Sarah Lynix (Polaris Career Center) recently implemented a Teen Advisory Board (TAB) in her
library. Sarah created several documents that will help any librarian through the process of
establishing a TAB. Please take a few minutes to review Sarah’s message below.
Teen Advisory Board (TAB): Summary of the Process
With a new year underway and a new Librarian/Coordinator for the Media Center
at Polaris Career Center, it is time for some innovative and fresh ideas directly
from teens. In the career-technical environment, Advisory Committees are
required for all program areas. Having a Teen Advisory Board in the library gives
the information literacy program and library facility more validity in the eyes of
administrators and teachers. Here are some steps to take to create a TAB in your
building:
**See attached documents for more information on these steps.
1) Consult with teachers & guidance counselors for student recommendations.
In our building, we nominate “Outstanding Juniors” and we also have the
National Career-Technical Honor Society students. I started with the
students on these lists; however, I also wanted to make sure that I had
students on the committee to represent all cross-sections of the student
body. I asked the teachers & guidance counselors to “fill in the gaps” for
me.
2) After receiving nominations, I sent a “congratulations” letter home to each
student, explaining that they were nominated to serve on TAB. I also
included an application with the letter so that they could respond to the
letter. This seemed to “weed” out those that were not truly interested or
committed.
3) On the application, I asked the students what day (after school) would be
best to have a meeting. After I tallied those results, I scheduled a
meeting. I sent home a notice of the meeting as well as an e-mail to all
students who provided an e-mail address. Students confirmed their
attendance and as I saw them in the media center, I reminded them of the
meeting. Of course, I ordered food prior to the meeting. The students
were very excited about that!
4) Planning for the meeting was the most time consuming element. I divided
the students into 3 different brainstorming groups, one dealing with
marketing/PR, another with facility changes (including furniture and
remodeling ideas), and another group focusing on a new student pamphlet to
hand out during orientation in the fall. Each group had a sheet of questions
as well as samples of marketing ideas, furniture & other schools’ pamphlets
to work with (I spent a lot of time pouring over library magazines and
catalogs, tearing out several different examples for them to give me
feedback on.)
5) For purchase of books and other reading materials, I use another format
with the English classes. First, I attend the LEEMC Bookscan. At the
bookscan, I mark titles that look interesting. Then, I reserve those titles at
CCPL, pick them up, and display them in the library. Next, I invite all English
students to the library (with their class and instructor) and have the
students evaluate the resources based on several different criteria (see
attached document). The students love being involved with this process!
After the new materials come in, I make sure to find the students that
helped me select them for first check-outs and I also post students’
reactions to new selections on a bulletin board.
~Sarah Lynix
Thank you and Happy Holidays,
The PR Committee: Holly Bunt (co-chair), Priscilla Dann (co-chair), Sister Bernadette Bacho, Mike
Beckman, Shirley Burks, Diane Dillon, Barb Gage, Sister Paula Greggila, Nancy Jasany, Janice
Kurtz, Betsey Lee, Sarah Lyrix, Karen McKeon, Jacque Miller, Cherie Pandora, Jane Puleo, Lynn
Saddleton, Allison Snyder, Bonnie Twitchell & Laurie Wilms