The Teen Advisory Board: Youth Serving the Library
Today I want to introduce you formally to the MCLS Teen Advisory Board, an important service we offer to teens in Mercer County. We often get questions in the Youth Services Department about TAB: Just what is it? Who is it for? Why is it important? On a personal note, TAB is the program I’m most proud to work on as a teen librarian. So, let me tell you a little more about it!
What is TAB? The TAB is the Mercer County Library System’s Teen Advisory Board. It is a service organization for youth between the ages of 14 and 18 living in Mercer County. Teens attend a monthly virtual meeting and do service projects for the library, mostly remotely. Service is very flexible: members may skip meetings when they can’t attend, and there is no requirement for number of service hours performed.
Our service projects are varied. TAB members can vote for books to be purchased by the library each month, write book reviews, and contribute to the quarterly TAB Zine. Members serve our community by making “surprise bookmarks” that go into books borrowed by our patrons who require home delivery or borrow through senior centers. They also use their expertise as readers and book lovers to make book recommendations for our patrons. We’re always looking for new and creative ways for our members to contribute to the library community. TAB members are credited with community service hours for the work they do (many of our teens have service requirements for school programs and organizations).
Why did we create it? In our mission to serve our patrons at every age, MCLS has sought programming for teens that meets their needs, where they are. We have found that many high school aged kids are too busy for traditional library programs like book clubs or craft programs. One of teens’ greatest needs, especially in many of the communities that MCLS serves, is an opportunity for service. As teens mature, they need places where they can take responsibility for their own work and become contributing members of their communities. TAB is a perfect outlet for this need, especially given how flexible our service is. Few other service opportunities offer our level of flexibility in terms of hours served, location, and kind of work offered.
Why is it important? Teen advisory boards have become a vital part of youth services for many libraries. Service for high schoolers should be fundamentally different from service for other age groups, with a special focus on developing engagement and leadership.
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) says that “the role libraries play in teen lives has gone through a paradigm shift, wherein library staff have been called upon to take a co-learner role in facilitating teen learning that is hands-on and interest based.”[1] With this in mind, we developed TAB to inspire engagement and transform our members’ love of books and reading into positive action on behalf of their communities. Our members come away from TAB service with a new sense of their power to make positive change.
What has TAB accomplished? We are proud of the number of teens who have served with TAB over the last few years, as well as the service they have provided to our library. A few statistics:
- We have 32 active members this year.
- Our members have done 385 hours of community service.
- They attend 13 different high schools…
- …and represent 8 MCLS branches.
Who is TAB for? TAB membership is open to all Mercer County youth between the ages of 14 and 18. This includes teens in the following learning environments:
- Public school
- Private school
- Technical school
- Homeschool
- Residential programs
We are open to other situations and welcome questions and inquiries from teens and their caregivers.
Who might be interested in TAB? Any teen who enjoys the library, who likes books, who enjoys reading on any level would be perfect for TAB. Teens who want to serve but might not be comfortable with face-to-face service opportunities may also be more comfortable with TAB’s flexible options.
Thanks for spending some time with TAB today! If you’ve picked up one of our book brochures, borrowed a YA book, or enjoyed the TAB Zine, you’ve benefited from the work of our TAB members. Please let us know in the comments if TAB has meant something to you as a member or patron, or if you have any recommendations for future projects.
- by Katie Chase, Youth Services Librarian, Hopewell Branch
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