Steal These Ideas

AFTER COMPLETING THIS COURSE, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO:

• Bring back a wider range of teen programming ideas you can actually use, instead of starting from a blank page every time.
• Adapt successful ideas from other libraries to fit your own budget, staffing, space, and community.
• Spot new ways to make programs feel more relevant, welcoming, and worth showing up for.
• Make better decisions about which ideas are worth trying, which ones need adjusting, and which ones can be let go.
• Learn from other librarians’ wins, flops, and workarounds so you can avoid wasting time on ideas that do not translate.
• Leave with practical ideas that can help you build stronger participation, better teen buy-in, and a more interesting calendar.
• Build connections with other teen services and high school librarians you can keep turning to after the session ends.

You will leave with ideas you can steal, reshape, and use, plus a clearer sense of what helps teen programs click and what tends to fall flat.

If you are someone who:

• keeps getting stuck with the same programming ideas because there is never enough time to build something new
• has watched attendance stall out and wants more honest insight into what teens actually respond to
• has tried programs that sounded good in planning but did not really connect once teens were in the room
• feels isolated in teen services work and wants to hear how other librarians are handling the same challenges
• wants practical ideas they can borrow and adapt, not another polished presentation full of vague advice

This course was built for you.

This course is especially helpful for:

• teen services librarians planning programs, outreach, and engagement for middle and high school audiences
• young adult librarians looking for fresh ideas they can use without reinventing their entire calendar
• high school librarians creating events, clubs, and community-building opportunities for teens
• school librarians who want stronger participation and better student engagement outside regular class time
• public library staff serving teens and trying to build programs that feel relevant, doable, and worth repeating

If your job includes getting teens interested, involved, and willing to come back, you will see yourself in this course.

UnConference Welcome & Overview of the Day | 1:00–1:10 pm ET

Session Block #1 | 1:10–2:00 pm ET

Creating a Culture of Reading on a Budget

Hear about creative ways to get students reading without a huge budget or a lot of bells and whistles! You’ll learn about a successful reading incentive program and bringing books to where students are with mini satellite libraries. Leave with a blueprint for how to replicate these ideas in your own schools.

Speakers:

Christa Bell — “Lit Loot: Building a High-Impact Reading Incentive Program on a Small Budget”

Christine Tuttell — “Beyond the Stacks: The Power of Classroom Satellite Libraries”

Why Did We Never Learn This Stuff in School?: Life Skills Programs for Teens

Hear about all things “adulting”! You’ll learn about creative ways to prep teens for real life in ways that keep them engaged. Leave with a blueprint for how to replicate these ideas in your own libraries.

Speakers:

Kaylee Johnson — “Life Skills for Teens”

Kimberli Buckley — “Adulting in the Library: Prepping Teens for Real Life”

Engagement Without the Pressure: Passive Programming Ideas

Hear about low pressure ways to get students engaged! You’ll learn about a successful lo-fi lab and other passive programs to get students off their phones. Leave with a blueprint for how to replicate these ideas in your own libraries.

Speakers:

Adrienne De Luna — “Lo-Fi Lab: A space for teens to just be”

Erin Dalbec — “Getting students off of their phones through passive programming in the library”

Analog Programs in an Ever-Digitized World

Hear about ideas to engage students with physical materials. You’ll learn about a “junk journaling” program to support weeding and a program to encourage student publishing. Leave with a blueprint for how to replicate these ideas in your own schools.

Speakers:

Marti Brown — “Junk Journaling: The Answer to Your Weeding Woes!”

Sarah Joy Oaklief — “Bound for the Shelves: Student Publishing in Action”

Break | 2:00–2:05 pm ET

Session Block #2 | 2:05–2:55 pm ET

Low Stress, High Impact: Rotating Programs

Hear about ways to increase engagement without pulling your hair out with rotating programs! You’ll learn about fun monthly challenges to present students as well as other ideas for program rotations and stations. Leave with a blueprint for how to replicate these ideas in your own libraries.

Speakers:

Brandi Young — “Read It and Reap: Monthly Challenges with Major Payoffs”

Jasmine Hernandez — “Teen Program Rotation”

Get Students Moving: Kinesthetic Programs

Hear about ways to get students up and moving! You’ll learn about how to start indoor mini golf on an extreme budget and other gamified movement-based activities. Leave with a blueprint for how to replicate these ideas in your own libraries.

Speakers:

Elyse DeQuoy — “Level Up & Lean In: A Playbook for Gamified Movement and Teacher-Librarian Collaborations”

Brendan Ward — “Indoor Mini Golf for Under $200”

Meet Students Where They Are: School and Public Library Partnerships

Hear about ways to get teens into the public library through partnerships with local schools. You’ll learn about creative approaches to outreach and leave with a blueprint for how to replicate these ideas in your own libraries.

Speakers:

Loretta Zhang — “Getting Teens into the Library”

Brooke Windsor — “Going on Tour: Rocking Secondary School Outreach”

Get Teens Involved in Good: Creative Approaches to Volunteer Programs

Hear about ways to increase teen engagement in volunteering! You’ll learn about how to get young people excited about giving back to their communities without pulling teeth. Leave with a blueprint for how to replicate these ideas in your own libraries.

Speakers:

Samantha Delgado — “Teen Summer Volunteering”

Erica Schimmel — “Creative Approaches to Teen Volunteering”

Alyssa Taft — “Teen Volunteers”

Break | 2:55–3:00 pm ET

Session Block #3 | 3:00–3:50 pm ET

Mirrors and Windows: Culturally Inclusive Programming

Hear about ways to increase cultural inclusivity through programs! Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop famously coined the ideas of “mirrors and windows” in youth literature, meaning to reflect back our own and open windows into new experiences. Learn how to provide similar enriching experiences through programs that encourage teens to engage with other cultures. Leave with a blueprint for how to replicate these ideas in your own libraries.

Speakers:

Charlotte Hinniger — “Culturally Inclusive & Engaging Teen Programming”

Cameron Gillespie — “Exploring Snacks Around the World”

High Touch, High Impact Programs

Hear about ways to increase engagement through high-touch and personalized experiences! Learn about ways to make readers’ advisory interactive as well as how to set up library escape rooms for maximum fun. Leave with a blueprint for how to replicate these ideas in your own libraries.

Speakers:

Amanda Carini — “Escape Room Programs with and for Teens”

Katlyn Hernandez — “Interactive Advisory: A Loot Box Approach to Teen Engagement”

Co-Created Libraries: Student-Led Programs for Maximum Buy-In

Hear about ways to co-create programs with students. Learn how to encourage leadership, initiative, and buy-in by co-creating student-led programs with teens. After all, teens know what they want best, so why not let them lead for a while? Leave with a blueprint for how to replicate these ideas in your own libraries.

Speakers:

Erica Esqueda — “Library on Their Terms: Co-Creating Monthly Programs with Students”

Evan DeNaro — “Cocurricular Club - Student-Led Library Leaders”

Closing Thoughts & Group Reflection | 3:50–4:00 pm ET

SESSION SPEAKERS

Christa Bell, K–12 Library Media Specialist, Lafayette County C-1 High School

Marti Brown, Librarian, Westwood High School

Kimberli Buckley, MLIS Instructor, San Jose State University

Amanda Carini, Teen Librarian, Denver Public Library

Erin Dalbec, Library Teacher, Newton North High School Library

Adrienne De Luna, Librarian, Owner of Youth Services Playbook

Evan DeNaro, Librarian, Deer Park High School

Elyse DeQuoy, Head Librarian, James Wood High School

Samantha Delgado, Youth Services Librarian, Ferguson Library

Erica Esqueda, Middle School Librarian, Mission Junior High

Cameron Gillespie, Teen Librarian, Denver Public Library

Jasmine Hernandez, Teen Library Services Assistant, Winder Public Library

Katlyn Hernandez, YA Specialist, Washington Memorial Library

Charlotte Hinniger, Assistant Manager of the Children’s & Teen Services, Allen County Public Library

Kaylee Johnson, Young Adult Librarian, Girard Free Library

Sarah Joy Oaklief, Librarian, Springbrook Middle School

Erica Schimmel, Teen Services Librarian, Arapahoe Libraries

Alyssa Taft, Teen Librarian, Cranston Public Library

Christine Tuttell, Librarian, South Garner High School

Brendan Ward, Community Engagement and Outreach Librarian, Bunn Library, Lawrenceville School

Brooke Windsor, Teen Services Librarian, Stratford Public Library

Brandi Young, Librarian, Westerville South High School

Loretta Zhang, Teen Librarian, Arlington Public Library

Teen services and high school librarians are some of the most creative, resourceful, and passionate professionals in the field. They're also some of the most under-resourced, frequently working without dedicated budgets, adequate staffing, or a built-in peer network to lean on. Great ideas exist everywhere in this profession, but they don't always travel far enough to reach the people who need them most

This UnConference changes that.

Modeled on the open, participatory unconference format, this course throws out the traditional sit-and-receive approach and replaces it with something far more energizing: a structured space for peer-driven learning, honest conversation, and open idea exchange. You bring what's working in your library. You leave with what's working in everyone else's. Sessions are shaped by the participants themselves, which means the curriculum reflects what teen librarians actually need right now.

You'll explore programming models that work across a range of budgets and community contexts, dig into the real challenges of teen engagement, and connect with a network of colleagues you'll actually stay in touch with. Whether you're a seasoned teen services veteran looking for a creative recharge, or a newer librarian still figuring out your footing, you'll leave with a folder full of ideas you can steal, adapt, and make your own.

SESSIONS AND PRICING

This is a live online UnConference. If you can’t attend in real time, you will receive access to the recording.

GROUP OPTIONS

Training a team? Choose the setup that matches how you want to plan and pay:

Group course enrollment: Enroll 3+ staff in this course and save.

Bulk course credits: Prepay once, get the highest per-seat discount on every course, and assign seats later.

Unlimited annual licensing: System-wide access for a year with no per-course approvals.

Request Discounted Group Pricing

Questions? Email groupsales@libraryjournal.com.

COURSE FORMAT

This is a 3-hour peer-driven UnConference experience focused on teen programming and engagement. The session is recorded for on-demand access for six months after the course ends.

EXPECTED TIME COMMITMENT

If you attend or watch the recording of the live session, you will spend 3 hours on this course. You will earn 3 hours of professional development credit and a Library Journal certificate of completion.

COURSE ACCESS

The live session is recorded and available on demand for six months following the initial broadcast as part of your purchase.

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

Complete all course requirements to earn 3 professional development credit hours and a Library Journal certificate of completion. Certificates are emailed upon completion.

ACCESSIBILITY

All video recordings feature auto-captioning. If you require accommodations, please email course-support@libraryjournal.com upon registration and we will make our best efforts to support your needs.

SUPPORT

For technical or course-related support, please contact course-support@libraryjournal.com.