Teen Town @ El Paso Magazine

Check out an article about Teen Town that appeared at El Paso Magazine here. The following are a few excerpts from the article with commentaries from our PR coordinator, Jack Galindo:

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A recent poll done by library staff revealed that the most likely regulars for the public library are females between the ages of 18 and 50, giving the indication that parents and children are attracted to the libraries. Wide-spread success of children’s programs at the library is a testament to that. So, what about teenagers?

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“Once a child grows past the grade-school level, their visits to the library seem to taper off; therefore, we emphasize teen programs, events and activities to entice those hard to reach kids back to the library,” said Galindo. “It also makes the library seem more ‘cool,’ which is a good thing.”

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With the arrival of Library Director Carol Brey-Casiano in late 2000, a deeper and renewed dedication to reaching out to this segment was brought to the table. A new committee comprised of library staffers was convened with the focus of their discussions centering upon teen programming. The initiative that came from those discussions was appropriately named hangout@elpaso.library.

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Classically, space designated specifically for teens was either void in older library facilities or integrated into facilities when economically feasible. The library took this into consideration when designing the new Main Library in downtown. Upon researching teen spaces in other cities and getting input from local teens, the Main Library was identified as a prime project in which to undertake a modern approach to teen space.

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The result of the collaboration elicited a designated area just for teens where teens can be teens. This is the basic preface and pseudo-manifesto of what is now known as Teen Town. This specialty area in the Main Library houses a variety of amenities that include books, magazines, computers and resources all tailored for teens.

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The look of the Teen Town area is described by Galindo as a, “loft or warehouse redesigned with contemporary color schemes and cool furniture such as bean bags, gaming chairs, restaurant style booths and rolling shelves.” Teens stop in after school and on weekends to do homework, chat up with friends and relax by playing a friendly round of pool, ping pong or even video games like Rock Band or those on the Wii.