I recently read a post on the Pubyac listserv (for children & YA librarians) where the topic of teens helping seniors with their technological needs was discussed. The librarian answering the post said that they’ve offered “Digital Native Tech” classes for several years, where the teens in the community volunteered to help patrons of all ages improve their computer/Internet/gadgets skills. It’s been so successful that they are expanding it to a county-wide “Teen Geek Squad”. The writer is from the Red Hook Public Library, but I’m not sure if this is a New York Library or not. They have had great results, even to the point where several of the adults developed friendships with “their” teen. It sounds like a good idea, but I don’t know how well it would fly here…
