We appreciate all the effort the New Westminster teens put into completing their surveys and we are now ready to share some of the important feedback we received and let you know how we are addressing their concerns and requests.

Teens said...

We want more genres of books!

We have always done our best to maintain variety in the teen collection though sometimes when new material comes in, you don't see it on the shelves for quite some time as it is checked out repeatedly. We want to assure teens that we select from a broad range of material for teens and there is something for every taste. To help you find something of interest...

Look for:

• New Teen Books List: This new publication is produced every second month and provides a list of the latest titles added to the Teen collection. Now you can see what's new right away and place holds on the books you want to read.
   
• Genre labels:  We have started labelling teen books with stickers identifying the books' genres. We chose the top 5 genres according to the survey responses. Look at the spines of the books on the shelf and you will see stickers for:
  
  Fantasy, Mystery, Adventure, Humour, Science Fiction and Romance.
   
• NEW BOOKS shelf: The teen section has a special shelf on the angled wall that contains the new books. Books on this shelf sport a NEW sticker and are on display there for 3 months. But don't forget, the popular ones are usually checked out so make sure you look at the New Books list to see what is available for you to put on hold!

We want more magazines!

Teens said they wanted more magazines and more copies of the really popular magazines.

Look for:

• Magazines Upstairs: There is a white binder on the table in the teen section with pictures of the magazine titles we have available upstairs in the Reference department. Reference department magazines can be borrowed once the next month's issue has arrived.
   
• New magazines: We will be looking at the magazine collection of the next six months with the aim of possibly adding one or two titles. We will also determine if there is a need to add additional copies of any of the magazines. At this time this has not been completed.

We want more computer access!

Teens said they wanted more computer access in the teen area. At the time of the survey we did not have a computer or wireless access in the teen area. But things have changed!

Look for:

• Teen Computer: We now have a single teen-only PC in the teen area. This PC has internet access and all of the same programs as the other PCs located on the 2nd floor in the Reference Department. Teens can use the computer for 25 minutes per day.

• Wireless: We are in the process of adding a wireless router to the teen area so that you can use your wireless-enabled devices - iPads, laptops, phones, etc.

Check back as additional changes will be coming very soon!