PA Forward: ‘Teens After 2’
Caitlyn Bovard
YALSA has done the research. Libraries know that approximately 14 million middle and high school students are on their own after school. The hours between 3 and 6 p.m. are the peak hours for juvenile crime and experimentation with drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. Students make 1.3 billion visits to school libraries in a given year, about the same as nationwide attendance at movie theaters and 8 in 10 Americans want all teens to have some type of organized activity or safe place to go after school.
The statistics show us clearly that teens need libraries. However, while unsupervised by their parents/guardians, sometimes teens make some unsavory behavior choices while in the safe space our libraries provide. There are several things that can help improve behavior of teens while they are without parental supervision and in your library.
Know Your Teens
Get to know your teens. Learning their names is the first step, but the best way to remember them is to have a conversation and get to know about their interests. Knowing your teens will not only help you resolve any issues, it will make them be more likely to respect and listen to you.
Keep Them Engaged
Teens are more likely to get into trouble if they are bored, so give them something to do. Schedule programs specifically for teens during the times you know they will be at the library. Book clubs are great, but also look at STEAM trends, pop culture, TV shows and Pinterest for new and interesting teen program ideas. Keep in mind that not every program has to be super elaborate and time consuming on your part. Creating free Jeopardy games on https://jeopardylabs.com/ can take only 15 minutes and provide an hour of supervised entertainment. If an active program isn’t possible then always try to provide passive activities in your teen space.
Make Rules Clear
Make sure the rules of the library are made clear to the teens. Post signs about being respectful of library property, to other individuals in the library and to keep noise levels down as a part of that respect. Be vocal about these rules with your teens too. If they can’t adhere then they will have to leave, because the ultimate goal is to provide a safe and enjoyable space for everyone.
‘Teens after 2’
Located across from a middle school and with a recently renovated teen space, the Butler Area Public Library has a large number of teens who use the space during afterschool hours. However, even with a librarian providing programs, activities, ipads and movies specifically for teens, it still wasn’t enough to always keep everyone engaged and sometimes out of trouble. So in February 2015, the Butler Area Public Library announced the new after school program, ‘Teens after 2’.
For this program, all individuals between the ages of 12-18 who are unattended by a parent or guardian on weekdays between the hours of 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. are required to submit a signed permission slip along with a copy of recent student photo to the Library. The permission slips and photos are confidential to the Library and are only referred to should the Library staff need to identify a teen for safety reasons or to contact their parents if needed. Newcomers are given a grace period of a week to use the Library until the forms must be turned in.
Teenagers who have returned their permission slip along with a photo to the library are required to sign in at the front desk upon arrival and sign out upon departure. Each teen is only permitted one library visit per day while unattended by a guardian and trips running in and out of the library are not permitted. Any teen displaying inappropriate behavior while in the library will be asked to leave or wait in the lobby until a ride arrives. These points are made very clear in the permission slips signed by both parents and teens.
All participating teens in the program have access to a space designed specifically for teen use. In this space, they will have the option to do homework, participate in a daily program, activity, craft or movie as provided by the librarian. They may also socialize and play tabletop and video games in the teen gaming room.
‘Teens after 2’ was created by library staff to ensure a safe environment for all teen library patrons who choose to visit the Butler Area Public Library during afterschool hours. Since its implementation, the library has received only positive feedback from patrons and parents who recognize that the Butler Area Public Library cares about their teens. If you have any questions about this program and feel it might be helpful in your own library, feel free to contact Caitlyn at cboland@bcfls.org.