I interviewed two 14 year old girls who are my friends’ children.
My thoughts:
- Libraries must have up-to-date programs and software, and keep the wifi and bandwidth up to speed. Teens are used to immediate access/connection on their PC’s and portable devises.
- Small town rural vs. big city. Libraries need to be effectively marketed and be more community oriented. Better funding is needed to make great programs available more often and in multiple locations.
- Teens are always reading! They are constantly exchanging words and sentences, texting, blogging, besides the actual reading of literature. Teens are never very far from the written word. And I think that’s awesome!
- Friendship. Sharing books, music, creative projects. The shared media interests keep them in a group where they are important to each other and supported.
- Creativity: I’d like to see teens running their own programs (within guidelines and reason). Like from the bottom up. Forming a committee, writing a proposal, getting approvals, the works. Teens are capable. Perhaps open mic or poetry nights, or design your own canvas, improv; organized and ran by teens for teens.
In conclusion, we can do better to more effectively serve teens.
my library things 