Nancy Evans - Cultivating Strong Girls

Cultivating Strong Girls

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Library Programming That Builds Self-Esteem and Challenges Inequality

Nancy Evans

Libraries Unlimited Professional Guides for Young
Adult Librarians Series
C. Allen Nichols and Mary Anne Nichols, Series Editors

Copyright 2018 by Nancy Evans

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Evans, Nancy (Librarian) author.
Title: Cultivating strong girls : library programming that builds self-esteem and challenges inequality / Nancy Evans.
Description: Santa Barbara, California : Libraries Unlimited, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, [2018] | Series: Libraries Unlimited professional guides for young adult librarians | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017061845 (print) | LCCN 2018011593 (ebook) | ISBN 9781440856693 (ebook) | ISBN 9781440856686 (paperback : acid-free paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Young adults librariesActivity programsUnited States. | Libraries and teenagersUnited States. | Self-esteemStudy and teachingActivity programsUnited States. | Teenage girlsUnited StatesSocial conditions. | WomenUnited StatesSocial conditions. | Self-esteem in adolescenceUnited States. | Self-perception in adolescenceUnited States. | Libraries and societyUnited States.
Classification: LCC Z718.5 (ebook) | LCC Z718.5 E925 2018 (print) | DDC 027.62/6dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017061845

ISBN: 978-1-4408-5668-6 (paperback)
978-1-4408-5669-3 (ebook)

22 21 20 19 18 1 2 3 4 5

This book is also available as an eBook.

Libraries Unlimited
An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC

ABC-CLIO, LLC
130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911
Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911
www.abc-clio.com

This book is printed on acid-free paper

Manufactured in the United States of America

Many of you are drawn to teen library services because you remember your own teenage experience and want to make a difference in the lives of your teen patrons. Those who are passionate about teen library services realize that our job is to provide the resources and services that they need to develop and grow as adolescents and prepare them to enter adulthood. While this may sound serious (and it is), we also have so much fun!

Through the lens of critical librarianship, Nancy Evans provides you with a framework to create a Strong Girls program that will empower teen girls and prepare them to address unfortunate challenges they will likely face in society. Teens have struggled with issues such body image, bullying, and self-esteem for years, but things look a bit different in society today. Nancy has researched the issues to inform you as to the necessity of taking action and to convince you that this type of programming adds value to your community and positive outcomes for teen girls. More importantly, it provides you with the support and background you need as you prepare for this program. Additionally the ready-to-use agendas, activities and videos, lists of resources, worksheets, and quite a bit of practical advice will help you start your successful program right away!

We are proud of our continued association with Libraries Unlimited/ ABC-CLIO, as they are committed to publishing practical quality works for library employees working with teens.

. Wed love to hear from you.

Mary Anne Nichols
C. Allen Nichols

I never imagined that I would end up running a library program for girls about gender bias and inequality, self-esteem building, and beauty and body image, and I certainly did not know doing something like this would jump-start my career. Through my program, Strong Girls School, I have spoken at Public Library Association (PLA) and American Library Association (ALA) and received this book contract and the 2017 Library Journal Movers and Shakers Award. Librarianship is my second career, actually; I went back to school for my masters in 2007 after accepting a job as a page to help me figure out whether I wanted to be a librarian. It did not take me long to decidewithin a few weeks I knew that I wanted to enroll and to specialize in youth services. When I graduated, I wanted to do great things in my new career. I did not have any concrete ideas as to what these things would be; just that I wanted to do them and felt that if I worked around kids and books, of course there would be impactful and meaningful outcomes.

I quickly learned how naive and unrealistic this thinking was. In library school, we had been encouraged to develop innovative and creative program ideas, and I had no reason to believe that I would not be able to implement them. When I got some nos as a trainee, I assumed that it was because I was not a full librarian and thought things would change once I was. What I did not know was exactly how risk-averse most librarians, or at least the ones in my locality, really were. Some of the scrapped programs included a jewelry program based on banned books and a Hate List book discussion, both programs that I felt were innocuous. Sometimes the rejection came from the teens; a program that I was sure would be successful would fail or I would feel them out about something I was excited about and get a lukewarm response.

I will talk more about being afraid to take a chance later on in the book, but, based on those experiences after graduating, I learned to become somewhat risk-averse myself. I wanted every program to be a home run and did not always move forward with an idea in case it failed. I had forgotten that failure is an important part of succeeding and that it is better to try and to fail than to not try at all. I am so thankful that I decided to run this program because developing and offering it truly has been a great thing. Through it, I have built strong and positive relationships with patrons and a community agency. The girls who have participated have made new friends, learned how to better deal with various issues and situations (often from each other), and created their own support groups. Some of them have used what they have taken away from the program to help make positive and necessary changes in their lives or relationships.