Teen Tech Week is a time to celebrate, learn more about and use tech resources in your  library!  Take a look at the different techie programs you can participate in this week.

It’s also a time for teen librarians to hear from teens about their current tech interests– anything from books about technology to video games you like to learning skills to be creative with technology. So, come talk to us– we really want to hear from you! Feel free to leave some suggestions in the comment section below, too.

And… if you want to beef up on tech history during the week, check out the blog  This Day in Tech History, which gives you brief information on a significant piece of tech history for each day. Today, in 2008 (a really long time ago, right?) Hulu, the online video streaming website, was first launched.  If you’ve got some other interesting tech facts, post them in the comments.

Enjoy the week!

The Central Library Teen Room is hosting the Boston Youth Fund(BYF) on Saturday, February 16th. From 11:30am-2pm we will be having a job fair where Boston resident teens, age 15-17, will be able to register for a summer job through BYF and check out the various organizations that BYF works with.

As the City of Boston’s teen employment program, the Boston Youth Fund provides thousands of Boston teens between the ages of 15 and 17 with job opportunities during the summer months. The Boston Youth Fund participants work in a variety of jobs within community, faith-based, and government agencies. Positions include administrative assistants, mural painters, peer leaders and many more!

At the job fair:

•  More than 100 organizations will be present to talk to about summer job opportunities for Boston resident teens.
• Bringing a resume with you is recommended, but not required.
• Some organizations will either conduct a short onsite interview or will schedule one for another date.
• Computers will be available in the Teen Room for filling out job applications via the Hopeline, and BYF staff will be able to help with the process.

 Boston Youth Fund • Mayor Thomas M. Menino

Below, are two projects that were made that day, a colorful necktie, that really is knotted around Edward Cullen’s neck like a real tie, and a messanger bag that works just as good as anything you can buy in a store! Check them out! And if you’re interested in making anything with duct tape because you missed the exciting workshop, all you need are three basic things: duct tape in colors you love, a pair of tough scissors, and a ruler. Here are two books with fantastic design ideas for everyone:

Ductigami: The Art of the Tape by Joe Wilson

Got Tape by Ellie Schiedermayer

 What is NaNoWriMo? It is short for National Novel Writing Month. 30 days of novel writing fun.

NaNoWriMo began in 1999 with 21 participants in California and grew to 256,618 participants worldwide by 2011. In 2005, over 100 K-12 schools  joined in the fun with the Young Writers Program and this program has grown to over 2000 K-12 schools participating in 2011  and over 50,000 young writers. There are over 500 chapters worldwide as of 2011.  I think these are really cool stats for a yearly even which started with 21 people in California and it has blossomed worldwide.

You can find information about NaNoWriMo at http://www.nanowrimo.org/ and for the Young Writers Program at http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/. You will find pep talks for if you get “stuck” in your thoughts of what to write. The word count goal for adults is 50,000 in 30 days but for the Young Writers Program (YWP), it allows the young writers to set an individual word count that is challenging but manageable.

Some particpants have gone on to publishing their novels either as an online book or paperbook. You can find a list of those authors at http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/publishedwrimos.

Not everyone who participates has to publish their novels when they are finished nor are they forced to finish the goal of 50,000.  It’s ok if you start out with so much excitement you could climb Mt. Everest and fizzle out or life gets in the way as the month goes on. The point is that you started writing something and you can continue again after NaNoWriMo ends.

There are great fun writing events that you can attend and meet other people just like you who are interesting in writing novels or just writing in general. In Massachusetts, there are three chapters: Boston, Metrowest and Norfolk/Bristol Counties. Our own Teen Librarian, Anna, is one of the municipal liasons for the Boston Chapter (http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/regions/usa-massachusetts-boston and http://nanoboston.org/). You will find the list of events, dates and locations on both pages. There are also forums for those who want to discuss their work or the writing process online if you can’t make it to any of the events. Please note that for some events, there are some age restrictions and requirements due to times and/or locations of the events, especially the 24 hour Write-in (The Big Event) but not for the entire day. See the event at http://nanoboston.org/24-hour-write-in/ for more information.

I have tried my hand at writing this month. I do better with short stories but it’s a start and I am writing.

For the rest of you, get your notebooks (paper or computer) and put on your “thinking caps” and just start writing!

The Boston Teen Author Festival
Date: Sunday, October 28, 2012
Time: 1-6pm
Location: Emerson’s Bordy Theater, 216 Tremont Street, Boston, MA

Authors included: Diane Renn, A.C. Gaughen, Laurie Stolarz, Steven Goldman and many more.

A limit of 160 people will be allowed to attend so it’s on a first come, first serve basis. This is due to Emerson College’s safety rules.

For more information including the schedule,  and the list of authors who will be at this event, visit: http://bostonteenauthorfestival2012.blogspot.com/. You can find information how to contact the organizers at this event at http://bostonteenauthorfestival2012.blogspot.com/p/connect.html/.

Please note this festival is NOT affiliated with the Boston Public Library and therefore will not be held responsible for any issues that arise. We do not have any additional information other than what you can find yourself on The Boston Teen Festival blog website.

If you attend, have a great time and visit your local teen librarian to let them know what the program was like.

Have you read any of these books? What are you favorites? Do you think they should have been banned or challenged?

For information about Banned Books Week and Celebrating our Freedom to Read, check out http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek or http://bannedbooksweek.org/.

The American Library Association has also created an interactive timeline to highlight some of the books that have been challenged or banned in the past 3o years. http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/timeline30-years-liberating-literature

If you are interested in reading any of the books, visit your local branch library or request them with your Boston Public Library card (or OneCards or any Massachusetts library cards registered at the Boston Public Library) on the online BPL Catalog.

Celebrate your freedom to read what you want to read!! Yay!!

Today kumihimo braiding can also be done on a nice foam disk. Other types of looms or disks are used as well. Kumihimo braiding  is so simple and you can see results rather quickly if you aren’t gabbing with everyone. The following YouTube page has a great tutorial showing how to braid on a Kumihimo foam disk – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suUcFpj4OsA&feature=related.

Why am I telling you all of this… well for Pride Month, on June 20, 2012, the Copley Teen Room Teen/Tween Craft Hour made rainbow braids using a kumihimo disk. We actually ended up making a pretty advanced mode due to the number of strands we used (18 strands). Usually beginners start with 8 strands. And I have to tell you, we did an amazing job. The following are a few pictures of what we made at various stages. It maybe be hard to notice the braids in the pictures but they were there. Also everyone ended up with a slightly different variation than what we started with and really made the braids their own creation.

1. Still on the disk:

2. Finished project

 You can make bracelets, necklaces keychains, fobs for your backpacks and more. You can get even more creative as you continue braiding on the kumihimo disk like using glow in the dark thread/floss or adding beads.  Kumihimo braiding is such a relaxing craft and you can do just about anywhere, even on the bus.  The hardest part is chosing your colors and placement of the strands. I suggest as a beginner to prepare that part at home.

Pride Parade 2012

This was the first year the Central Library’s Teen Council got a chance to march in the Pride Parade. Homework and studying kept several members home, but Hyori and Jervani came out to join Jessi (our recently promoted Youth Services Coordinator) and myself.

Together we had a great time in the parade walking not too far away from Mayor Menino at the front of the parade. There were a lot of people along the parade route cheering the parade on. A lot of churches, organizations, and businesses were there. Seeing all the love and support was very uplifting and totally awesome!

Here are some pictures I snapped of Hyori, Jessi, and Jervani:

And these are some of the t-shirts that were made for the parade:

Teens are welcome to join Boston Public Library staff, The Teen Council of the Central Library, and Mayor Thomas M. Menino to walk in the Pride Parade this Saturday, June 9! The Teen Council will be making t-shirts to wear for the event. Anyone who wishes to join can make their own shirt, too.

The Pride Parade starts at noon on Boylston Street and Clarendon St. and ends at Government Center. Anyone interested in joining should email teen librarian Anna Draves at adraves@bpl.org.