Program Proposal for Abbott Library

In Sunapee, New Hampshire

The Teen Beat

Submitted by:

Heather L. Weir

I certify that: • This paper/project/exam is entirely my own work.

• I have not quoted the words of any other person from a printed source or a website without indicating what has been quoted and providing an appropriate citation.

• I have not submitted this paper / project to satisfy the requirements of any other course.

Signature__Heather L. Weir________________________ Date ___12/9/12_________________

Abstract

The Teen Beat is a program that would gear toward middle and high school students in the Sunapee,

New Hampshire. Many students of these grade levels are looking for things to do and place to hang out with

their friends. The town of Sunapee does not have anything other than school related activities. There is no

community center or community space for these students to congregate. The Teen Beat would be a place for

these students to come and hang out, listen to music, get homework help, learn new skills, stay safe but most

of all have some fun!

Community

The Abbott Library is located in Sunapee, New Hampshire. Sunapee is a small New England town. The

library serves a community of about 3,500 people. The community is made up of full and part-time residents

so these numbers vary from season to season. The summer time is when we are at or close to full population.

In the winter time many of the seasonal people have left and the population dwindles down to about 2,500.

The library is a small brick building that is about 3,200 square feet. The library is located in the middle

of town right across the street from the local elementary school. The mission of the Abbott Library is as

follows:

Mission Statement

The Abbott Library’s mission is to provide a vibrant, community-supported environment where people turn for the joy

of reading, the discovery of ideas and the power of knowledge. Through innovation and responsiveness, the library

provides free and open access to materials, services and programming for personal enrichment, enjoyment and life-

long learning.

Goal Statements

1. Community Supported Environment

To enhance and promote our value in the community by building relationships that result in a shared commitment to

volunteerism, philanthropy, patronage and other forms of support.

2. Joy of Reading

To foster reading in all ages by providing an inviting atmosphere, a broad and diverse collection, and an engaged and

informed personal touch of staff and volunteers.

3. Discovery of Ideas

To provide learning opportunities that inspires the creation and sharing of ideas in a respectful and tolerant

environment.

4. Power of Knowledge

To ensure equal access to information as a powerful tool for personal improvement and the betterment of society.

5. Inspiration & Responsiveness

To expand and exceed community expectations through innovation and responsiveness that result in increased patron

use and satisfaction.

Approved by Abbott Library Trustees

11/17/09

and can be found at http://www.abbottlibrary.org/?page_id=874

Target Audience

The audience that I am aiming for is students from the middle and high school levels. These students

range from the ages of 12-18. These students are the students that have no place to go if they don’t play

sports and their parents aren’t home. The library is a community center where these students can come and

hang out, relax and remain safe at all times.

There are no known programs that are not school related within the town of Sunapee. Students either

must play a sport, do a school play, or nothing at all. Often times those with nothing to do are walking the

streets of Sunapee with their friends or hanging out at the local pizza place or out causing trouble. This age

group is the most crucial age group that needs things to do to keep them occupied otherwise it leads to

trouble.

The middle/high school students are looking for a place to call their own that they can go and hang

out, relax and just be themselves but isn’t at the local pizza place or on the street. The library is the best place

for these programs because it is safe, well known and under the right circumstances, can be fun! More and

more libraries are changing how they view this age level and promoting programming that supports what they

are looking for. All good programs offer homework and tutoring assistance but how many programs offer

Mario Cart wars, or Karaoke nights or game nights. Today’s libraries must be at the forefront of promoting

and supporting our young adults in ways we never thought we would. Since libraries are becoming the

community centers of towns then why not offer fun programs for our young adults to enjoy as well?!

Statement of Need

The Wallace Foundation stated “Communities should take a closer look at the role that public libraries

can play in strengthening the skills of teenagers, building the capacity of libraries as institutions, and

connecting libraries more closely to communities”

The Sunapee area is lacking in any programs, other than those school related, for middle/high school

aged students. There is nothing in the town other than a skate park that students can go hang out and just be.

The town has no community center for students to be when there is nothing else to do. In the town of

Sunapee you either play sports, do school plays, work. There is no safe place to go for students to just hang

out with their friends, listen to music, talk or get help with homework. The school offers some help but not

enough.

“With growing numbers of teenagers visiting libraries to socialize, do homework, and use computers as

well as the Internet, libraries have found themselves pressed to address the needs of this group. Although

nearly a fourth of library patrons are teenagers, libraries traditionally have devoted less of their space,

personnel, and financial resources to services for teens than to any other age group” (Lazar, Edwards, 2005).

The Abbott library does a great job with elementary grade students in their after school program called

After School Kids (A.S.K). This allows Kindergarten through fifth grade to attend an after school program once

a week. In the program they have a snack, do crafts, outside activities and receive homework help. Once you

leave the elementary school there is nothing. This has been a source of frustration for the director and the

library. One huge obstacle is space. In the current library there is not a lot of space to hold a bunch of

middle/high school students. The Abbott Library is currently working on building a new library that will be

hopefully up and running by the end of 2013. The new building offers a lot more space for students of all ages

and offers the library the ability to offer programs for this age group.

There was at one point a program for middle school students and it was called Game Night. One night

every other month two staff members would stay late and offer a game night for the middle school students.

The staff provided snacks, drinks, computers, projects and games for the students to do. From 6-8:30 it was

their time to enjoy. They would listen to music, eat, play games and just hang out with their friends. These

nights were a lot of fun but took a lot of planning and soon fizzled out. This age group is hard enough just

transitioning from elementary school to middle/high school but then to have no other programs for students

really is a source of frustration for the director at the library.

The four year study done in Chicago Illinois by the University of Chicago through the Wallace

Foundation not only realized the need for the programming but realized after working with this age group that

they had a lot to offer the community and when given something constructive to do they can really be

productive members of the community. “Today’s youth inhabit a world more crowded than ever with

competing pressures, opportunities and temptations, especially during the hours when they are not in school.

Yet too often, community institutions, including libraries, that could be providing safe, learning-rich havens for

teens, tend to regard youth more as ‘problems’ to be fixed or avoided than as potential resources to be

engaged and tapped. The Wallace Foundation was pleased to fund this study to help provide lessons and

recommendations on how to make youth programming work, train library staff, foster youth participation,

and assess and manage the high costs of these programs,” M. Christine DeVita, president of The Wallace

Foundation, said.

What was learned from this study was that “Many of the youth in the 4-year study reported that

through their involvement in library-based youth programs they learned about technology, developed such

qualities as patience and perseverance, experienced a sense of confidence and responsibility, and increased

their knowledge about the library.

For many teens, the enrichment and career development programs offered by libraries substantially altered

their view of libraries and librarians. The researchers found that library-based youth programs influenced

many library staff members’ attitudes toward teens.

Working closely with teens in youth development programs helped staff see teens as sources of ideas and

services that benefit rather than tax the library’s operations. “You look at kids differently after you’ve worked

with them and get to know them. Sometimes what they look like is not who they are,” one library branch

manager in the study commented. At the same time, teens also provide communities with a range of needed

services such as homework help for neighborhood children and assistance with computer literacy to patrons

of all ages.

"With growing concern about how young people spend their out-of-school time, libraries should not be

underestimated in their ability to offer constructive opportunities for teenagers and provide valuable services

to the community,” Julie Spielberger, a senior researcher at Chapin Hall and the study’s lead author, said”

(Lazar, Edwards, 2005).

There are many programs out there that really strive to promote teen programs within the library.

These programs change lives and promote the positive relationships with the students and the community.

Teens are often misunderstood and avoided for that very reason but many libraries are changing their

attitudes towards teens and embracing them through wonderful programs that not only promote healthy

relationships but also promote strong teenagers within the community.

Programs that caught my attention are YALSA (Youth Adult Library Services Association) The YALSA

facts and mission statement is as follows: “YALSA believes strongly that teens deserve the best, yet many

libraries have too few trained staff and resources to address the needs of teens. Studies also indicate that

teens are reading less and fewer of them possess critical literacy skills. Therefore, YALSA’s mission is to

advocate, promote and strengthen library service to teens, ages 12-18, as part of the continuum of total

library services, and to support those who provide library service to this population”

(http://www.ala.org/yalsa/aboutyalsa/yalsafactsheet).

YALSA is a great resource for any library looking to improve their teen programs and a relationship it’s

missions is to: he Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is a national association of librarians, library

workers and advocates whose mission is to expand and strengthen library services for teens, aged 12-18.

Through its member-driven advocacy, research, and professional development initiatives, YALSA builds the

capacity of libraries and librarians to engage, serve and empower teens.

The Young Adult Library Services Association:

Advocates the young adult's right to free and equal access to materials and services, and assists

librarians in handling problems of such access.

Evaluates and promotes materials of interest to adolescents through special services, programs and

publications, except for those materials designed specifically for curriculum use (as per ALA Council

directive).

Identifies research needs related to young adult service and communicates those needs to the library

academic community in order to activate research projects.

Stimulates and promotes the development of librarians and other staff working with young adults

through formal and continuing education.

Stimulates and promotes the expansion of young adult service among professional associations and

agencies at all levels.

Represents the interests of librarians and staff working with young adults to all relevant agencies,

governmental or private, and industries that serve young adults as clients or consumers.

Creates and maintains communication links with other units of ALA whose developments affect service

to young adults (http://www.ala.org/yalsa/aboutyalsa/mission&vision/yalsamission).

The real reality is the Abbott Library is not the only library that lacks programs for teens. There are libraries all

over the world that lack space, lack the understanding of teens and lack of staff to provide all of their needs.

This is slowly changing and many libraries are embracing their teens and providing them with programs that

not only enhance their lives but promote community relationships as well! Some of the following programs

were found to have a wide variety of programs that were fun, beneficial, it not too complicated for teens.

Teens these days don’t need the fancy programs or strict minute to minute programs. They need

choices and places to be to do fun stuff. Movies, games, crafts, book groups, music, and many more programs

will be provided. The list is endless and many of the programs researched do just that, they provide a variety

of fun activities throughout the month that students can attend for things to do. The program that I have

proposed is a combination of all of the sites and studies done. Promoting programs for teens within the library

not only helps the library but it helps the teen community feel like they have a safe place to go to relax, be

who they are, and explore their interests.

Intended Results

The program is to provide middle and high school students with a safe place to hang out with their

friends and enjoy fun activities. The overall goal is to offer a place where students can come relax, learn,

create, and have fun in a safe way. Often times our middle and high school students are out walking the

streets with their friends or hanging at the local pizza parlor but there is no real place for them to go. Sunapee

has no community center or community recreational center that they can go and have some fun. In Sunapee,

if you don’t play sports of some kind then there is really nothing in Sunapee to do. With the wide variety of

programs that will be offered there will always be something to do other than school and sports.

Program Design and Evaluation Plan

Partner Organizations

Along with the local middle/high school we would also partner with the Abbott Library, Friends of the Abbott

Library, A.S.K. local banks, and other businesses to help provide programs and educate our teens. The goal

would be that these partnerships would possibly help promote the teen’s relationships within the town and

also maybe turning into working opportunities during their middle and high school years.

The Teen Beat would work closely with the Abbott Library and would have a hand in hand partnership

with the library by making sure the staff and volunteers are properly trained and paid for their time within the

program. Also those who volunteer their time will be properly trained on Abbott library protocol and

expectations so that all staff and volunteers are on the same page and understand their duties.

The Teen Beat will also work closely with the Friends of the Abbott Library who will provide them their

minimal budget for program supplies and needs throughout the year. The Teen Beat will provide the Abbott

Library and Friends of the Abbott Library by monthly report on how things are going and what moneys have

been utilized and for what.

The Teen Beat will also work closely with local businesses to enhance the Teen Beats programs and

relationships within the community. It is imperative that students, staff and volunteers keep a working

relationship within the town and town businesses to promote a healthy and productive community

environment that the teens and Abbott Library can be proud of.

Program Goals and Objectives

Worksheet for Determining Goals, Objectives, Outcomes, Activities, and Resources

Goal/Outcome Objectives Activities that Foster the

Goal/Outcome Resources/Inputs Needed

1. To provide a welcoming

Safe environment for middle/high school students

Plenty of sitting spaces

Students help decorate space

Abundance of posters

Plenty of light

Students can move space to suit liking

Abundance of decoration supplies

Abundance of computers

Laptops and towers Variety of computers with Up to date programs

Abundance of workspace for students

Students can suggest other sources of workspaces needed

A large enough space To comfortably hold students And materials

2. Provide a variety of programs to suit a wide range of students needs and wants

Variety of programs

Karaoke Music, karaoke machine

Programs appropriate for ages 12-18

Homework help All supplies needed for Homework and help

Teens can also help pick programs

Basic knowledge series Program materials and Appropriate staff

3. Provide well trained and enthusiastic staff and volunteers

Staff that want to be there

Staff attend YALSA programs

Staff, volunteers

Staff who believe in what they Are doing with the teens

Volunteers who enjoy the teen age levels

Training for both staff and volunteers

Constant learning amongst staff

Staff attend other young adult programs to get ideas and suggestions

Reading materials, program ideas And other resources for Staff and volunteers to fall back on

Project Activities

There are a wide variety of programs that will be offered throughout the year to our teen students.

There will be homework help, quiet area to study, music, art, games, karaoke, movies, popcorn, cooking

lessons, banking, saving, sewing, dances, jam sessions, Mario cart wars, book groups, and much more. All

programs will be published on the website, and throughout the library and high school. Activities may vary

and will be planned out accordingly as each one comes up. Obviously, a program will be promoted through

displays, websites and advertising to get as many participates and possible. The program will then be

executed by the YA staff and TAG (Teen Adults Group). It will be up to them to make sure that all necessary

materials needed for the program are provided. They will also have sign-up sheets for programs located in

schools, online and in the library. Each program requires different set of protocol and will be followed in the

order necessary at the time of the program. The following schedule gives an idea of possible programs that

could be provided throughout a month.

Scheduling and Resources

The Teen Beat would run all year long. It would start in the middle of September and continue

throughout the year. Each month there would be a schedule of events that would happen. Below is a sample

of a month.

December 2012

Sun Mon Tues Wed Thu Fri Sat

Closed HW-3-6 V HW-3-6 HW-3-6 HW-3-6 Art/music

3-6

Mario cart

Competition

1-4

Basic skills

Seminar6-8

Karaoke

6-8

Snacks and

drinks

provided

6-8 games

Music, art

Open Focus: check

books

closed HW-3-6 HW-3-6 HW-3-6 HW-3-6 3-6 Cooking Who has the

best dance

moves?

Come play

Basic skill

Seminar

6-9 Dinner

and Movie

Just Dance

on the Xbox

6-8

6-8 games

Music, art

Savings

accounts

closed HW-3-6 HW-3-6 HW-3-6 HW-3-6 3-6 Dance

Prep

Arts and

crafts

Basic Skills

Seminar

6-9 Dance a

thon

1-4

6-8 games

Music, art

Cooking

Closed HW-3-6 HW-3-6 HW-3-6 HW-3-6 3-6 prep for

art show

Volunteer

your time

6-8 games

Music, art

6-9 Arts of

all kinds

show for the

public

Sewing

Closed HW-3-6 HW-3-6 HW-3-6 HW-3-6 3-6 games

and music

Who can

beat Pac-

man? Can

you?

6-8 games

Music, art

Basic Skills

Time

managemen

t

6-9 Movie

and Popcorn

Come join

us for a Pac-

man

afternoon!

1-4

open

closed HW-3-6 HW-3-6 HW-3-6 HW-3-6 open

6-8 games

Music, art

It is very important that there is consistent homework help and quiet time where students know that

they can come and work on homework or have a quiet place to go. The rest of the programs are meant to be

fun and for all ages of the Teen Beat. This is only a sample and is subject to change according to the needs and

wants of the students.

For the homework help there will be one staff member in the room at all times and an additional

volunteer when possible. Supplies needed are pens, pencils, plain paper, lined paper, computers, printers,

markers, rulers, calculators, colored pencils, and scissors. These supplies are located on the shelves in bins that

are accessible to all students and their needs.

Other program needs will be assessed on program to program necessity. Most program supplies are

already on site making it easy for students to access the program necessities. For example, there is an onsite

full use kitchen so all access to cooking materials and needs will be provided within the kitchen.

Method of Evaluation

Once a week staff will come together to discuss how the programs went for the week. What worked

well what needs improvement? Once a month staff will meet with the TAG (Teens Advisory Group) to discuss

what will be going on the next month but also to discuss what programs worked and what wasn’t so successful

and how to improve upon the existing programs. It is important to go over what works and what may need

improvement. It is very important that programs be closely monitored for any issues or problems so that the

programs can grow and continue to be improved. There will also be evaluation and suggestion boxes where

students can put suggestions, comments, which can be used to further improve the programs.

Evaluation is a lot of trial and error. Not every program that is put together will be successful. Some

will be more successful than others. Some programs may just need to be tried again at a different time of

year. It is important never to give up and to continue trying different ways to promote programs in many

different ways. It is also important to get a feel for the group and see what their interests are and what they

are needing or looking for in programming ideas. This will change from year to year or even month to month.

What is important is that staff is always willing to make changes and always have a backup plan if something

goes wrong. From what I have read and observed teens are not looking for exotic and over the top they are

just looking for programs that allow them to hang with their friends and have fun!

Adults burn out quickly sometimes so it is always important that the same staff not always be

responsible for every activity. It is good to give staff a break to avoid any unnecessary problems. It is very

important that staff know what is happening with each planned activity, what is needed, and expected of

adults and teens. This avoids any miss communications during program helping to make sure that things run

smoothly.

OUTCOMES-BASED EVLUATION PLANNING TABLE

Goals/Outcomes Inputs Activities Outputs Outcome Targets

Outcome Indicators

Provide safe space for middle/high school students to relax and hang out

Space

Plenty of comfortable furniture

Room rearrangement by students each month

Space free of clutter, all needed materials accessible

Welcoming space

Space used on a regular basis by students

Anti-bullying safe zone

Provide a variety of activities and programming varied by ages from 12-18.

Monthly calendar of activities

Homework help

Karaoke

Dinner and Movie

Mario cart championship

Provide appropriate supplies for each program as needed

Programs for everyone throughout the month

Students have input on programming and are attending and enjoying activities and programs provided

Provide a place to receive homework help

Tables, chairs, pens pencils, paper, calculators, staff, and quiet

Tutoring available from staff and volunteers

One to two staff members who will help with homework

Monday through Thursday

Students receiving help needed to complete homework

Students confidence grows and grades improve

Provide a place where students can create and explore

Computers and computer programs, cd players, headphones, music, other software needed

Karaoke, cooking, dinner, movies, basic skill classes, art classes

Art materials, music, music players, basic skill teachers

Having fun

Learning

Creating projects that inspire the students

Students will grow and become better citizens by showing off their talents throughout the year through the programs provided

Budget

The budget has minimal impact on the overall very little because the staff pay is included in the overall

budget. Other supplies such as food and craft supplies will also be supplied by the Friends of the Abbott

Library. The overall budget would be pretty small. The only things that would need to be bought would be

the supplies for food, beverages. The other supplies will be shared with the after school program. Also the

video gaming materials will be borrowed or donated by students or supporters of the library. The Teen Beat

would ask the Friends of Abbott Library to promote a budget of $3600 a year. This would break down to $360

dollars a month which would more than enough for the program, supplies and advertisements throughout the

year and month. Any other moneys needed for the program can be either donated by the students, or by the

students volunteering their time to help others within the town. They can offer homework help to the

elementary students and offer programs for the younger students throughout the year.

The goal is not make the program that much of a financial burden for the Library so that it can’t be cut.

There are many ways to cut costs through donations and other ways which is how the program would mostly

be handled but the money received from the Friends would help cover any added costs needed for the

programs. It is also very important that the program be led by the teens so keeping the ideas and costs down

really help the teens to feel ownership of it.

References

Abbott Library (2012). Mission Statement. Retrieved on December 1, 2012 from

http://www.abbottlibrary.org/?page_id=874.

American Library Association (2012). Young adult library services association. Retrieved on October 14,

2012 from http://www.ala.org/yalsa/aboutyalsa.

American Library Association (2012). Young adult library services association: Mission statement.

Retrieved on October 14,

2012 from http://www.ala.org/yalsa/aboutyalsa/mission&vision/yalsamission.

Frederick Public Library Teen events (2012) retrieved on November 23, 2012 from

http://www.fcpl.org/information/programs/teen_programming.php

The GreenBeanTeenQueen (2012). Retrieved on October 22, 2012 from

http://www.greenbeanteenqueen.com/search/label/Library%20Programs.

Jefferson-Madison Regional Library (2012). Retrieved on October 15, 2012 from http://jmrl.org/pr-

teens.htm.

Teen Programming in libraries: a collaborative board (2012). Retrieved on November 1, 2012 from

http://pinterest.com/heather_booth/teen-programming-in-libraries-a-collaborative-boar/.

Teen Thing Programs (2012). Retrieved on October 31, 2012 from http://thelibrary.org/teens/ya.cfm.

Young, Jessica (2012). Teen Programs on pinterest retrieved on October 22, 2012 from

http://pinterest.com/jessica_young2/teen-library-programs/.

Youth Library Programs help more than just teens (2012) retrieved on November 24, 2012 from

http://www.wallacefoundation.org/view-latest-

news/PressRelease/Pages/YouthLibraryProgramsHelp.aspx