Virtual Road Trip: Delaware, Part 2

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Teen programming at the County and branch level

In the New Castle County Delaware Library System, successful teen programming tends to focus on the practical preparation for challenges teens will soon face. We host two annual series of workshops at multiple branches, one on applying for scholarships for college, and one on volunteering. The teen volunteering presentations culminate in a large Volunteer Fair at one of the branches, to which we invite local and national non-profits who accept teen help. Many NCC branch libraries use teens to staff the popular Summer Reading Club, as well as to help out throughout the year. For most of the teens, volunteering is their first exposure to a professional workplace.delaware

On the individual branch level we have more recreational programs. The Teen Doctor Who Club at the Brandywine Hundred Library, which was began as a summer program last year, has been so popular that we just keep having it! Teens from different schools have met and formed friendships based on a common love of the mad man in the blue box. Read More →

Virtual Road Trip: Delaware

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The Teen Loft @ the Dover Public Library

It has been an exciting year for the teens at the Dover Public Library in Dover, Delaware. The Dover Public Library recently moved into a larger, brand-new building. Included in the new library was a dedicated space for teens called the Teen Loft. The Teen Loft offers a variety of different seating choices for teens to work in groups or study on their own. The furniture can be moved around which encourages our teens to gather and create their own space.’ delawareThe Teen Loft also boasts eight computers and three televisions for different movie programs and video game nights. Since the Teen Loft encompasses the entire third floor, we have the advantage of not being the quiet traditional library space. This allows us a lot of freedom to constantly engage our teens and have drop-in crafts or games at the ready.

We are always looking for different ideas and approaches to teen programming. Our teens have become a great resource in helping us decide on new programming. Quite often, we revise our programming to stay current and to meet the changing needs of our community. Our teens are also invaluable in building our young adult collections and we have a great group of teen volunteers to help with shelving and programs.

We have many clubs at our library designed to reach a broad range of teens. Our most popular clubs include an Anime/Manga Club, Doctor Who Club, Film-Making Club, LGBT Club and Chess Club. Recently, some teens have come together and released the first issue of The Loft Lit.’ The Loft Lit is a young adult literary magazine full of short stories, poetry, art and photography, all made and edited by our teens. It is available in a printed format and on WordPress. Next up for the Teen Loft is a small media lab where we hope to give teens access to new resources that will allow them to make short films, book trailers, original anime, manga and more.

teenloftSubmitted by Kerri Hollyday & Katy Goff