Amidst school work and stress, students need a place to take a break and socialize with others. The Young Adult Advisory Board often hold events to brings teens together. These events include snacks, music, games and give an opportunity to engage with other teens in the community.
Jess Dyment is the Young Adult Specialist at the J.V. Fletcher Library. The YAAB was originally formed five years ago by another librarian Kira McGann, but stopped meeting after McGann started working at an elementary school. The group is made up of eight people and meets once a month on Saturdays. The group works together to come up with ideas that would be appealing to teens.
“The main goal is making the library a more welcoming space for teens in Westford,” Dyment said. “Somewhere for them to go for many different options other than just books.”
Dyment and her group provide an opportunity for teens to socialize at the library through group events. They often hold teen lounges with certain themes to help bring teens in the community together. During midterms, the advisory group also offers study sessions for midterms and finals.
“The teen lounge we’ve been doing twice a year. We also did the boba lounge last spring and hot chocolate for the fall,” Dyment said. “We are going to start trying to do more lounge things, like board games and stuff like that.”
According to Dyment, getting the word out about these events is the hardest part. She explains that because of the amount of options for entertainment, not as many teens focus on the library. Popular schools events also make it difficult for the library’s events to be noticed.
The advisory board has midterm study sessions open for students on Jan. 16, 17, and 18 from 2-8:45 p.m. after school.
Dyment says the YAAB has been beneficial because she gets opinions from teens about what other teens would want. This makes it easier when planning events or purchasing items that will appeal to this age group.
“I think it’s been really beneficial. I have a direct example of what teens want and I can bring that to the library administration and make it happen,” Dyment said.
