I enjoyed Chris's comments here: instead of asking teens to come and find us, libraries should go where teens are!

Samantha and I were talking this morning and we would like to start TSL (Texting Suffolk Librarians). We're thinking about starting a texting group for those who are new to texting. This will give us an opportunity for us all feel more comfortable with texting. We'll start out slowly, maybe just meet and practice on our cell phones, texting with each other. Once we get going, we would like to share ways we can use texting to reach teens. Interested?

Here are some notes I took from this session (Part 1):
-Some of the topics that people were interested in discussing were: blogs, the YA portion of their library’s webpage, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr.
-West Islip and West Babylon both have successful Facebook pages: West Islip is a “profile” page and West Babylon is a “fan” page.
- They suggest you “Friend” local teens, YA authors, parent’s of the teens, etc.
-Facebook can support links such as the library homepage, the OPAC, or database log-in pages- essentially bringing the library to the teens. (Go where they are, instead of demanding them to go to where you are.)
-Some in the room have come up against resistance in starting a library Facebook page.
-Someone mentioned that being their library has a page, it has made Facebook seem viable to some previous “non-believers.”

Here are some notes I took from this session (Part 2):
-West Babylon is participating in the staff Web 2.0 challenge, which includes participation in many of the social networking activities that we discussed at this session.
-Chris brought out the point that whatever you’re doing as far as technology, if it’s not interactive, it doesn’t exist in a teen’s mind.
-Post pictures from teen events as a way to encourage teens to visit your blog.
-Chris suggested making your blog as your homepage when the teens log into the library computers.
-Have guest bloggers to keep your blog fresh (Top five favorite… , write about a good program they attended, tell about a good book they read, etc.)
-Twitter is time-intensive and all about feedback. The most common way it’s used in libraries is for programming notices: before, during or after. Some felt only adults do it, while others feel teens use it, but not the same way libraries do.

i mentioned this to someone at the end of the session, but it might be useful info for anyone thinking about texting, especially after barbara's message above: gmail labs has a texting application:

New in Labs: Text Messaging in Chat
Send SMS text messages right from Gmail. You chat from your comfy computer and reach your friends on the go; they get your messages as texts and can peck out replies on their little keyboards. Turn on SMS text messaging and more from the Labs tab under Settings.

Hey Lily,
This is GREAT! I really like this idea and think starting with Gmail, which we are all familiar with is the perfect place to start. Anyone else interested in a Gmail/Text workshop?
Raise your hands. Raise the HIGH!

After this workshop I will be starting a Teen Twitter! The Children's Department in Smithtown has one, so I am going to create one with my fellow YA librarians to get more teen involvement! If anyone has Twitter follow us when it is all set and running!

One main thing I learned from the Online Workshop is it needs to be interactive! A blog is a great way for teens to get involved and feel as if their thoughts count for something! I want to really make our teen blog more visible and more "updated!"