Like it or not for anyone who has already survived their awkward and acne-ridden teenage years, those young whippersnappers of today are tomorrow's future, and the ones who will be using the library (and everything else) long after the rest of us leave this world. Teenagers are society's real innovators, and they are shaping the future! During a time when teens have access to information and entertainment at the click of a mouse or the swipe of a finger, libraries need to find a way to keep them coming through their doors, regardless of what sort of technological (or hormonal) changes are occurring elsewhere.

In January 2014, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) released a report titled The Future of Library Services for and with Teens: A Call to Action. According to an article in American Libraries magazine published earlier this month called The Future of Library Services to Teens, "The report is the culmination of a project funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and spearheaded by YALSA’s National Forum on Libraries and Teens, which focused on the needs of teens and how libraries can support those needs."

Coming up with a plan for how libraries can serve and attract teens in the unforeseeable future can be a daunting task, and with limited budgets and staff (and patron) reluctance to change, it can be especially difficult for libraries to start adjusting. However, according to the American Libraries article, there are small ways libraries across the country can get the ball rolling now, including:

• Hiring new staff to support digital media and learning initiatives and provide support to other staff and youth and families around the ideas of connected learning
• Talking with a state youth-services consultant about YALSA's Futures report and its impact on the work that libraries in the state do with and for teens
• Working with college and career readiness providers in the community in order to develop programs and services for teens that will help them succeed in life
• Providing training to colleagues on the ideas embedded in YALSA's Futures report

But perhaps the most obvious way for librarians to arm themselves with the metaphorical weapons they need to secure a long-term teenage patronage is by *gasp* TALKING TO TEENS! Find out what sorts of services, materials and activities teens want and do your best to incorporate them. Don't just talk to the teens who walk through the library's doors -- you already have them hooked on books! Make an effort to reach out to teens who don't usual frequent the library and see what you can do to get them to open their minds — or better yet, open a book!

Waking up to horrible news is one of the worst things you can experience. Here's a brand new day, filled with endless possibilities and opportunities – that is, until the moment the bad news hits you. Hard. 

All that promise of a new day – a new start – becomes tainted by news oftentimes completely beyond your control. When I was a senior in high school, the news was that my aunt had been in a car accident and would probably not make it. A few years later, it was that my mother was diagnosed with Stage IV Lung Cancer. A couple years after that, it was that my dad had been in a fatal motorcycle accident. Today that news was the shooting and death of nine innocent people in a church in Charleston, S.C.

Bad news is horrible – whether it directly affects you or not – because you know that somewhere, someone's life is being profoundly altered by a devastating and life-changing event. Having lost far too many people before their time in my short 23 years, I am heartbroken for all those affected by last night's senseless act of hatred and violence. 

Not only did people lose brothers, mothers, fathers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends in the Charleston shooting, but the community lost some very important and active members of society, including South Carolina State Senator the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, and the St. Andrews Regional Library Manager Cynthia Hurd, confirmed by the Charleston County Public Library's Facebook page earlier today.

According to The Post and Courier, "In a 2003 interview, Hurd said, 'I like helping people find answers,' adding that the best thing about being a librarian was service. 'Your whole reason for being there is to help people.'" County officials said the St. Andrews Regional Library where Hurd worked will be renamed in her honor, according to The Post and Courier.

Not only was Hurd a dedicated librarian, but Pinckney was also a tremendous advocate for libraries in the State Legislature. Clearly last night's shooting is a tragedy on many levels, but it is surely also a devastating loss for the South Carolina library community.

In the above Facebook post, Hurd was called "a tireless servant of the community who spent her life helping residents, making sure they had every opportunity for an education and personal growth." While I don't have a fix-all solution to the issue of radical violence in this country or any other (no one does), I think that if people put a little more effort into living a life similar to the one Hurd will be remembered for – a life of helping and caring for others – we'd be one step closer to a better and safer world. 

Gabriel Roth recently published a Slate article called, Why So Poky? The Scourge of Terrible Canonical Children’s Books, in which he shares his experiences reading with his young daughter. In the hilarious article, Roth unabashedly states:

In his article, Roth is referring particularly to The Poky Little Puppy, one of history's best-selling children's books. And while kids may enjoy the story of the cute little canine, adults oftentimes see the book as being pointless, boring and lacking any real moral. As one of the original 12 Little Golden Books first published in 1942, this story has been passed down from generation to generation – but not because it is a captivating story. As Roth explains, the book's popularity and sales persist solely because of nostalgia. He goes on to write:

This "inter-generational cycle of crap," as Roth so aptly calls it, is what makes a lot of popular children's books be read over and over again (maybe to the chagrin of their parents and librarians). So what can we do to break the cycle? Replace those books with better suggestions!

A FlavorWire.com article written by Emily Temple picked up where Roth left off and recommends some great alternatives to those canonical classics adults dread and children love. Instead of The Poky Little Puppy, Temple suggests The Sweetest Fig by Chris Van Allsburg – "A highly satisfying story in which a mean dentist gets his due AND there’s a cute dog to look at AND there are Van Allsburg’s typical hazy-wondrous illustrations," writes Temple.

As the article suggests, maybe it's time to retire Robert Munsch's Love You Forever in exchange for Wild by Emily Hughes, an adorable picture book about a little girl who has known nothing but nature from birth. Perhaps one should swap out Hans Christian Andersen's The Princess and the Pea for The Princess Who Saved Herself by Greg Pak and Takeshi Miyazawa, a book inspiring girls to be their own heroes. After all, shouldn't storytime be enjoyable for everyone involved?

To view all of Temple's suggestions to replace those lovable but lackluster titles, click here.

I designed the class so it could be beneficial for anyone who attended – from someone who doesn't even know what a blog is, to someone looking to launch a professional blog for a small business. I had five patrons register for the six available spots in the class, and ended up with having four of them attend – not too bad of a turn out for a small rural library on a beautiful Friday afternoon!

One woman in attendance was looking seriously into creating her own blog to curate self-produced content, whereas another was thinking about starting a travel blog to write about her vacations. Another woman in the class wanted to document stories of her experience being a nurse, and the fourth patron was exploring the idea of starting a photo blog for Schlitz beer memorabilia. There was a good variety of topics people were interested in blogging about, and a nice age range of program participants as well, which is always great to see.

Public libraries are meant to serve everyone in their communities, and that means everyone – whether they have a fixed place of residence or not.

In a recent photo essay published in National Geographic Magazine, photographer Fritz Hoffmann highlights how some homeless people in California benefit from public libraries, including using them as quite places to read and learn, using their restroom facilities and using them as a place to get off the streets – either momentarily, or for good.

"Being homeless often means living off the mainstream grid, unplugged from the Internet, email, and streaming media. Public libraries provide the homeless with a way to connect, and many homeless say that browsing the stacks and reading a book there eases a weary street-level perspective of life," Hoffmann states in his photo essay.

The San Francisco Public Library was the first library in the nation to hire a full-time social worker as part of its staff. Since being hired in 2009, Leah Esguerra has helped about 150 formerly homeless library patrons find permanent housing, and another 800 have benefited from other social services provided by the library, according to PBS. Esguerra has also provided employment for formerly homeless library patrons by creating positions at the library known as "health and safety associates." These employees are tasked with monitoring the library for anyone who appears to be homeless and offering them help – be it informing them about area shelters, or working with housing agencies to find them a place of their own.

Homelessness is a major issue in this country, and many others around the world. And while some library patrons may be upset at libraries for their policies regarding serving the homeless, it is the duty of public libraries to serve and support their communities and the all of people in them.

To learn more about how libraries across the country are serving the homeless, click here.