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January 3, 2007
Is an Empty Library a Happy Library?
Not in Roslyn it isn't. But, Maplewood, New Jersey was on the front page of the New York Times yesterday as the library announced that it will be closing in the afternoons to prevent students from disrupting the library. While I can understand that teenagers, particularly bored teens, can be disruptive, we would welcome the challenge of providing activities to keep teens in the building. Just this afternoon, we had the first in a series of three Babysitting Workshops and we welcomed over 25 young adults! Every public library caters to many different groups of people, including children, teens and seniors. And, this creates "busyness" at different times of the day. For example, I know that parking can be especially difficult on Mondays at lunchtime because that is when the REAP meetings for seniors are. School groups and storytimes can create some happy, chaotic noise in the mornings. And, historically, we anticipate the arrival of teenagers in the after school/evening hours. Often, they come to do homework, research, or to use our computers, but sometimes they do come to "just hang out." This is our window of opportunity to reach out to these kids and help, teach and get to know them. After all, we'll be seeing them through high school and even college. Hear this Roslyn teens: We're not throwing you out -- we're welcoming you in!!
One of our challenges as librarians has been making the change from a strictly book, silent environment to more of a community center. As such, we struggle to advertise our programs and we bask in our successes. I have been trying to muster up some sympathy for Maplewood's library, but not only can't I seem to do it, but I am having a hard time understanding their rationale. Would a retail store close at it's busiest times because it didn't have the staff to handle the register? No. They'd hire more staff. Do we close the highways during rush hour? No, we just endure and try to make it as pleasureable as we can -- perhaps with an audiobook or a great cd! What about the Starbucks in Roslyn? They see a lot of students because it is so close to the school. I spoke to a Starbucks employee recently who said that he enjoys the after school rush. And, after all, teens pay the same amount for a cup of coffee!
My opinion? The school board should have worked with the library to come up with a workable solution for the community. Perhaps the schools should have offered more after school programs. Perhaps the schools could have funded a "supervisor" for the teens in the library. Somehow they should have worked together to solve what is clearly a community issue -- working parents and teens who are home alone. But, don't punish the kids.
Posted by Michele at January 3, 2007 2:53 PM
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