Spotlight: Portland Public Library Teens

Teen Read Week is coming up so I have been thinking about teens and libraries, and wishing I still worked with teens on a day-to-day basis. The theme this year is "Picture This" and my friend Justin Hoenke is doing rad things with teens at the Portland Public Library in Portland, Maine that I wanted to spotlight.

I asked Justin what his mission is with the teens and here is what he had to say:
"Everyday, teens are using the Portland Public Library to create, share, and remix their lives in unique ways. We here at the Portland Public Teen Library believe it is part of the library's mission to collect these awesome works."

LOVE this! Seriously, I am inspired by this. Justin created a site via google for his teen space,  Made by Teens,  If you are considering doing music or any "non traditional" library projects with teens, check it out. I love that libraries are great avenues for music with teens (see Ady's blog post about her teen music group "Project Unknown" at the Logan Heights Library).

There are so many different projects to create with teens that speak to the "Picture This" theme of Teen Read Week, what are you up to??

Library Teen Music Group News

Our library has a music group program where teens jam out in the library's community room every Wednesday. Music instruction was their #1 request in a teen council survey. Thanks to community support and funding from the Friends of the Library, the group now has access to instruments and two musical instructors. The program has been ongoing for 9 months with 15 to 20 teens participating in both teen council and teen music group weekly. The group is called Project Unknown and performs at library and community venues. Project Unknown also participates in fundraising programs, volunteers at library events, and plans programs that are of interest to their peers. The music program gives teens a voice at the library, motivating them to get involved in activities and give back to their community. Currently the teens are working on a video for the "Why I Need My Library!" video contest. Their goal is to win one of the cash prizes and use the money to create and furnish their teen space. I'm so proud of our teens and their dedication to their programs--programs that serve the community. Check out the SLJTeen article published today highlighting the Logan Heights Library Teen Music Group"Project Unknown".