Real-World Teen Services. By Jennifer Velasquez. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2015. 116 p. Paper $50.00 (ISBN 978-0-8389-1342-0).
Author Jennifer Velasquez is a twenty-year veteran of teen services, a frequent speaker and consultant in the discipline, and a lecturer at San Jose State University’s School of Information. Her extensive experience working directly with teens and speaking on their behalf is clear throughout Real-World Teen Services. The book highlights barriers that teen advocates often encounter and offers clear direction on how to diplomatically yet emphatically insist on the rights of teens as library users.
In the foreword, San Jose State University’s Anthony Bernier highlights the need for texts like this by acknowledging that teen services are frequently added as an afterthought to other departments, usually youth or adult services. This common occurrence is one reason the book is a necessity for libraries serving teens: It’s a how-to manual for underprepared staff obliged to interact with teens, as well as a guidebook for libraries struggling with staff attitudes toward teen behavior. Most importantly, though, it presents an opportunity for current teen librarians to reflect on their own practices with a critical eye.
The main messages: Be consistent, genuine, and kind. Involve teens wherever possible in program and space planning. Combat “colonization by adults and imperialization by children” (17) of teen-designated areas and activities. Avoid emphasizing personal preferences in programming and readers’ advisory.
Velasquez supports the strategies she presents with actual scripts for confronting difficulties that often arise internally and externally: advocating for teen space and programs with administrators, enforcing behavior guidelines, addressing privacy matters with parents and other authorities, and keeping teen space restricted to teens only.
Each chapter includes a “Soap Box Moment” in which Velasquez presents an opportunity for self-reflection on an oft-encountered issue. The “Moment” titled “Now Say That to His Mother” is particularly powerful when considering how staff members ought to approach a young visitor displaying frustrating behavior.
This handbook is great for any library looking to engage teen users, inform inexperienced staff more thoughtfully, or improve already excellent services. The book would also make a great addition to the curriculum of a course for future teen librarians, but its practical approach and thoughtful message make it a text that could easily supplement a class for anyone planning to work in public libraries.—Deidre Winterhalter, Program Coordinator for Kids and Teens, Niles Public Library District, Warrenville, Illinois