Enticing teens to the library

KATINA CURTIS
KIAMA Library has unveiled a new collection of comics, manga, graphic novels, CDs and DVDs aimed at promoting the library to young people.
Library staff worked closely with the Library Youth Committee to develop the TeenLink project, which has resulted in the expansion of library resources for young adults.
Fleur Creighton, a former library staff member, said the idea for the project started when the library was being renovated.
“Because of the new space, it was a good time to take advantage of it,” she said.
“So we got talking about how to equip the youth area. We wanted it to be multimedia, to have a television and sound system, not just books.”
Funding for the new resources came from a grant from the Library Council last year.
One of the people on the Library Youth Committee, Lara Barker, described the new section as “really exciting”.
“When they first heard about the grant, they brought in an excessive amount of choice and range (of books, CDs and DVDs) for use to choose from,” she said.
Mrs Creighton said the adults involved in the project had made a conscious decision to let the young people have the main say in what should go in the section.
“We formed the Library Youth Committee to get their ideas, not just what we think they wanted,” she said.
Ms Barker was pleased with the results.
“Normally you just have average teen books, but now we have all mangas and graphic novels; it’s appealing to the teen audience,” she said.
She urged Kiama’s youth to check out what the library now had, saying it would probably be more entertaining than they might think.
Mayor Sandra McCarthy echoed this, saying: “It’s your space, your resources; you just have to make the most of them.”
The TeenLink project has also organised resume writing and interview skills workshops for early December.
For more information, contact Kiama Library on 4233 1133 or SMS 0438 658 591.