Young adult library services were founded on the idea of meeting teens' needs and interests, yet an adult-centered perspective dominates both the research and practice in this area. This chapter presents a small-scale content analysis of recent professional literature as proof of the prevailing adult-centered perspective. It is then suggested that a teen-centered perspective for public library research and practice is a better approach in terms of benefits to the target population. A truly teen-centered perspective means that we must change our thinking to (1) conceptualize adolescents as "teens" instead of"young adults"; (2) focus on teen development; (3) focus on teens as individuals first and foremost, and as members of their age and other demographic groups second; and (4) make teens -- not information resources -- the center of our work.This chapter appears in A. Bernier (Ed.), Transforming young adult services (pp. 33-52). Chicago: Neal-Schuman, all rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or printed without permission in writing from the publisher
