Summer is on its way, and that means that so is Santa Clarita Public Library’s Summer Reading! If you haven’t experienced Summer Reading before, it’s a massive two months of programs, reading, missions and prizes. Each year has a special theme, and this year’s theme is Build a Better World; bettering yourself, bettering your community, and bettering your environment. By completing missions, logging books (try reading five books, to complete the California Read 5 Challenge!) , and attending programs throughout the summer you can earn great prizes including free books!

While Summer Reading doesn’t start until June 12th, you can already visit our Summer Reading page to get acclimated with how it works, take a look at registration, and look at the sidebar to see the vast variety of teen programs we have coming up!

You’ve seen the movie…now read the book that it was based on.

 

Duff by Kody Keplinger — Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper starts sleeping with Wesley Rush, a notorious womanizer who disgusts her,in order to distract her from her personal problems, and to her surprise, the two of them find they have a lot in common and are able to help each other find more productive ways to deal with their difficulties.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver — After she dies in a car crash, teenaged Samantha relives the day of her death over and over again until, on the seventh day, she finally discovers a way to save herself.

 

 

 

 

 

The 5th Wave by Richard Yancey — Cassie Sullivan, the survivor of an alien invasion, must rescue her young brother from the enemy with help from a boy who may be one of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 
Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs — A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of peculiar photographs. A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine‘s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its decaying bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that Miss Peregrine‘s children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow – impossible though it seems – they may still be alive.

 

 

 

 

 

Nerve by Jeanne Ryan — As a player in NERVE, an anonymous game of dares broadcast live online, high-schooler Vee is unhappy to be watched constantly but finds it exhilarating to be paired with handsome Ian taking ever riskier dares–until the stakes become too high.

Whether you are looking for an academic article or just browsing your Facebook feed, it’s important to know how to evaluate sources of information.

 

Sometimes it can be difficult to tell if something online is from a news organization that practices traditional journalistic practices, or if its non-credible rift raft that Joe Schmoe wrote from his parent’s basement.

 

The Trust Project by Santa Clara University has created what they call “Trust Indicators” which you can find HERE. The Trust Project was created to provide “evidence of trustworthy reporting — accuracy, transparency and inclusion –plainly into news practices, tools and platforms”.

 

Examples of trust indicators are:

• Disclosure of conflicts of interest
• Distinguishes between news, analysis, and opinion.
• Additional links to diverse sources recommended to readers

 

Questioning where the content is coming from is a GOOD thing. You won’t get faked out if you evaluate the source by looking for these key items:

 

Currency: How recent is the information, and when was it last updated?

Organization: Is it easy to find the information you need?

Accuracy: How reliable is the information, and are the facts accurate?

Bibliography: How easy is the work to cite in a bibliography? Does it give you the author, title, publisher, and date?

Unfamiliar Topics: How useful is it when you don’t know where to start?

Languages: How easily can the work provide languages other than English

Get the facts, not fake news!

 

 

Sources:

Banks, M. (2017). Fighting Fake News. American Libraries, 48(3/4), 18-21

 

Pogue, D. (2017). How to Stamp Out Fake News. Scientific American, 316(2), 24.

 

Stanford History Education Group. (2016). Evaluating information: The cornerstone of civic online reasoning. Palo Alto, CA: Author. https://sheg.stanford.edu/upload/V3LessonPlans/Executive%20Summary%20 11.21.16.pdf

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It’s Teen Tech Week, your opportunity to explore the world of technology and take a look at the great online resources we have through the library that can give you an edge and make positive changes in your life. This week we have an engineering challenge as part of Old Town Newhall’s DIY Designs, also tied in with our One Story One City presentation which you can find more information about here. On Thursday, we also have Teen Tech Talks at Valencia, where we’ll be discussing and going through some basics of web design, HTML, and CSS through an online program that lets you edit your website and see the results in real time!

Also, don’t forget that our library tech resources provide great opportunities to get the leg up on whatever you may be working on. JobNow provides everything from resume templates and help (they’ll even let you upload your resume and then get back to you with edits and adjustments to make it the best that it can be), and it will also let you search for job openings. HelpNow will let you get help with any homework you may need, even connecting with a real person that will take you through the specific problem that you’re working on step-by-step. Take a look at our online resources here to see all the technology we have to be your source of change.

• Newhall DIY Designs – 3/8 3:30-5:30
• Valencia Teen Tech Talks – 3/9 3:30-5:00

Image courtesy of YALSA.