf, since its Millennium system couldn't be accessed from the school's computers. "The school's support has been terrific," she adds. "Such a program would not have been possible without it. They welcomed us and provided what we needed to do the sign-up. And they continue to encourage students to use valuable resources at the public library, such as expensive databases, which would be costly for the school system to purchase on their own." PLYMC has also introduced the new library card users to its website, libraryvisit.org, which includes many features, such as databases that can be accessed remotely. The public library has also shown kids how to take advantage of its mobile app, which is smartphone-friendly. "We learned quite a lot from this pilot program," says Loew. "Libraries considering such a sign-up should note that a great deal of staff time and effort was involved. But the rewards are many." Thanks to Janet Loew, Communications & Public Relations Director, PLYMC for her contribution. This article originally appeared in School Library Journal's enewsletter SLJTeen. Subscribe here. Our local school district requires all middle school and high school students to have a library card as part of the school supply list each fall. As long as you have a willing school district it is a great zero cost initiative to increase library card ownership among teens. Don't you have a requirement for a parental signature on minors' cards? We can never do card signups like this because our library requires a parent to sign the card form in person. :-( I envy PLYMC their success!
We do library card signups and internet card signups at school registration and parent teacher conferences. These are great places to get the parents. * = Required information
How do you get library cards into the hands of 375 teens? Simple: you go where they are! That's what happened in Ohio last September, when the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County (PLYMC) and Springfield Senior High School, in Springfield Township, joined forces.
PLYMC's staffers set up in the school's media center for two days, and students were free to register for cards during English classes. Kids entered the necessary information on one of two computers using PLYMC's online card application and—voila!—each student received a card on the spot. There were, of course, some bumps along the way, such as computer glitches in the sign-up process. But overall, things went smoothly, and the potential long-term dividends are huge. "We heard teens say they hadn't been in the library, but looked forward to visiting now that they had a card," says PLYMC's Loew.
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