Teen-related issues currently occupy much of the media attention in the United States, whether it relates to music, television, movies, education, or crime. From drug use to recent incidents of shocking violence, teenagers are an age group which has been studied a great deal. In 1978, Mary K. Chelton and Dorothy M. Broderick founded Voice of Youth Advocates to provide a space for young adult librarian to share their experiences of working directly with young adults. VOYA Reader Two, a collection of articles printed in the young adults magazine VOYA since 1990, approaches teenagers not as "older adolescents," but as individuals with their own unique feelings and values. This new VOYA Reader imparts the necessity of treating teenagers as respected individuals with critical thinking skills who are hungry for intellectual and social stimulation. The focus of this volume is on programming library services for young adults, and the positive impact library services can have on the lives of teenagers.
It takes an interested look at diverse ways of including teenagers in the challenging, modern, informational environment, and providing them with the attention and intelligent relationships that they need and deserve. VOYA Reader Two considers issues of library services and young adults from a number of angles, including how to most effectively reach disadvantaged children, how to maximize limited resources, censorship, inter-generational interaction, and youth activism. This significant collection of essays should provoke thoughtful excitement in educators everywhere.