Blogs: Teens

Sexual orientation, sexual identity, and gender identity

Sexual orientation, sexual identity, and gender identity have been getting more attention in the news lately, with the Supreme Court decision about same-sex marriage and Caitlyn Jenner's public transition.

Confused? Curious? Concerned? All of the above? The library is a great place to learn more. Teen Health and Wellness has informative articles and also offers teens the opportunity to submit your own stories and videos.

If you're in or close to Portland, the services of the Sexual Minority Youth Resource Center and TransActive Gender Center may be helpful.

No matter where you are, you can call, text, or chat YouthLine.

And the video below, LGBTQ: Understanding Sexual Orientation and Gender Identities, is a good brief overview of these topics that includes stories from several youth.

LGBTQ: Understanding Sexual Orientation & Gender Identities (short version)

Sara R | Thu, Aug 30, 2018
teens, mcl blogs, social issues resources, lgbt

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It’s legal, but is it healthy? Legal retail marijuana and public health

Retail outlets selling newly legal marijuana are enjoying brisk business. Anyone over 21 can buy and use marijuana for recreational purposes, a loosening of the previous Oregon law that allowed marijuana as a treatment for certain medical conditions. Of course, federally marijuana remains a schedule 1 controlled substance, the same class as heroin, meth, and cocaine, with potentially the same penalties for growing, possessing, and selling. So consuming your sticky icky could still be tricky. But as more states pass laws legalizing pot the federal laws may change.

Kitschy image of man with a marijuana joint captioned "Marijuana! At least it's not crack!" by Juha Ristolainen on flickr

So if adults can, does that mean they should? The next challenge is examining the health effects of marijuana and communicating that to the public in a convincing way. In September, 2015, on the eve of full retail sales, the Multnomah County Health Department released a report on public health and marijuana. The ten-page report offers data on how many and what age people use marijuana right now, confirmed and potential effects of marijuana on adults and youth, and recommendations for further research and policy directions. The extensive reference section will also offer you plenty of sources to consult for your debate or persuasive argument paper.

T ake a look at some of the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana. Also look at Librarian Joanna’s June, 2015 post on deciphering the nitty gritty of Measure 91.

karenmm | Thu, Aug 30, 2018
teens, mcl blogs, social issues resources

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Multnomah County Library buys zines!

Do you have a zine you want to share with the world? The library is a great place to do that! We have a zine collection available for checkout at five of our locations: Albina, Belmont, Central, Hollywood and North Portland. The focus of the collection is to provide a showcase for local authors that produce zines on popular topics of interest to our community.

We generally limit our purchases to distros like Antiquated Future, Microcosm, Mend My Dress Press, Portland Button Works and Powells Books. We also purchase zines at the annual Portland Zine Symposium.

You can submit a sample of your zine by dropping it off or mailing it to the following locations (please include your name and contact info.)

Multnomah County Library Belmont Branch
Attn: Lori Moore
1038 SE Cesar E Chavez Blvd.
Portland, OR 97214

Multnomah County Library Central
Attn: Karen Eichler
801 SW 10th Ave
Portland, OR 97205

Lori M. | Tue, May 15, 2018
learn & create, read, listen, watch, adults, teens, mcl blogs

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Happy birthday to Irie

Irie Page is about to turn 14. Instead of, say, a birthday sleepover, she has planned a gift for her community, a free event featuring Mike Domitrz, the founder of the Date Safe Project and a consent educator for kids, teens and adults. The funny, interactive presentation that he gives to teens and adults is called "Can I Kiss You?", which is also the title of his book. It focuses on how to have healthy, safe relationships and how to both avoid sexual assault and avoid sexually assaulting someone else. Her family raised money online to pay Domitrz's speaking fee, and after the story was covered on the local news, they got all the funding they needed. The event will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 9th in the Lincoln Recital Hall at Portland State University. PSU has waived the rental fees in support of Irie’s event.

I first met this remarkable young woman at the reference desk at my library when she was just a little kid signing up for our Read to the Dogs program. We book lovers who work at the library always notice the passionate readers, the ones who leave with huge stacks of books they’re obviously eager to dive into, and that was Irie. When she was old enough, I suggested that she volunteer for our Summer Reading program, giving out prizes to kids for reading, and she brought huge enthusiasm to this as well. When she told me last summer about the event she was planning, we decided to put together a book display. Irie chose all the books herself. If you can’t get in to see the display, here’s the list.

“After I saw Malala speak, I was inspired to do something for my community,” Irie told me. She originally wanted actress and feminist Emma Watson. "That's not going to happen," her mom told her, and then suggested Domitrz. When Irie happened upon a book here at the library about philanthropy parties, her idea took off.

“I’ve always seen things in the world and thought, ‘That’s messed up. I want to change that,” said Irie. Like Malala, the Pakistani advocate for girls’ rights to education, she decided she could make a difference. She chose to start here, in her own city.

***EDITED to update Irie's story. This event was a huge success. There was so much community interest that Portland State University gave them a bigger theater in which to hold it, and it was still standing room only, with more than 500 in attendance. I took my middle school-age son and we both found it interesting and inspiring. I was delighted last week when I ran into Irie in the library and she told me she's one of two state honorees for the Prudential Spirit of Community Award. This is a very big deal! She's won $1000, a silver medallion, and a trip to Washington, D.C. At a ceremony in D.C., five national honorees will be chosen from among the state award winners. The staff at my library, who has known Irie for so long, is rooting for her to win the national award, which comes with even more honors and with cash awards for her and for the charity of her choice. We're so proud of her.

Diana A. | Fri, Feb 09, 2018
local interest, teens, parents, mcl blogs, nonfiction

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Fascinating facts for teens (and adults who love YA lit)

I used to call the teen non-fiction section “Sex, drugs & rock ‘n roll” because it consisted largely of books on puberty, the dangers of drug use, and boy bands. Happily, this collection has changed and broadened in scope over the last decade and there are some truly fascinating books that will appeal to teens (and some adults as well). Here are two new titles I enjoyed reading this month:

Sasha is taking a nap on the public bus on the way home from school. It’s an hour ride, so sleeping is a good way to pass the time. Part way into the journey, Richard and his buddies get on that bus. They’ve got a lot of energy and are fooling around when one of Richard’s friends hands him a cigarette lighter and dares him to set Sasha’s skirt on fire. When Richard bows to the pressure and flicks the lighter, everything changes. One bus, one lighter, two teens and a crime that will alter their lives forever. This compelling true story by Dashka Slater will make you think about crime, justice, gender and race in ways you may never have before.

Have you ever had a nightmare that stuck with you long after it was over? In Allison’s sophomore year of high school, she dreamed that she had brain cancer and was going to die young. When she woke up, she was convinced that her nightmare was a reality and she started doing everything in her power to counteract the cancer. It started out by not stepping on cracks, but then morphed into avoiding all sorts of things. Blue pens were not okay. The computer emitted cancer-causing rays. Using notebook paper? Nope. Food became an issue as did her clothing. In a few short months, her obsessive-compulsive disorder had turned her life completely upside down. I knew this girl was in trouble long before her pink sweater started throwing an attitude. The question for me was, why didn’t her parents? Obsessed by Allison Britz is a frightening memoir of one girl’s descent into mental illness and her fight to regain her life.

Here are ten books from the teen nonfiction collection that I’ve enjoyed over the last few years.

Ruth A. | Wed, Nov 22, 2017
teens, mcl blogs, nonfiction

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Movies, films, TV, DVDs and Blu-rays at the library

The library's film collection consists of entertainment and nonfiction DVDs and Blu-rays on a wide variety of subjects. Documentaries, educational films, instructional videos, short films, and DVD re-releases of feature films and television series are all part of the collection.

Searching My MCL for a DVD or Blu-ray

Go to My MCL and search for a title, actor, keyword, etc.
Click on the arrow next to Format on the left side of the screen.
Click the checkbox next to DVD or Blu-ray Disc in the format menu.

Streaming video

You can stream movies on Hoopla with your library card.

Movie night ideas

Use these lists to find something for movie night:

As always, if you don't find what you are looking for, you can contact us.

Library Staff | Thu, Nov 16, 2017
read, listen, watch, adults, teens, mcl blogs

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Pashmina

Pri is an Indian-American teen living a pretty ordinary life: she loves drawing comics, eating Indian food, and watching Bollywood films with her family. One thing isn’t ordinary in Pri’s life, and that’s how her mom absolutely refuses to talk about India or Pri’s father -- whom she left there before Pri was born.

One afternoon, an old trunk tumbles out of Pri's closet, and in it she finds a beautiful sari that she wraps around her shoulders. And in that second, her world turns from a dull black and white to gorgeous technicolor. This sari transports her to the India of her dreams, filled with delicious dosas and breathtaking scenery. But a dark shadow begins to follow her there, and not everything is what it seems. Pri will have to be braver and bolder than she’s ever been before to track down the sari’s secret, and her family’s history. This heartwarming graphic novel about the power of our choices is a great read for strong young girls, and for those in need a bit of strength.

Amy F. | Fri, Nov 10, 2017
teens, english, kids, comics/graphic novels

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Akata Warrior

12-year-old Sunny is taunted by classmates for looking different (her pale skin, yellow hair, and hazel eyes mixed with West African features cause her to stand out) and for being from a different place (New York-born to Nigerian parents, her family has moved back to West Africa… but neither country feels completely like home). In Akata Witch, Sunny discovered that she was one of the Leopard People -- those with magical abilities -- who live among regular folk. She and three friends used their powers to catch a ruthless serial killer who planned to awaken a monster from

the spirit world.

Now she is back, in a sequel filled with African magic that I have long been waiting for: Akata Warrior. Sunny is stronger, a year older, and many years more fierce. She has been hard at work studying with her demanding mentor, Sugar Cream, and working to unlock the secrets that lie within her powerful Nsibidi, or spell book. But time waits for no one, and Sunny must travel through worlds both visible and invisible to find the mysterious town of Osisi -- where she will meet her destiny and fight a looming and apocalyptic battle to save humanity. Maybe it is the way Nnedi Okofore weaves Nigerian folktales into her magic, or how that magic is so seamlessly drawn into modern-day Nigeria -- but you’ll believe this original fantasy world really could exist.

Amy F. | Tue, Oct 10, 2017
teens, english, read, listen, watch, mcl blogs, science fiction/fantasy

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Summer Reading High School Challenge

High schoolers, you can just read for an hour to mark off each spot on your Summer Reading challenge cards. But there are a lot of cool other things you can do, too! Optional challenges are below. If you choose any of the creation challenges from the first list below, share your stuff for a chance to win $100 collage gift certificate! You can email a file to Summer Reading Coordinator Seana Lane or post on Twitter or Instagram and tag with #MultCoLibTeen (if your profile is set to public — if it’s not, just send via email).

Need challenge cards? Stop by any library between June 16 and August 31 to get yours! Just keep track of the hours you read and challenges you complete until you get your cards, then transfer them to the first challenge card.

Cover for Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Create stuff

Share your creation for a chance to win $100 collage certificate (see above)

Create an alternative book cover for the last book you read.
Write and perform a rap inspired by one of your favorite books.
Write fanfiction and share it — think about a book you wish hadn't ended, and create the next chapter.
Make a zine or blog post listing resources for at-risk teens in your community facing challenges: homelessness, LGBTQ+, bullying, abusive relationships, eating disorders, immigration, scholarship needs.
Instagram a video book review and share with your friends (and enter in the contest above).
Create art inspired by a book — a comic strip or graphic novel version, draw a character as you see them, or paint a landscape described.
Find a recipe from a different culture than yours, and make it for your family or friends. Take a picture of your feast.

Do stuff

Volunteer in your community (maybe even at your library!) Or try VolunteerMatch or Hands On Greater Portland for opportunities.
Send a letter or an email to an elected representative about an issue you are passionate about.
Spend time with kids younger than you — read to them, play with them, talk with them.
Teach a new technology to an adult -- Twitter, Instagram, streaming music
Attend a teen maker program at your library or at Rockwood Makerspace.
Use the chat feature on the library's website to ask something you can't find out from Google.
Make a booklist. Create a theme (strong female characters, alternative reality, vampire fiction) and post to GoodReads or the library’s site.
Write a book review on the library’s (or any other) site.
Take our quick survey.

Explore, try and learn stuff

Learn or practice a language through Mango Connect languages on the library's website.
Watch a video to learn a new skill — cooking, changing a tire, making a tie dye shirt, origami, rapping, mixing music.
Stream some world music through the library's Hoopla app or check out a CD.
Download RBDigital, the library's magazine app, and flip through different magazines. What would you like to see in RBDigital? (You can always suggest a purchase through the library website!)
Find news or opinion sources from the opposing side of an issue you are passionate about. Talk with friends or family, or write a blog post, about what you learned — or didn't.
Go to ted.com/talks to understand more about world issues.
Try our new database Lynda.com to teach yourself a creative or technology skill.
Use the library's genealogy tools to start learning about your family tree.

Read different stuff

Read a biography about someone who beat the odds or changed the world.
Read a different genre of book than you normally do: graphic novel, nonfiction, historical fiction, science fiction, realistic fiction.
Read a book with a main character from a different culture or ethnic background than yours — here are a couple of lists:
- #weneeddiversebooks YA edition
- 10 diverse titles from 2016
Read a book that won an award in the last 5 years.
Read a book translated from another language.
You saw the movie. Now read the book.
You read the book. Now see the movie.
Read a nonfiction graphic novel.
Read a book set in another country.
Read a book set in Oregon.

Seana Lane | Mon, May 08, 2017
teens, mcl blogs

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Exploring the refugee experience

--By the Hollywood Teen Book Council

There have always been conflicts in the world that leave innocent populations vulnerable. Currently, there has been a lot of recent news around refugees from various parts of the world. We are always curious to learn more either through fiction or from true accounts. Here are some of the resources that we have found particularly meaningful in understanding our world better, and what others are facing.

Podcasts

99% Invisible

Church (Sanctuary Part 1):

While exploring conflicts in Central America in the 1980, this podcast explores the “social movement based on the ancient religious concept of ‘sanctuary,’ the idea that churches have a duty to shelter people fleeing persecution.”

State (Sanctuary Part 2):

This podcast looks at the government response to churches’ response as being sanctuaries by launching a full-scale investigation into the sanctuary movement.

This American Life

Are We There Yet? Episode 592:

Staff members of This American Life explore a refugee camp in Greece. They discuss how the Greek government is handling the refugee crisis; explore an abandoned baseball stadium in Athens where about a thousand Afghans are living; talk to a mother about what it is like to be a parent in a refugee camp; and what it is like for a refuge to call the asylum office via Skype.

Don’t Have to Live Like a Refugee. Episode 593:

The second part of the staff's visit to Greece explores what it is like to build a life living in a refugee camp.

Short Films

Many of this year's Oscar nominated documentary shorts were about current refugee experiences. Look for these:

White Helmets:

Short documentary about the first responders who rescue victims from the daily airstrikes in Syria.

White Helmets | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix

Watani: My Homeland:

Short documentary that was filmed over three years, telling the story of one family's escape from war-torn Syria, and their attempt to make a new life in Germany.

Watani - My Homeland (Trailer)

4.1 Miles:

Short documentary that follows a coast guard captain on a small Greek island who is suddenly charged with saving thousands of refugees from drowning at sea.