Motivation: Why Teens Need Their Own (Library) Space
The Problem: Teenagers are negotiating the world beyond their family, and learning how to be adults with their own family/friend circles. They cannot complete this negotiation in their first space (home) or their second place (work/school). The reasons for this vary: their home and/or school may not be the best environments for adolescent growth, or those environments could be 'safe' physically, but not emotionally, for a teen in one of the fringe cliques.
Third Space Solutions:
1. A third space is a safe space, physically,
2. Free of cost (to them),
3. Promotes equality across the cliques/groups from their school, or even (gasp) from several schools,
4. Allows them to "practice" interacting with other young adults and caring adults, and
5. Provides a range of activities to focus their conversation and interactions around.
Third Space Solutions:
1. A third space is a safe space, physically,
2. Free of cost (to them),
3. Promotes equality across the cliques/groups from their school, or even (gasp) from several schools,
4. Allows them to "practice" interacting with other young adults and caring adults, and
5. Provides a range of activities to focus their conversation and interactions around.
___________________________________________________________________
Library Needs: Creating the Third Space
People: The teen third space needs a dedicated staff, who treat teens with respect, and who welcome their sometimes difficult questions. A Teen Advisory Group (TAG) is also vital to creating a space that your teens will actually use.
Many teens lack consistent adult interaction - both parents work or aren't available, they switch teachers every year (or every semester), and if they do work, it's usually at jobs with a transient employee population. In order for teens to learn how to interact with, and to create relationships with adults, they need consistency.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Place: The teen third space needs a dedicated space.
The space does not have to be gloriously grandiose and hi-tech, though the more well-known example spaces generally are. A corner of the library sectioned off, and staffed by people with the right attitude, could be enough. Sandra Feinberg and James R. Keller's book, Designing Space for Children and Teens, covers the basics in this area - how to reflect the library/department's mission, planning the physical space, and creating a welcoming space.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Things: The teen third space needs to be filled with vibrant, teen-relevant items.
Quantity is not as important as quality. If the library can only afford a couple of tables and a few bookshelves, which also serve as "walls" to the teen space -- that's okay! Make posters or buy lengths of clearance store cloth, and cover the walls/tables with that! Search thrift stores for comfy chairs and board games. The goal here is to be sure that the colors, themes, items and ideas interest your teens. Having a TAG would also help with this.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Time: The teen third space takes time.
It will take time to plan and prepare a good third space - surveys and TAGs will need to be consulted. It will take time to maintain the space; your teen staff will spend most of their afternoon/evening/weekend hours working in this space.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Don't despair! There are lots of resources out there! Check out our Bibliography page for ideas, or, if you just can't wait to get started, try Kimberly Bolan-Taney's book, Teen Spaces: The Step-by-Step Library Makeover, which suggests ideas for the entire process of creating the teen third space - from surveying teens for their needs/wants to setting a budget to making it happen.
Many teens lack consistent adult interaction - both parents work or aren't available, they switch teachers every year (or every semester), and if they do work, it's usually at jobs with a transient employee population. In order for teens to learn how to interact with, and to create relationships with adults, they need consistency.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Place: The teen third space needs a dedicated space.
The space does not have to be gloriously grandiose and hi-tech, though the more well-known example spaces generally are. A corner of the library sectioned off, and staffed by people with the right attitude, could be enough. Sandra Feinberg and James R. Keller's book, Designing Space for Children and Teens, covers the basics in this area - how to reflect the library/department's mission, planning the physical space, and creating a welcoming space.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Things: The teen third space needs to be filled with vibrant, teen-relevant items.
Quantity is not as important as quality. If the library can only afford a couple of tables and a few bookshelves, which also serve as "walls" to the teen space -- that's okay! Make posters or buy lengths of clearance store cloth, and cover the walls/tables with that! Search thrift stores for comfy chairs and board games. The goal here is to be sure that the colors, themes, items and ideas interest your teens. Having a TAG would also help with this.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Time: The teen third space takes time.
It will take time to plan and prepare a good third space - surveys and TAGs will need to be consulted. It will take time to maintain the space; your teen staff will spend most of their afternoon/evening/weekend hours working in this space.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Don't despair! There are lots of resources out there! Check out our Bibliography page for ideas, or, if you just can't wait to get started, try Kimberly Bolan-Taney's book, Teen Spaces: The Step-by-Step Library Makeover, which suggests ideas for the entire process of creating the teen third space - from surveying teens for their needs/wants to setting a budget to making it happen.