From the Harford County Public Library:
Harford County Public Library Havre de Grace Branch unveiled a dedicated Teen Room on July 1st. Designed and decorated by the teens, this room will be a new destination for many local youth.
“The newly decorated space is a great place for teens to gather and relax while doing homework, playing video games or just socializing,” stated Library Director, Mary Hastler. This space will also provide teens with the opportunity to build new friendships with other teens in the community and share their interest in the library including volunteering opportunities.
Jennifer Brown, age 15 from Havre de Grace High School and Mira League, age 14 from Edgewood High School were both on hand for the activities. “It was cool to help design how the room would look and be able to help decorate it,” stated Jennifer Brown. “This included painting the walls with splatter paint!”
“I am so proud of the teenagers who came together to work on the renovation of the Teen Room. We had up to sixteen teens over the course of four days and most of them put in at least 5 hours each. This was important to them and I am thrilled to have been able to help orchestrate the experience,” stated Branch Manager, Irmgarde Brown.
“The Teen Room will undoubtedly be a great addition to the Havre de Grace Branch and community,” stated Amy Carlson, former Library Foundation Board member. The funding for this project was partially supported by donations made in memory of First Sergeant Bert Carlson, husband of Ms. Carlson.
The room contains a television monitor for gaming and watching movies along with the entire Young Adult collection, including graphic novels, reading lists, talking books and magazines.
Harford County Public Library operates eleven branches located throughout Harford County, Maryland. The library serves over 210,000 registered borrowers of all ages and has an annual circulation of almost 4,700,000. Harford County Public Library is committed to connecting people with information and promoting the love of reading within the community.
Susan Deeney, Edgewood Branch Manager; Mary Hastler, Library Director; Amy Carlson, former Foundation Board member; Amber Shrodes, Foundation Director; and Irmgarde Brown, Havre de Grace Branch Manager, celebrate the new Teen Room at the Havre de Grace branch.
Jennifer Brown from Havre de Grace High School and Mira League from Edgewood High School joined in on the afternoon’s activities in the newly decorated Teen Room.
Remember when libraries were for books?
That’s before you could read books on your cell phone, e-reader, and computers. Libraries need to add a social element in order to attract younger patrons.