How many times have we heard (or even said) today’s teens don’t read? Even though one of their primary modes of communication requires near constant reading and writing, we seem to perceive teenagers as non-readers. Maybe, just maybe we are the ones who need to shift our perspectives about what teen literacy looks like in action. If we are willing to do that, perhaps we could even more effectively support and develop all the reading and writing they are doing every day both in and out of school. Join your teen-serving colleagues to explore today’s adolescent & adult literacy research landscape, reflect on the purposes of literacy in the 21st century, and help each other leverage our learning to create innovative teen literacy opportunities in our libraries.
Learning Outcomes:- We will rethink our professional perceptions about teen literacy behaviors to include learning more about their aptitudes for socially-constructed, multimodal content consumption and creation.
- We will examine which types of literacy skills today’s young people might need to hone as they are entering early adulthood; to include entering jobs that might not even exist yet.
- We will imagine new possibilities for library programs, platforms, and services that celebrate and further develop teen’s 21st century multimodal connective literacy practices.
