Adolescent development and demography

Youth can be a useful source to the community. This is an external developmental asset which gives teens helpful roles in their community. This provides empowerment to the adolescents. As someone who spends time in a library I could see that the teen volunteers are very helpful with the younger children and toddlers. Volunteer programs give teens the opportunity to contribute to their community in a positive way. Teens should be supervised by the librarians but given the autonomy to choose their own material and use their own techniques to reach out to the younger children. Librarians should provide guidance and suggestions if necessary.

According to the chapter 1 Pierce reading librarians might not know what the teens interests are if they base their conclusions on the entertainment media market. Pierce speaks about the segmented programming which are more specialized programs that attract a particular type of audience. Researchers predict that the media will divide as the new media increases. Multiculturalism might increase but it is difficult to make any assumptions about broad preferences. The chapter ends with the statement, "our interests in engaging teens with books and other media are best served by good information about adolescence." But where can we get this information? The author leaves us in the dark.