Invasion II: Beverly High Splats Books

I will choose one other school library blog, out of the ten school sites I visited, in order to compare. I have picked the Beverly High School Library’s Book Splat , as I think that teens would enjoy it. The site uses the “Blogger” design plate and they have augmented the somewhat dull color palette by using high resolution reproductions of book covers and an accompanying book review, which made me want to read every book on the Book Splat front page. I also liked the title and thought it might appeal to teen sensibility, but once again, when looking at ‘comments’ posted, nothing appears. Again, I find myself pondering the phenomena of the ‘no-comment’ Blog. Where are the teens? Certainly they are participating in Blogs all over the web, but o, they participate in Blogs that represent personal space, not in Blogs that belong to an institution. There is a freedom in the way which we can post to our heart’s content in our personal Blog, but a Blog in an information institution has a different feeling: it suggests a more formal method of communication. Perhaps, then, this site appeals more to adults than to teens with a traditional-looking interface and a simple and easy-to-read design. Are we under-estimating teens today? Do they like something much more fast-paced, intricate and engaging that somehow the Book Break Blog touches upon (review in previous post)?

The issues here do not come from usability, as the site is easy to use, well written and compelling enough. But I do need to note here, that it was impossible to find the Blog from the Beverly High Library’s home page aka Beverly High Library Media Center. It is crucial that libraries attempting to attract their teen audience, especially in school libraries place the Blog high on the Table of Contents List if they are to entice and maintain the youth voice of the present and the future.

Suggestions: Rank the Blog high on The BHS Library Home Page Table of Contents and provide a Navigation button to the Blog; and even include it on the Beverly High School Home Page for a period of time to see if it helps. Implement review tools to understand how to attract the teen Blog audience. In short, interaction seems to be the essential key to a successful Blog. Book Splat is Blogging at teens not with them. Library Blog’s must ask teens what they think, include them in your discussion, give value to their opinions and intelligence. They also need to induce the ‘cool factor’. I did look up the “Born to Rock” page to see what comes up – Bob Dylan Chronicles! Now come on! What teen is going to read about Bob Dylan? I think the librarian needs to research popular teen music of today!! Don’t get me wrong I love Bob Dylan but after all, I am a thirty somethin’ teen!!!! Perhaps links to Fluxblog and Kerpoof would help attract teens (see my Blogroll to link). Also, the library needs to review DVD’s for teens and add a music RSS feed of some kind.

Rating: 7/10!

I will have to conclude that host information institutions need to respond to the needs of teens, or else they will lose an important audience that goes elsewhere to find the social interaction that teens crave. Perhaps a teen Blog suggestion box online to find out what teens are looking for is a necessity if they are to entice and maintain the post-modern teen!!

Now that I have had time to sift through Blog usage in information institutions, I have come to realize that there is a strong possibility that the key words ‘Blog’ and ‘Library’ do not mesh and perhaps less so when the final keyword in the chain – ‘teen’ – is added.

There is hope , however, for perhaps teens are reading books and not just not blogging about them. If literacy in North America is on the increase, as writers of Reading Matters ( 2003) suggest, then perhaps the balance of a reading life and a web life will increase circuitry in both sides of the brain. For more information on the improvement of reading and brain function , read this exciting Lyon and Fletcher article on the Hoover Institution Website (2007)!