I took a trip to the library that led to an unexpected and thought-spurring teen encounter. The library is out-of-town for me but I visit it often. When I made the left turn into the parking lot, "school's out" was not on my mind. Focus was on sending a PDF document through a convoluted e-mail list too zany for a Blackberry. I hoped that one of the 13 computers would be free.
I had ended up being there during an unofficial teens' hour, but got access to the one computer remaining, in the middle of a large group of teenagers.
A guy was to my left and a lot of gals sat along the right. Their glowing computer screens showed sites like YouTube and MySpace. The enthusiastic chatter told me they were good friends.
Sitting in the midst of teen banter and enthusiasm plus one girl's incoming cell phone calls required a lot of concentration for me to insert my document's disk in the A drive, get online, compose a cover e-mail note, copy it to subscriber groups, and attach the document.
As I sat and worked in the middle of all the action, library personnel three times cautioned my new teenage friends to "pipe down," "chill," or "cool it," though not in those exact words.
What I'm leading up to is that my heart goes out to teens. I admired one of the group who kept telling another, in a sisterly voice, "Turn off your phone!" On my way home, I reflected on some things I know and remember about teens. I thought about how they often have fewer and fewer safe and friendly places to gather and be loud, laugh freely, and talk about what interests them.
I was glad the library staff had seemed to share this understanding and cautioned the teens in calm tones.
I remember many feelings and the enthusiasm I had as a teen. I also remember those pivotal years of my children's lives. It's pretty well settled that today's teens have more to deal with than teens of 10 or so years ago. Many cast about for something to do and somewhere to go. In many places, grown ups see rising teen cynicism and frustration.
The teens I sat near in the library had found something do, a place to do it, and under more-than-average supervision. I was impressed by the library staff that had not threatened to cut short their computer time when they got a bit loud. I was impressed by the teens' polite reactions.
Teens do not have their own space at the small library I had just left. And that got me thinking. No one objects to the idea of more teens finding the library a good place to go. Yet, there is no special teen space at most libraries. Even where there are young adult sections, that is not the space for teens. Think of the normal, healthy interest and experience gaps between teenage and young adult years.
All of this got me thinking further--about how libraries have changed, adapting to changing needs. At their beginning, they were run on private funds by volunteers. They featured books for grown-ups, and most were donated.
Later, children's books were added, then special children's areas were saved for story and interaction times. Library work by then was a profession. After that, study rooms, computers , and areas for 18-25-year olds (young adults) appeared in some libraries.
It's time to dedicate special space and time to teens in public libraries, a space out in the open yet clearly just for them. Their T-space should get the same attention as adult, young adult, and kids' spaces. Libraries deserve public commitment and resources for this.
Teens may not show it behind their energy and fast-changing interests, but they can be as attracted to books and other learning resources as any age group. Local public libraries can do even more than they are able to do now for teens, if given the support. They can be a central part of teens' choices for a place to be welcomed by staff continually aware of their need for high quality space and creative programs and learning choices--with promising results not yet imagined.
They need a T-space. |
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Jane Bullard is the author of a true story, told in Not All Roads Lead Home: A Story of Renewed Love. Jane wrote the foreword for The Mourner's Comforter (Isaiah 61:1-3 Explained) by Charles H. Spurgeon. Read about those books and Jane's quarterly newsletter for Christian writers at OpineBooks.com. For samples of Jane's favorite categories, including people, writing, politics, history, and Christian beliefs, read her articles on SearchWarp.com. Jane's pen name is an anagram of her first name plus her maternal grandmother's family name. Jane is giving books for a limited time, upon request. Any of Jane's articles may be shared, read, or quoted in part or entirely if the selected or quoted texts remain unchanged. |
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