Click first, ask questions later: understanding teen online behaviour.

• Author: Goodman, Jack

Examined are how teenagers engage with technology, particularly the internet; what services, sites and programs they find compelling; and how libraries can use this knowledge to tailor their services to this critical segment of the community. Paper presented at Learning futures conference, Adelaide SA 9-10 March 2007.

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This paper starts with a story about a company that no longer exists. In the early 1990s one of the largest early internet service providers in America was a company called Prodigy. Prodigy was a joint venture between IBM and Sears and it was reasonably successful. One aspect of its service that its customers particularly liked was email, which Prodigy provided in the form of 30 free emails per month. Email was proving so popular that many Prodigy members were sending far more than 30 emails. Prodigy's managers decided to solve this 'problem' by charging for every email over the first 30 its customers sent, figuring that if people liked email so much they would surely pay for it. Not surprisingly, Prodigy's customers left in droves and the company itself was rapidly left in the dustbin of internet history. What is the moral of this story? Listen to your customers. Usually, their behaviour can tell you something about the service you are providing them. (1)

Now, if we as librarians and library service providers accept that we want--in fact need--to connect with young people between the ages of 10 and 20 as a core part of our service mission, then we face a critical challenge. Let us think for a moment about what this connection entails. In fact, it is about building a relationship. Any time we want to have a closer connection with anyone--personally, professionally--we need to improve our understanding of that person's interests, needs, likes, dislikes etc. To the extent we can develop such interests ourselves, we will find some common ground on which to base our relationship.

Now let us think about public libraries. They exist to serve communities, and that means every demographic in those communities. When I visit public libraries--and I have been to more than 100 different library services across Australia--I am nearly always impressed with the facilities and resources devoted to infants, toddlers, and small children. Indeed, at least once or twice a week, during storytime/arts and crafts time most public libraries sound like creches. We know what very small children like, and their needs have remained fairly consistent over the decades--big, durable books with colourful pictures, comfortable furniture that is built for...