Unique+Challenges+(and+Solutions)

What are the unique challenges and solutions when working with urban teens?

Funding - are urban school libraries underfunded as compared with their suburban neighbors? What are some creative solutions you have used to garner resources and compensate for the lack of funding? Grants and Donation Opportunities: @http://bpslibraries.org/grant-opportunities/ Digital divide. As Ross Todd said yesterday, library provides access of equity for all students, is equalizer.

School libraries and Urban Fiction/Street Lit: What are teens reading? YA vs. Adult titles? Selection policies. self-censorship vs. selection What is hot and current? How do we learn about new materials? What are some of the tools we use to stay up-to-date on these materials?

ESL resources - finding age appropriate subject matter at lower reading levels. Finding books in certain languages is difficult, for example Haitian Creole. How do you support many different languages with limited budgets?