Special Topics Paper - Reader's Advisory For Teens

Social Media is a great tool to use in Reader's Advisory for Teens. Here are some ideas on how social media platforms can be used to provide book recommendations for teens.

Reader's Advisory for Teens

Booktalks are a great way to to promote reading to teens. Many social media platforms now allow videos to be posted including: Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram. When creating a booktalk to post on social media, the librarian needs to keep in mind the time constraints of each platform, for example Snapchat videos are limited to ten seconds. Snapchat also allows the user to add filters that pertain to the setting or content of the book. Videos could be created for new items in the Teen Section, Read-alikes, and other items the library is currently promoting.

A book snap is a picture of text from a book that is focusing on a quote or idea in the text with emojis, text or other content added to illustrate the point. The book snaps are typically shared on Snapchat and Twitter.  The librarian can share quotes or highlights from the book they are reading or promoting and post it to the social media app. Book snaps could also be used to share what the librarian is currently reading by posting a picture of the book cover with a few words about the book or with the words, currently reading. Book snaps of a book cover could be shared on all social media platforms. Sharing what one is currently reading or has read recently is a great way to get teenagers talking about books.

There are multiple websites available that will allow a patron to get a reading recommendation, Goodreads and Library Thing are among some of the popular websites. The teen librarian could create a profile on these sites to promote what they are currently reading and assist teen patrons in doing so as well. Posting links to these accounts on the library website and social media platforms will allow the library to reach more users. Goodreads allows a user to add friends and follow what they are reading and make recommendations to others as well.

Infographics are graphic visual representations of information and have become very popular. There are many free programs that allow you to create these, such as: Piktochart, Canva and Venngage. This is a great way to recommend books through the use of Read-alikes or specific topics.  For example an infographic could be made about what to read if you like the tv series The Walking Dead. These posters could then be displayed at the library in the teen section or shared on the library’s social media platforms.

Works Cited

Brown, David W. "How Young Adult Fiction Came of Age." The Atlantic. N.p., 01 Aug. 2011. Web. 2 Mar. 2017.

Burgess, Dave. "#BookSnaps!!" Blog post. Teach Like a Pirate. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2017.

Graves, Alanna. "How To Use Snapchat for Readers' Advisory." School Library Journal(2016): n. pag. Web.

Thorton-Verma, Henrietta, and Meredith Schwartz. "The State of Readers' Advisory."Library Journal 03 Feb. 2014: n. pag. Web. 2 Mar. 2017.