November 11-17 is Teen Appreciation week. What better way to show that you appreciate your teen population than giving them a space of their own in the library?
The most overlooked portion of the a library's patrons are their teens. Teens exist in a strange limbo between childhood and adulthood, and ofttimes they are allowed to fall through the cracks of the system. Some libraries lump teens and children together (a big NO NO!) or just shuffle them off into a corner of the adult section. While placing teens with the adults is the lesser of the two evils, teens deserve their own space.
library-teensection.jpg)
Many libraries do not get many teen patrons and do not understand why that is. If they have no place of their own, why bother going to the library at all? Every library you visit will have a distinct adult and child section. Many libraries, especially smaller branches in a larger city, do no have the space for an entire teen room, even just creating a boundary is preferable.
Make sure they have more than a shelf or two of space. If you can set aside a whole corner of the library and block it off with shelving that is the easiest and cheapest way to create a teen space. Put some modern, bright furniture in there for them to lounge on (Ikea has some nice affordable options) and desks to complete schoolwork or draw/craft. If you can afford it or spare one from elsewhere, a dedicated teen computer (or more) is always a good idea. The most important thing is to make the space look like you put some effort forth. Teens want to feel included and wanted, and if you don't have space appropriate for their needs that message gets lost. Most importantly, when creating the space you should ask a teen to help in the planning. They know what they want and you might not.
Don't forget to advertise your new space! This isn't the "Field of Dreams." If they don't know it's there, they won't come. Ask the teens that helped in creating the space to help spread the word, advertise at local hangouts, and ALWAYS collaborate with the schools. Always remember, if you're not having fun, you're not doing it right.
For more help in planning and executing your teen space, pick up a copy of
Teen Spaces by Kimberly Bolan
or consult our friends from over the Pond at
YA Library UK.
Series have always been a handy way to get reluctant readers to become invested in a story and WANT to read. Book series have become more and more popular in adult fiction as well in the last decade. I think that perhaps the correlation lies in the increased popularity of reading for fun, especially with our teens and tweens. If more people are reading, we need more books for them to read. 
