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Boston Public Library Press Release News and Events |
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Author Meg Cabot to Talk to Teens in Online Chat
at BPL Girls Going Wild on the Web,” blare the headlines. Online exhibitionism is an enormous issue with teens, but bestselling teen author Meg Cabot and the American Library Association have the solution. Cabot has teamed up with the American Library Association’s YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) to organize “Journal Writing Workshops” for libraries across the country. On Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 3 p.m. Meg Cabot, will participate in an online chat with teens at the Young Adults Room at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square. Call 617-859-2334 to sign up in advance. These days almost every teenager seems to have their own MySpace or Facebook page, revealing some of the most private details about their lives for all to read. While these can be great, says Meg Cabot, the author of The Princess Diaries, teens should be cautious about what they put out into cyberspace. Once things are on the internet, you cannot take them back. “I definitely think there is a case of T.M.I. -- Too Much Information – being put out there,” says Cabot. “Schools are beginning to crack down on cyber bullying and holding students responsible for what they say about their classmates on their MySpace and Facebook pages and blogs. Teens need to know that some things should just be kept private. That’s the beauty of a journal or a diary. You really can never regret what you wrote, because nobody else sees it.” Cabot should know. Throughout her teens, she recorded all her angst in diaries. She kept them and now uses them as fodder for her books. However, she still won’t let anybody read them because, as she says, they are far too embarrassing. Besides being a safe place where you can write your innermost thoughts, journals are also one of the best ways for budding writers to improve their craft. “Practice, practice, practice” applies to writing just as much as it does to playing the piano and strengthening your tennis serve. Cabot credits her years of keeping a diary for helping her become a bestselling writer. For these workshops, Cabot has created a list of fun and easy tips to help teens get started. Number 1 on her list: “Always Hide Your Journal”! YALSA has developed a recommended reading list of books for teens whose plot incorporates diaries or journal writing. Paula Brehm-Heeger, YALSA’s president, noted, “For fifty years YALSA has been finding unique ways to connect teens to books. Books that feature journal or diary writing often have special appeal to young adults, especially those who seek to make meaning of their teen years through their own writing”. YALSA will post the journal writing workshop materials on their web site, www.ala.org/yalsa. For more than 150 years, the Boston Public Library has pioneered public library service in America with revolutionary ideas and famous firsts. Established in 1848, the BPL was the first publicly supported municipal library in America, the first public library to lend books, the first to have a branch library and the first to have a children’s room. Today, the BPL boasts 27 neighborhood branches, free Internet access, two unique restaurants, an award-winning website www.bpl.org and an on-line store featuring reproductions of the BPL’s priceless photographs and artwork. Each year, the BPL hosts nearly 5000 programs, answers more than one million reference questions and serves millions of people in its National Historic Landmark McKim Building in Copley Square. All of its programs and exhibits are free and open to the public. At the Boston Public Library, books are just the beginning! -30- Prepared by the Boston Public Library's Communications Office. For more information about news, programs and events at the BPL, call 617-859-2212 or send a message to the Communications Office. |
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