Regina Public Library Teen Zone

 

Bibliographic Info:

Regina Public Library. (2011). Regina public   library: Teen Zone. Retrieved from http://www.reginalibrary.ca/teenzone/index.html

Descriptive Summary:

The Teen Zone for the Regina Public Library is a clear, crisp website for teens and teen related programming at the RPL. The features are pretty standard, but do feature a few innovative and interesting ideas like themed book lists.

Features:

Blog
Popular books
Homework help
Photo Gallery
University and job info
Research databases

The most interesting feature are booklists covering the following gothic related subjects:

• Dead Writers
• Goth Tales
• POE's Girls
• Star Crossed Lovers
• Undead Romance

Evaluative comments with rating:
1/5 TVs - I hate to say it, but you may be better with the television on

There is only one section of the teen zone that is updated past 2011 and that is the new releases section of the blog. The contest section, blog, and the photo gallery are all out of date and seem to be in disuse. The Teen Advisory Committee link (which only shows up in certain sections of the site) is broken and simply leads back to the main site. The calendar is similarly out of service. Anything that would encourage interaction and participation with the teen members of the library is non-fuctioning either because it's out of date or because the link leads nowhere. Luckily the databases and resource links still function, but everything library-specific is mostly useless to teens visiting the site.

Suggested Improvements:

Updating the site so it reflects what is happening in April of this year, rather than April of 2011 would be a major improvement and would increase the useability and relevance of the site tenfold.

Suggested Audience (age range): 12 - 18

Reason for inclusion: Recommended to me by a colleague

Category: Library Website for Teens

Just For Teens: Bangor Public Library

 

Bibliographic Info:

Bangor Public Library. (2011). Just for teens: Bangor public library. Retrieved from

http://www.bpl.lib.me.us/kidsweb/teen2012/teenindex.html

Descriptive Summary:

The Just for Teens website for the Bangor Public Library is an earnest attempt at creating an engaging and informative site for teen members of the library. The Teen Advisory Board information is front and centre on the site, demonstrating that BPL does want to encourage teen participation. The features are pretty standard and feature some interactivity.

Features:

BPL Teens Blog
Monthly Poll
Booklists
Homework Help
Teen Volunteers
Teen Programs and Clubs

Evaluative comments with rating:
3/5 TVs - It needs a little more work to vanquish television for good

The Banff Public Library seems to be putting forth an honest effort to encourage teen participation and teen programming. Judging by the number of regular clubs and programming they have on the go (Advisory Board, Anime Club, Fantasy Book Group, Friday Foragers, Game Day, Movie Night , Photography Club, Writer's Club), the BPL does have a strong commitment to teens. Each of the programming pages is updated and seems to be regularly maintained.

I'd take a few points off the BPL's efforts because of the lack of updating on the polls and their teens blog, but overall their sections are regularly updated and relevant to teens. The site could be improved in terms of fonts —there's just a few too many— but most of these problems are aesthetic choices rather than actual useability issues.

Suggested Improvements:

Updating the blog regularly might be useful, as well as having some photos of their events, clubs, and programming. A few tweaks to the site would greatly improve it in just a matter of moments.

Suggested Audience (age range): 12 - 18

Reason for inclusion: Proximity to Nova Scotia, personal interest in the historic Banff Public Library

Category: Library Website for Teens