Q&A ARCHIVE
FALL 2006: Patrick Jones, known for his many professional contributions to the field of young adult librarianship, has written his second novel for teens, "Nailed". In an interview with Teenlibrarian.com, he talks about his writing process, why he's drawn to stories about teens who don't quite fit in, his next novel, and his revamped web page. Read the complete interview here. Also read my review here.
FALL 2005: Kelly Huegel is the author of "GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Queer and Questioning Teens". She talks about attempts to censor her book and why it's so important that teens have access to information about their sexuality. Read the complete interview here.
FALL 2004: Patrick Jones is a giant in the field of young adult librarianship -- a nationally aclaimed writer, advocate and presenter of professional seminars. So far he's better known for his many nonfiction books and articles, but now, with the publication of his first young adult novel, he makes the move to fiction. In an interview with Teenlibrarian.com, he discusses the 17-year journey toward the publication of "Things Change", how he ended up writing about dating violence, and the creation of his two main characters, Paul and Johanna. Read the interview here.
FALL 2003: Tracey Firestone, a librarian at Suffolk Cooperative Library System in Bellport, New York, maintains the Young Adult Librarians' Homepage, an incredible list of more than 200 resources for librarians who work with teens. Tracey, aka Rebellibrarian (the name of her personal website), also provides workshops on teen services and chairs a YALSA task force. Find out more about Tracey and her views on YA librarianship here.
SPRING 2003: Graphic novel guru Robin Brenner, a library technician at Cary Memorial Library in Lexington, Massachusetts, has created a site called No Flying, No Tights. The site, aimed at teens and those who work with them, demystifies graphic novels and provides up-to-date reviews as well as lists of core titles. Read an interview with Brenner here.
DECEMBER 2002: Nominated by four teens, Kimberly L. Paone was one of this year's winners of the New York Times Librarian Award. Paone is Teen Services Librarian at Elizabeth Public Library in Elizabeth, NJ. Winners were announced in a full-page ad and each received $2,500. Read an interview with Paone here.
NOVEMBER 2002: Programming for teens is never easy, but RoseMary Honnold is an expert. She has written a book called "101+ Teen Programs That Work". Read an interview with Honnold, who is a Young Adult Librarian Assistant at the Coshocton Public Library in Ohio.
OCTOBER 2002: How far would you go to get teens to read? Dawn Rutherford, a Young Adult Librarian in Bellvue, WA, challenged her teen patrons to read 50,000 pages last summer -- promising to dye her hair purple if they made the quota. When teens read a grand total of 54,299 pages, she kept her word! Read an interview with Dawn, who works at the Lake Hills Branch of the King County Library System.