Only 24 days left! If you're in grades 9-12, live in NH, and you've read a good book recently, you're invited to nominate it for 2008 The Flume: NH Teen Readers' Choice Award.

We need suggestions of fiction and nonfiction books that appeal to teens in grades 9-12, with publication dates from 2004-2006. You can nominate a book by going to http://www.nashualibrary.org/YALS/FlumeNominationForm.htm or by picking up a yellow nomination form on special display in the teen room at the library. The deadline for nominating a title is Sunday, December 31, 2006.

What Is This Award?
The Flume: NH Teen Reader's Choice Award was created in 2005 in response to a New Hampshire teens' request to have a book award geared towards high school students. This award is a state-wide venture led by a collaborative effort from school and public librarians. Each year teens nominate titles, published within the last two years, they think deserve to be recognized. Librarians then narrow the group of titles to a list of 13. Teens then vote for the winning title from the list of 13.

2006 Winner: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

Those of us who have raised teenagers will remember when they got their first driver's license. Emotions spanned from the joy of giving up carpooling to the fear of your child's safety. Last week the New York Times contained an article by Jane Brody, who writes an informative weekly Personal Health column for the Times, about teenage driving.titled For Teenagers, the Car Is the Danger Zone (you can read this article in the February 6, 2007 edition of the NY Times or you can access it online through our library's Newsbank database). This article contained several sobering statistics including the fact that automobile crashes are the leading cause of death for 16- to 20-year-olds. There are about 5,500 teenage drivers or passengers dying each year. Add to this the fact that about 450,000 adolescents are injured in automobile crashes and approximately 27,000 with injuries severe enough to require hospitalization.

The American Academy of Pediatrics offers several recommendations including safety first when you select a teenager’s vehicle and a driver contract for your teen to sign committing to such things as obeying auto laws and speed limits, driving only when free of alcohol and drugs, wearing a seat belt for each car occupant, never using a cell phone when driving and keeping both hands on the wheel. The Academy also suggests specific penalties for violations: and strict restrictions for the first six months including a ban on teenage passengers and no driving after 9 p.m., since inexperienced drivers cause more than their share of accidents

You may wsih to talke a look at such books as Crashproof Your Kids: Make Your Teen a Safer, Smarter Driver by Timothy C. Smith and Teens & Alcohol by Gail Snyder.

Some pertinent websites of interest include Safe Teen Driving Blog, Minnesota's StarTribune.com's article Could Teen Driving be Safer? and Teendriving.com.

Come and help us celebrate the first ever Teen Tech Week, March 4-March 10, 2007.

This celebration is a national initiative sponsored by YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services division of the American Library Association (ALA). This week will be dedicated to teens and their use of technology in our libraries. According to the Teen Week Chair, Linda Braun, "[b]y developing Teen Tech Week, YALSA demonstrates the important role technology plays in teen life and the need for librarians to integrate the ways teens use technology into their programs and services.”

We will recognize Teen Tech Week with a display titled "Technology Then and Now" near the teen room, "Top 10 gadgets" and "Top 10 websites" posters created by the Teen Advisory Group, and a Guitar Hero program on Thursday March 8th at 4pm. No registration is required for this program, although finger stretching prior to playing is recommended. Don't have a clue what Guitar Hero is? Check out the wikipedia description.

Here's some technology related resources worth checking out...

Websites:
Nashua Public Library's Myspace

Downloadable Audiobooks

Live Homework Help

Books @ Your Library:
Digital Photo Madness: 50 Weird & Wacky Things To Do With Your Digital Camera

Break Into The Game Industry: How To Get A Job Making Video Games

The Musician's Guide To The Internet

The Little Itunes Book

A fellow librarian handed me an article this morning from this past Sunday's Boston Globe titled, "Come for the xbox, stay for the books". A few hours later as I was browsing the most recent issue of School Library Journal and I came upon an article titled, "Standing Room Only." They got me thinking. Both articles were addressing the hooks we librarians use to get teens into the library. I started contemplating all the services we offer at our library such as a room just for teens housing computers with Internet access and video game programs. Then I thought about the affect this has had on the library environment. While some may view the noises emitted from the teen room as a disturbance, I see it as a sign that we are doing something right. We're reaching an underserved population and building a relationship with teens that will create life long library users. We're demonstrating our commitment to the community at large. When we have 12 kids waiting to use a computer, while the noise can sometimes distracting, it's a distraction I'm willing to work with if it means we're engaging one of the toughest to reach populations.

For those of you who may think teens have free reign of our fine establishment, I do want make you aware of our Teen Room Code of Conduct created to help keep the peace, and make our library an environment suitable to all ages.

Teen Room Code of Conduct
While in the library you must be occupied with a library related activity and not just 'hanging out'.

Examples of acceptable library behavior:
*reading *doing homework *quietly playing a game *using a computer

Keep the noise level down. No shouting.

Follow the posted computer use guidelines.

Food and drink are only allowed in the library lobby and new book area.

No roughhousing. No swearing. No throwing objects.

No writing on and/or defacing library property.

Violation of these guidelines may result in a loss of privileges and/or expulsion from the library.

For the second year in a row, we'll be kicking off our teen summer reading program (You Never Know @ Your Library) with an outdoor concert. Here's coolest part, it's all teen musicians. So whether you're an in a death metal, rock, or funk band, or an individual performing acoustic guitar I want to hear from you. If you are in middle or high school and you've got some musical talent, forget about American Idol, and play locally for your friends and family.

Here's a few of the details:
Each band will get a 20 minute time slot (individuals will get a 10 minute slot).
*You must submit a sample of your music for review (no obscene lyrics will be allowed).
*The library will provide limited equipment, so please be prepared to supply most of it yourself.
*If it rains the concert will be moved indoors to the library theater.
*Call Jenn at 589-4612 for more details.

Last week the 2007 winners were announced for both the Isinglass Teen Read Award and the Flume: NH Teen Readers' Choice Award. The Isinglass was created, "to encourage middle school level students to read for enjoyment and promote a life-long love of reading and books." The success of this award then led to the formation of the Flume award for readers in grades 9-12.

Both awards only accept nominations from New Hampshire teens in their respective grades (7-8 for the Isinglass and 9-12 for the Flume), must appeal to teens, and if part of a series must be able to stand alone.

Okay, enough background information it's time for the big announcement. Drum roll please. And the winner is...Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. You didn't miss anything, the same book won both awards.

New Hampshire teens have spoken. They want romance. They want outcasts. They want suspense. They want vampires!

Twilight is the first in a series that has grabbed our nations teens. Meyer is no stranger to receiving recognition for her vampire love story. This title had a long run on the New York Times Bestseller list as well as being named to the YALSA's 2006 Best Books for Young Adults. Now she can add two more awards to her trophy case!

Once you've finished this book, you won't want to wait to read the sequel, New Moon. For those of you that have already finished New Moon, the third book in the series, Eclipse, is due out August 3, 2007.

A few weeks ago, Tuesday, June 19th, to be exact the 2007 teen summer reading program (You Never Know @ Your Library) kicked off with an outdoor concert. Four teen bands and 2 individual performs graced us with their music talent on the library plaza.

All of the musicians had awesome performances. One band even went so far as to create a new song just for the concert, about what else...their favorite library! Double Yellow, the first to perform, sang a song about how they learned to read at the Nashua Public Library.

Thanks to Nashua's new educational station, Channel 99, you might be able to catch the entire concert on tv. But, for those of you who can't wait we were able to get a clip of the "Ode To The Nashua Public Library" as I like to refer to it. I uploaded it to both You Tube and the library's Myspace page.

So when you have a minute have a listen and be reminded, that yes...the library can be a 'cool' place to hang out with friends.

"Ode To The Nashua Public Library" Myspace video

"Ode To The Nashua Public Library" You Tube Video

If this technology interests you check out our books on Myspace and other Web 2.0 topics.

As we approach the end of the summer we conclude another successful teen summer reading program. Thirty three teens read 256 books and magazines between June 19th and August 1st of this year. This year's program, "You Never Know @ Your Library" attracted both repeat readers and as well as many newbies.

In addition to earning raffle entries through writing reviews, the teens also raised $128.50 for Habitat for Humanity. Just by reading a book a participant can earn $.50 or $.75 (if its on a school reading list) for a charity selected by the Teen Advisory Group. The Friends of the Nashua Public Library sponsored this endeavor.

Even more middle and high school students joined us for a variety of programs during this 6-week time period. For the second year in a row, the outdoor kick-off concert featuring local teen musicians proved to be the most popular program. Hundreds of students littered the library plaza to watch and listen to their friends. If you're lucky you can catch a replay of this event on Nashua's Channel 99.

To all those teens that read til their eyes crossed, I hope you had fun. To all of our community sponsors (Hayward's Ice Cream, Texas Roadhouse, Leda Lanes, NH Fisher Cats, Chunky's Cinema, and Friends of the Nashua Public Library) I would like to express my appreciation for your support in this program.

(By the way, just because the summer is over, doesn't mean you have to stop reading for fun!)

America's Best Colleges 2008 edition has arrived on the library shelves. For the uninitiated, US News gathers information about colleges from multiple sources. This information is then entered into their formula which reduces each college to a ranking number. The higher the number, the better the college. Each year high school seniors and their parents anxiously wait for this book. It is regarded in some circles as the definitive resource for college selection. In other circles, not so much.

On it's website, US News provides an explanation of the ranking process, breaking it down into three steps. The first step defines the different ranking categories. These ranking categories are based on Carnegie Classifications which have been updated this year, resulting in some schools changing from one classification to another. The second step involves accumulating information on 15 areas of academic quality from each school. Lastly, this information is converted to a weighted score, and the schools are ranked.

This year, a number of colleges have come out in opposition of this process. An Associated Press story published in USA Today sums the whole situation up very well. "It irks educators everywhere to see colleges ranked like basketball teams. But it irks educators at the top-ranked colleges a lot less." There is a campaign being conducted against this ranking process by Lloyd Thacker, a former college admissions counselor. He has enlisted over sixty colleges in this effort. Although most colleges may agree with his views, and would like to see an alternative to the rankings system, that will not happen any time soon.

The most important message in all of this? Find out more about a college than just its rank. Choosing a school because it has a high rank may not guarantee a good "fit" for you. The library has any number of college selection guides, The College Handbook published by CollegeBoard, Barron's Profiles of American colleges and Fiske guide to colleges to name a few. Read these from cover to cover and find out all you can about the colleges that you are interested in. Then turn to two new books that the library has purchased, College unranked : ending the college admissions frenzy and Harvard schmarvard : getting beyond the ivy league to the college that is best for you and use them to help you discover what you really should be looking for in a school for you.

NPL realizes that students thinking about applying to college, and their parents, need as much help as they can possibly get. Help will arrive on Wednesday, October 10, at 6:30 in the NPL Theater. A College Planning Workshop will be presented that night by the New Hampshire Higher Education Assistance Foundation. This workshop will help you to understand what colleges are looking for from you, what you should be looking for on a college tour, how to write that all important application essay, and where to turn for help in paying for it all.

The Teen Advisory Group (TAG for short) would like to invite you to the library to view their creation of a winter wonderland. At their most recent meeting they decorated gingerbread houses to put on display in the teen room and to bring some winter spirit to the library.

I thought some of you might be interested in building a house as well so I found a few books in our collection that you might find helpful.

Making gingerbread houses : and other gingerbread treats by Joanna Farrow

The gingerbread book by Steven Stellingwerf

Helpful Websites:
Food Networks Gingerbread House Recipe and Blueprints

Gingerbread House 101

Gingerbread for Gingerbread House Kit

If you think this sounds fun, but you're not one of those crafty people that does everything from scratch, don't be sad, many craft and grocery stores sell kits that include all the necessary ingredients. All that's required is assembly.

New Hampshire teens in grades 9-12 have spoken and 2008 winner of The Flume: NH Teen Reader's Choice Award is....

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. This title received 254 votes out of the 636 cast around the state.

According to the award's website (http://www.nashualibrary.org/YALS/Flume.htm), The Flume: NH Teen Reader's Choice Award was created in 2005 in response to a New Hampshire teens' request to have a book award geared towards high school students. This award is a state-wide venture led by a collaborative effort from school and public librarians. Each year teens nominate titles, published within the last two years, they think deserve to be recognized. Librarians then narrow the group of titles to a list of 13. Teens then vote for the winning title from the list of 13.

Teens Go Green @ Your Library

All teens entering grades 6-12 are invited to participate in this year's teen summer reading program from June 24th to August 1st. The program was kicked off last Tuesday with an awesome teen band concert featuring local talent.

Participating in this program is so easy. All you have to do is read anything you want that is at least 80 pages long. This includes fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, or a group of 3 magazines. Just for reading you'll raise $.50 for charity. If the book you've read is on a school reading list you'll raise $.75. The Teen Advisory Group selected the NH Carbon Challenge to be this year's beneficiary.

If you go one step further and write a short review of the book you can earn a raffle entry for one of the following prizes:
NH Fisher Cats box seats for 4
Haywards Ice Cream gift card
Chunky's Cinema movie passes
Texas Roadhouse gift card
Simon Mall gift card
iTunes gift card
Best Buy gift card
Borders gift card
Creative Zen 2 GB MP3 player
Tee Shirt Bodega gift card
grab bag of books

In addtion, there is something going on every Tuesday related to this year's theme. To view a complete listing of teen programs or to register for an event visit www.tinyurl.com/yqm7pa . If you still have questions call Jenn at 589-4612.

A teen's world isn't all video games and text messaging at least that's what I'm concluding from the success of this year's teen summer reading program. Teens in grades 6-12 could read anything that they wanted that was at least 80 pages in length (magazines, graphic novels, fiction, non-fiction).

In the most successful teen summer reading program to date, 53 teens read 291 books and raised $160.25 for the NH Carbon Challenge. In addition, we had a number of great musical performances by local teen musicians.

I'd like to thank this year's generous sponsors:
Friends of the Nashua Public Library
Hayward's Ice Cream
NH Fisher Cats Baseball
Texas Roadhouse
Chunky's Cinema
Tee Shirt Bodega

Most of all, I'd like to thank the teens of Nashua for participating in the program. I hope you had fun.

Jenn
Teen Librarian