Michael Stephens is talking about what books would make good discussions for incoming LIS students

It got me thinking about which books would make good reading for prospective teen librarians.

Not necessarily things like Connecting Young Adults and Libraries,though everyone should read that before they start. I was thinking of more general titles about teen development or culture. Such a list might include:




The Primal Teen: What the New Discoveries About the Teenage Brain Tell Us About Our Kids
by Barbara Strauch
Why do they do that? Strauch, a science and health editor at the NYT, includes recent research and conversations with teens and parents to try to shed some light on the mysteries of teen behavior.


Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids: American Teenagers, Schools, and The Culture of Consumption by Murray Milner Jr.
Milner talks about social strata in high school and suggests that cliques and teen relationships as a whole are shaped by teens' lack of power in the other areas of their lives.



Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers by Alissa Quart
Quart follows how marketers target teens and how it affects them. Though weakened by a focus on the upper and upper middle class this book still provides a lot of material for discussion.





What books would you pick?

This is Your (Father's) Brain on Drugs

This New York Times piece doesn't shock me at all. I often tell people the teens are fine, it's the "adults" that cause problems. Turns out that middle-aged Americans are the ones acting irresponsibly.

"Today, the age group most at risk for violent death is 40 to 49, including illegal-drug death rates five times higher than for teenagers."

Wow, so apparently the drug prevention programs should focus on parents, and around here some of the grandparents, rather than the kids.