Sex, Brains, and Video Games: The Librarian’s Guide to Teens in the Twenty-first Century

Library services to young adults should aspire to two fundamental objectives: to engage young people through meaningful and appealing responses to their recreational and informational needs, while supporting good developmental outcomes. How are those of us who work in libraries, who may see teens only sporadically and for short periods, supposed to work effectively with them? - From the Introduction. How do we best reach our teen patrons? Young adult librarians and others who serve them constantly strive to better understand this often-unpredictable audience. In this insightful guide, Jennifer Burek Pierce provides a fascinating look at today’s teen through the lens of neurological, psychological and educational research. Putting this research in the context of library services, she challenges librarians to question their assumptions about teen patrons and provide new answers based on research finding. Much like early literacy research informed library services to youngest patrons, this provocative book outlines what others who work with adolescents have learned from their professional activities and how that knowledge can encourage new priorities and partnerships in youth services. Use this research to: help sort out the facts from fiction about adolescent brain development and sexuality; equip staff to understand and sensitively interact with teens; foster understanding about teens, technology, and multitasking; and, incorporate teen friendly services and activities into the library.