From Gail Tobin, Hanover Park Branch Library
I borrowed from several of the surveys to create one I thought would give me some useful feedback for my branch library. At first I put the survey out in our teen area and no one filled it out, so I got more aggressive. I asked staff at the circulation desk to help me ask kids to fill it out and give them candy as an incentive for turning it in. Food and/or rewards and an enthusiastic attitude from the staff made a big difference. 20 kids completed the survey and the bulk of the respondents were tweens. The results confirm what I suspected: tweens are using the library for homework as well as recreation. Also, games and computers are very popular, but so are books! As far as programs, our gaming nights and movie nights are well attended, but I was surprised more kids didn’t circle crafts because they are also very well attended. I was also happy to see that we are getting kids from several of the local schools, so we are drawing from all over the neighborhood.
Survey Results by the Numbers
To help us buy books and plan programs for you we’d like to know how you use the library. Please answer the questions below and return this survey to the circulation desk.
How do you use the library? (Circle all that apply)
For homework help - 8 For a quiet place to study – 4
To hang out with friends - 6 To borrow books - 10
To borrow DVDs/CDs - 12 To attend programs -1
To borrow games (circle all that apply) Wii (8), PS2 (7), PS3 (8), XBOX (5), XBOX-360 (6), DS (6), Gamecube (4)
To use the computers (circle all that apply) for homework (8), for networking (5), for gaming (9)
Other? youtube.com
When I am looking for something to read, I usually select (Circle all that apply)
Nonfiction - 11 Adventure and survival - 4
Historical Fiction - 5 Realistic Fiction - 6
Poetry - 4 Biography/Autobiography - 2
Romance/Chic Lit - 2 Humor - 9
Anime/Manga - 3 Supernatural (Horror) - 2
Novels in Verse - 4 Graphic Novels - 5
Fantasy - 9 Science Fiction - 4
Drawing Books - 6 Mystery - 11
Short Stories - 3 Poetry - 1
Newspapers Magazines - 4
Series Books – 3 (Which series) Batman, Harry Potter,
Who was…
Garfield
Goosebumps
Bone
Other (Please explain) I get books about animals like a book with info on pandas.
Just fiction also.
What programs would you like to attend at the library? (Circle all that apply)
Wii/Video game tournaments - 10 Board game tournaments - 6
Poetry slam - 1 Fashion show - 2
Writing club - 2 Study groups -1
Movie nights - 12 Anime/Manga/Graphic Novel club - 3
Book club - 6 Reader’s Theater - 2
Craft activities - 5 Holiday-related parties (Halloween, Christmas, etc.) - 6
Teen Advisory Group (a group of teens that help create future programs for teens at the library) - 2
Other: Help out at the library (volunteer)
I am Boy - 12 Girl - 7 no answer - 1
I am in Grade 3rd (1) School Ridge Circle – (3rd – 1)
4th (3) Anne Fox (4th – 3, 5th – 1, & 6th – 1)
5th (4) Albert Einstein (5th – 2 & 6th -1, no grade given-1)
6th (3) Hanover Highlands (6th– 1)
7th (3) Blackwell School (5th - 1)
8th (4) Jane Addams Junior High (7th – 3 & 8th -4)
9th (1) Hoffman Estates High School (9th – 1)
no grade given (1)
__________________________________________________________________________________
Sue Bakhru, Argyle Middle School:
Here is my survey and I found the feedback to be very interesting. I had a class respond to this survey, there were 30 eager tweens ready and willing to let me know what they liked to read. No great surprises here because based on my data of most popular books and the kind of books I see fly out the door, this confirmed a lot. I did see that I need to purchase more books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid. There is a Maryland Award for best book voted by students, parents and librarians. It is called the Blackeyed Susan award. Books are nominated by readers and then the top nominations are read by kids, parents, teachers and librarians across the state and voted on. It gets a lot of attention. I purchase several books from this list (not all because some don't fit my tweens interest or the cover is really bad). Here is my survey and the results. Sue Bakhru
In order to have books in the media center that you enjoy, Please put a check by the top 5 categories of books you like to read
_12_ Basketball_8_Soccer_14_ Football_5_ other sport ___Skateboardi
__7mythology/folktales_24_Interesting People_9_History __Science
_16__Space_22_Dogs_6_Cats__5 Other pets __________________
__23__Drawing__27_Cartoons/Comics
Fiction:_9_Love__16__Fantasy_7_Historical Fiction___Fairytale
__4Science Fiction_22__Humor__16_ Horror/Scary____Suspense/Adventure
___5_Relationships___9_Problems____13_Mystery
Katie Anderson, Oregon State Library
My survey and the results: survey.results.doc
This survey surprised me! While there hasn’t been tween specific training or professional development in Oregon, our public libraries are doing a lot to serve this group specifically—I didn’t know that. This survey shows me…
1) That small and large, rural and urban libraries are providing some age-specific resources, services, and/or programs for tweens. These are the folks who will serve as role models for how all types of public libraries can support tweens. This is significant because we often hear “my library is too poor and too small, we can’t do it” or “my library is so big and there is so much red tape, I just don’t have the independence to do it”.
2) Not everyone understands age-specific programs in general and/or specifically the developmental needs of tweens who benefit from age-specific tween programs. Some people responded that their tweens are “covered by” or “included in” teen programs. This identifies an area of needed professional development.
3) While a few people took the opportunity to complain—about funding, staffing, and recent changes to a particular grant in Oregon—most offered excellent suggestions for collaborative projects that could help all libraries support tweens. Ideas are buzzing in my head about how to help them collaborate! I’ll take it to my supervisor and see if I can start and maintain a tween swiki for libraries to share ideas, and I’ll share the results of this survey with our Children’s Services Division and our Young Adult Network because it is valuable info as they start to collaborate around tween issues. Most of this type of thing is done by these divisions of the Oregon Library Association.
Posted by Fran Jackson
I took advantage of Teen Read Week and used the survey with all teens. I want to thank both Rory and Teri; their questions were perfect but I tweaked them a little for my needs. I added the personal data to indicate the difference between tweens and teens. It also help me determined what areas of the district our teens live and go to school. (We have two high schools and two middle schools and there are several private schools in the area.) Thank you this is a great assignment.
______________________________________________________________
TEEN READ WEEK 2009 SURVEY
In order to keep the Young Adult Department current we would like to know how you use the room.
How do you use the library? Check all that apply.
For homework help ____ To play video games ____
To hang out with friends ___ For a quiet place to study ____
To attend teen programs ___ To borrow books ___
To use the computers: For homework ____ For networking ___ For gaming ____
When I am looking for something to read, I usually select (Circle all that apply)
Nonfiction Adventure and survival Historical Fiction
Poetry Biography/Autobiography Romance
Humor Anime/Manga Supernatural (Horror)
Novels in Verse Graphic Novels Fantasy
Science Fiction Drawing Books Mystery
Short Stories Newspapers Magazines
Series Books (Which series) ___________________________________________________
Other (Please explain) _________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
I am Boy ___ Girl ____
I am in Grade ____ School ____________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
There were 48 responses and 28 were tweens. Our tweens are in grades 6 and 7. These are the tween results. Taking part in the survey were 8 boys and 20 girls with all but 3 coming from the middle school closest to the Library. The number of sixth grade tweens versus seventh grade was split evenly 14 and 14.
Most popular use of the library was borrowing books (24), followed by homework on the computer (17), attending teen programs (16), hanging out with friends (14), quiet place to study (10), gaming on the computer (9), homework help and networking on computers (8) and at the bottom was playing video games (3) and that was a surprise.
Most read genre went as follows: humor (18), mystery (17), fantasy (16), magazines (13), romance (11), anime/mange (8), drawing books (7), graphic novels, nonfiction, short stories and supernatural(horror) tied (6), adventure and survival (5), historical fiction and science fiction tied (4), biography/autobiography and poetry tied (3), and finally novels in verse (1).
One the line labeled “Other” realistic fiction and sports were catagories I had not listed.
Most listed series TWILIGHT (4) and WARRIORS by Erin Hunter (2). I got a little feedback on the popularity of the mystery genre, when the Sammy Keyes (Van Draanen) and the Gilda Joyce (Allison) books were listed. Other series mentioned Harry Potter, Peach Girl (manga), Fruit Baskets (manga), Eragon, Once Upon a Prom (Le Ny), The Clique, Magic in Manhattan (Mlynowski) and the periodical, Shonen Jump (manga). There were several series found in our children’s department: English Roses (Madonna), Series of Unfortunate Events (Snicket) and Erec Rex (Kingsley).
From the results of this survey I have decided we need a HUMOR sticker. As far as what part of the district our patrons come from, all I can do is have our department create a bigger presence in the Middle School farthest from the public library.
Most important is that tweens use both the YA and Children Departments in a public library.
Posted by Meg 10/21/09
This is a perfect assignment! I just ran a survey of my tweens during our first-of-the-year Teen Advisory Group meeting. Although it wasn't anounymous (there are only 10-12 active tweens in my library). The survey is here : Beginning of the Year Questionnaire Tweens.doc . I decided to give them a list of possible activities to get their "juices flowing" and to give them some idea of the possibilities. They REALLY like having their voices heard. The results of the survey are:
3- Twilight/New Moon party ( I guess showing Twilight is out of the question)
5- Haloween Party
2 - Book Trailers
5 - Duck Tape projects
3- Guitar Hero contest (we will be celebrating National Gaming Day on Nov. 14th)
2 - Henna artist
1- Candy sushi
4- Exploding disk cannons & other nifty sicence stuff)
4- Chocolate trivia
For other things 2 wanted a scooter contest, and 1 wants to decorate our community room with a tween art show.
A pretty good spread across the board. I tried to find things that appeals to boys and girls (we have a 50/50 mix), with a mix of book "stuff" and other stuff.
Guess I will be making stuff out of duck tape and having exploding cannons. LOL! We have a henna artist lined up for the 2nd week of November, so anyone that would like a temporary henna tattoo is welcome to come to the Meekins Library!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
From Rory T.
The teen survey:
Name _____________________________________ Grade _______ Email ____________________________
How do you use the library? Circle all that apply.
- For homework help
- For a quiet place to study
- To use the computers
- To borrow books
- To borrow VHS/DVDs
- To hang out with friends
- To attend teen programs
What do you like to read? Circle all that apply.
- Science fiction
- Fantasy
- Mystery
- Romance/Chick lit
- Problem novels
- Sports
- Realistic fiction
- Nonfiction
- Books in a series
- Manga/graphic novels
- Horror
- Humor
- Nothing
Name a few of your favorite books _____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Would you come to the library for the following teen programs? Circle all that apply.
- Wii game tournaments
- Board game tournaments
- Poetry slam
- Fashion show
- Writing club
- Study groups
- Movie nights
- Anime/Manga/Graphic Novel club
- Book club
- Teen Advisory Group (a group of teens that help create future programs for teens at the library)
- Reader’s Theater
- Craft activities
- Holiday-related parties (Halloween, Christmas, etc.)
- Other ______________________________________________________________________________
The Results:
How do you use the library? Circle all that apply.
- For homework help - 9
- For a quiet place to study - 13
- To use the computers - 8
- To borrow books - 23
- To borrow VHS/DVDs - 8
- To hang out with friends - 5
- To attend teen programs - 13
What do you like to read? Circle all that apply.
- Science fiction - 10
- Fantasy - 15
- Mystery - 19
- Romance/Chick lit - 7
- Problem novels - 6
- Sports - 2
- Realistic fiction - 13
- Nonfiction - 8
- Books in a series - 14
- Manga/graphic novels - 3
- Horror - 5
- Humor - 13
- Nothing - 0
Name a few of your favorite books:Eragon, Twilight, Harry Potter, Nancy Drew, Alex Rider, Found, Hush, Ella Enchanted, Chicken Soup, Sherlock Holmes, Shiloh
Would you come to the library for the following teen programs? Circle all that apply.
- Wii game tournaments - 16
- Board game tournaments - 12
- Poetry slam - 4
- Fashion show - 8
- Writing club - 8
- Study groups - 6
- Movie nights - 21
- Anime/Manga/Graphic Novel club - 2
- Book club - 12
- Teen Advisory Group (a group of teens that help create future programs for teens at the library) - 5
- Reader’s Theater - 8
- Craft activities - 11
- Holiday-related parties (Halloween, Christmas, etc.) - 12
This mini-survey is actually adapted from a longer (three-page) survey I gave my teens during the Teen Mystery Night on August 11th. Since my community is so school- and extracurricular-orientated, I wouldn't have been able to complete this assignment if I had to start "fresh". For example, since fall/winter programming has started (September 29th), I've offered 9 programs (one every Tuesday and Thursday evening) and only during the second Teen Mystery Night (held this past Tuesday, the 20th, for TRW) have I had anyone come and only 6 came to the second TMN.
This community is too busy with other things to come to the library. : (
So, when I did the first survey, I got all the teens from the first TMN to fill one out. I had 24 surveys. From the above data (plus the other questions that were on the survey not adapted to this assignment), I used those numbers to plan the fall/winter programming. I learned the most that fantasy was the BIG genre my teens like and that, among activities, they want Wii/board game tournments, book club, crafts, holiday parties, and movie nights.
I've accomodated their requests, now, if only they will come! : P
It will be interesting to see how many come to my Halloween Party.
Lynne Ring: My survey was conducted at our end of Teen Read Week event, a Teen Game Day. We had 26 tweens attend, because as I explained in the profile of tweens at my library, our teen programs are designed for 11-14 year olds, so our audience is automatically tween. We had 26 participants attend the game day, and they all filled out the survey.
Here is the survey: help Us help U.pdf
Results follow:
|
about U
|
|
boy
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15
|
|
girl
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11
|
|
cat
|
8
|
|
dog
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18
|
|
computer
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20
|
|
books
|
6
|
|
U like to ReaD (circle one or more):
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fantaSy books
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10
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|
ScienCe FicTion books
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8
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|
myStery boOks
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7
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|
HoRror-ScaRy
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12
|
|
graphic NoVels
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11
|
|
imfoMation books
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4
|
|
magaZines
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8
|
|
reAl-life books
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2
|
|
hIstoRiCal StoRies
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4
|
|
AcTioN/AdVenTure!
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6
|
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survival
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0
|
|
other
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romance/2; nothing/3
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|
U like to do @ the library (circle one or more):
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hoMework
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1
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Play gaMeS on comPuters
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18
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meEt friends
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6
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|
go tO Programs
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12
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|
TaKe paRt in BoOk CluBs
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2
|
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voLunTeeR
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4
|
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LOOK @ bOOks!
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7
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other
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0
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U like these kinds of programs @ the library
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GaMinG [Wii, DDR, Guitar Hero and more]
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26
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aNimé
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10
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craFts
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6
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AniMaLs
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4
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ComPetiTions: LiBrarY ‘LymPics, ETC.
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8
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mYsTery eVents
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2
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GrouP ArT projects
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1
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WatCh MoVies!
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12
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other
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Lock-down/1
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Submitted by Keira Digel Drake Athens, GA
I conducted my survey with my newly-formed 5th and 6th grade bookclub. Due to a scheduling mix-up, we didn’t have the numbers we expected (only 12), but still got some great information. I was interested in understanding what types of books this group likes to read, what activities they would like me to include as part of the bookclub, and what sweet treat is their favorite J. Fortunately, this group comes to the meetings because they LOVE to read, but a little sweet treat incentive never hurts!
Here are my results (note that I left some of my survey questions open-ended and had to combine a few results to make sense of them – I know better next time!):
1. What three (3) categories or topics do you select most often when looking for something to read?
3 – animal stories
1 – non-fiction
12 – fantasy (particularly series fantasy)
3 – mystery
3 – horror
1 – science fiction
1 – fiction series (chick lit)
2. What should we do during our book club meetings?!? We have 30 minutes to talk books – put a checkmark by all the activities you would like us to include as part of our bookclub meetings.
11 - Booktalk your own books
5 - Read a group book
10 - Read-alouds
10 - Speed-booking
7 - Arts and crafts (bookmarks and posters, for example)
5 - Write book review (and post them on our very own website!)
Other ideas:
-eat food related to a book
-watch ‘the’ movie
3. I like to bake – list your favorite sweet treat. Maybe, just maybe, I will have a little extra something for us next meeting!
4 - Brownies
4 - ANY
1- Fudge
1- Chocolate Cake
1- Lemon Squares
1-Ice Cream
From Gina:
This summer we conducted survey groups amongst teens and tweens for our new website. I had this survey turned into a surveymonkey page and placed on our homepage. Besides basic grade, gender, and other demographic information, we asked the following questions:
- When you come to West Bloomfield library, what do you like to do?
- What are your favorite websites?
- Of your favorite websites, what parts do you like the best?
- Do you download from websites?
- What do you download from websites?
- Do you ever upload anything to a website (video, picture, music)?
- Do you go online for homework and help with school?
- What online resources do you use for homework help?
- What would you like to see on the new teen page?
I found that when talking to tweens over the summer at some of our programs, they really appreciated the chance to tell me what they liked and wanted. That is why I made a mix of yes/no questions and open-ended questions.
We, so far, have had about 25 responses, 7 of which fit the tween demographic that I am most concerned with. The tweens gave me some really great ideas about what they like to do online, how tech saavy they are, and what they are looking for from the library.
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