What is a tween?

Sheila Anderson, in her book Serving Young Teens and 'Tweens, recommends looking back at our own tween years to better understand what today's tweens are going through. I remember wearing a sweatshirt tied around my waist every single day--just in case my period started while I was at school. I remember my first school dance; my friends all stood in a circle staring at each other as we tried to "look cool" trying to dance in public for the first time. I remember an ever-present fear of embarrassment in from of my peers.

Today's tweens still face the issues that Teri Lesesne refers to in her book, Naked Reading, regarding physical growth, hormonal changes and emotional maturity. Those are experience that tweens have gone through, and will continue to go through, throughout all of human existence. Bodies grow, voices change, and childhood slowly melts away. Transition is frightening and tweens who don't entirely recall the transition from babydom to childhood, feel as if they have never been through anything like the growth that they experience during the tween years.

What is different for today's youth is the prevalence of technology throughout all aspects of their lives. For tweens to be engaged in the library, we must be providing access to technology. Many teens and tweens complain that their education is not relevant to their lives. In the library, we have a unique opportunity to rectify that situation. The library is designed to provide each user with the unique experiences that they most need. It is crucial for librarians to expand our own horizons so that we can help tweens create meaningful library experiences that are personal to them.

I was especially impressed with Anderson's (p. 19) discussion on how to deal with tweens in the library. Yes, they are egocentric, noisy, packs of commotion. But it is our duty, as librarians, to be there for these people who are in a pivotal moment of their lives. If we consistently treat them firmly, but respectfully we are providing them an opportunity to become lifelong library users. How many adults actually visit the library with a pack of friends? This occurrence is an exciting opportunity for librarians to instill an appreciation of the library and a love of books-- helping to create the lifetime readers of tomorrow. Lesesne (p.17) states that 75% of teens would rather never read another book after they graduate. That frightening statistic is the very reason we need to find ways to bridge the cultural, societal, and generation gap between ourselves and the tweens we serve.

Anderson, S. (2007). Serving young teens and 'tweens. Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited.

Lesesne, T. (2006). Naked reading. Maine: Stenhouse Publishers.