THIS WEEKEND! Teen Talent Shows!

Come to the library and cheer on your friends at our upcoming Teen Talent Shows! The winners of each show (middle and high school divisions) will be invited to the grand finale at the John F. Germany Library downtown on April 9th. Cash prizes awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place!

Bloomingdale Regional Library: Saturday, March 26 @ 12:00 PM

Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library: Saturday, March 26 @ 3:00 PM

New Tampa Regional Library: Saturday, March 26 @ 12:00 PM

West Tampa Branch Library: Saturday, April 2 @2:00

GRAND FINALE!
John F. Germany Public Library - Saturday, April 9 @3:00 PM

Into art?

Are you an artist? Show off your creativity at the library. Whether you work with paints, pens, or computers, we've got a program for you. Need more info? Click here for our event calendar.

Cyber Creations Club @ Bloomingdale Regional Library - Mondays at 4:00 PM

Teen Mural Painting @ Southshore Regional Library - Mondays at 6:00 PM

Art & Animation After School @ C. Blythe Andrews Jr. Public Library - Wednesdays at 3:00 PM

Crafty Creations @ Town N Country Regional Library - Thursday, March 31 at 4:00 PM

Save the Date : Skype Author Chat for Teens with Pam Bachorz

Pick up a copy of CANDOR at our Teen Book Club display @ Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library

Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library
3910 S. Manhattan Ave.
Tampa, FL 33611-1214
813.273.3652

In a town where his father brainwashes everyone, Oscar Banks has found a way to secretly fight the subliminal Messages that turn even the most troubled kids into model citizens. On the outside, he's the perfect Candor teen, and no one knows that he's built an entire business around helping new kids escape before the Messages take hold.

But then Nia Silva moves to town, and Oscar thinks she's perfect exactly the way she is. Soon he must make a choice: let Nia be lost to the brainwashing, or help her stay special and risk himself in the process.

Read the first chapter, see photos of settings that inspired CANDOR, and listen to music that gives you the flavor of the story at the author's website.

Teen Tech Week is here!

It's Teen Tech Week at the library! Stop by to Mix and Mash music, edit a Viral Video, create Digital Manga, and more. Don't forget to participate in our SUPER SMASH BROTHERS BRAWL Tournament, Saturday, March 12th. Click for program dates and participating library locations.

March Teen Events @ Jan Platt Regional Library (South Tampa)

[Click to view fullscreen]

Hi ! I’m John, a librarian at the Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library in South Tampa. I'm writing today to tell you about our programs for teens (middle and high-school) at the library this month (March, 2011). On Wednesday this week we had an Origami event. The event was a big blast; we made the cat mask, the swan, the peacock, and the flapping crane. If you missed it this week we will have another origami event this summer. On Thursday we had our first “Om Café,” an international multi media exploration dedicated to the United Nations Year of the Youth. We had great conversations, artistic explorations, coffee, chai, sweets and more. This great program is part of a series and will be meeting the first Thursday of the month through June. Each “Om Café” meeting will focus on a different Spotlight Value. Come and join the conversation! On Thursday March 10th: Make your own mash-ups for Teen Tech Week using music downloaded from our new music database Freegal. Learn how to mix and mash your music using Audacity audio editing software. Our next Teen Advisory Board meeting is on Saturday March 19th at 3pm. Have ideas for teen events and clubs at the library? Bring them to share! Enjoy snacks, laughter and fun while planning events and creating videos, podcasts, photos and more. TAB members also earn community service hours for graduation and scholarships! Directly after our TAB meeting we have our Teen Book Club (pick up your copy today @ Jan Platt Library!) We will be hanging out and discussing Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi, winner of the 2011 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. Our GameZone meets on Tuesdays from 4:00 – 5:15pm. Play Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 2 at the library on our large projection screens. Some of our video games titles are: Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Guitar Hero Series and Rock Band. See you after school for some gaming fun! On Wednesdays, March 16th and 30th from 4:30—5:30 pm our Teen Anime/Manga Club will be meeting and screening Anime titles and talking about all things Anime/Manga. On Wednesdays, March 9th and 23rd from 4:30 - 5:30 pm we have our Teen "Go" Board Game Club. Come learn and play one of the oldest games in the world: the ancient East Asian board game “Go.” A popular Anime/Manga series called “Hikaru No Go” has made many very curious about how to play the game. Now you can learn and play with your friends. The rules are simple, the strategy complex. Learn in minutes, play for a lifetime. We also have our Teen Talent Show this month on March 26th! Read all about it and sign up today at Jan Platt Library to be in the show! Space in limited, do not delay! Click here for more info on Teen Talent Shows at libraries around Hillsborough this month!

Tweet, write, and WIN.

Want to win $50 for Amazon.com and/or a Nook eReader? Check out this contest for creative teens from the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) and Figment.com!

Part One:

• Come up with a Steampunk device or instrument and give it a name and a description of what it looks like. For example, “Blimflocket – a wristwatch with a chain that goes up the arm and links to a person’s neck.”
• On March 7 tweet this invention along with the hashtag #YALSApunk and @figmentfiction. A winning device will be chosen based on creativity, and the inventor will receive a $50 Amazon gift card!
• On March 8, the winning device will be announced on the Figment and YALSA sites and by Twitter.

Part Two:

• For the second part of the contest, write a short story (750 words or fewer) on Figment (sign up here!) in which the winning device from the first round gets used. Submissions will be accepted March 8-11.
• Figment users will vote to select finalists the week of March 14. National Book Award winning-author, Kathryn Erskine, will choose a winning story.
• The winner will be announced the week of March 21 and will receive a Nook e-reader!