The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
TOTALLY TEEN
Young adult interests power library programming that encourages natural appetite for lifelong learning
Gone are the days when a young person would meander his or her own way through the massive collection of books that fill the shelves of the local library, maybe picking up a Stephen King novel, a Judy Blume classic or S.E. Hinton’s “The Outsiders.”
Today, teens can walk into a library and find a young adult section teeming with selections to pique and further their interest in manga, magical realism, graphic novels or realistic fiction as a way to encourage reading — on their own terms.
And they very well will learn a thing or two along the way.
Heather Scussell, young adult librarian at Russell Library, has created a comprehensive teen reading section, which includes selections that appeal to youth: college prep, gaming, magical realism, GLBTQ and coming-ofage stories. The volunteer program she runs year-round also allows young people to gain hands-on experience working in the library setting.
Scussell, 29, who with her
blue hair highlights could pass for a teen herself, said her aim is to meet young people at their level to encourage a love of literature that will open new pathways to college, a career and, hopefully, a lifelong thirst for learning.
“If a parent comes in with a reluctant reader and they just like sports and they don’t want to read, OK. Then we reach them where they are and we get them a book about basketball,” she said. And so the Totally Teen stacks, where a neon purple sign beckons readers, are arranged in a way that encourages a young adult’s natural curiosity.
“We have a setup which makes it comfortable, a place where teens feel important and they can sit down and read a book or play a game with one another or just a place to hang out and do homework — a multi-use place,” said Scussell, who has found her youthful look makes her more approachable and encourages teens to think of her as a peer.
Youth and Family Services Librarian Laura Larsen, who has a bachelor of fine arts degree in theater arts, has been storytelling for more than 20 years. She will be running a teen storytelling session Aug. 17 not only as a way to teach teens to communicate and speak in public but as an opportunity to tell their own stories — and gain confidence doing so.
It’s the first time she’s spearheading such a project.
“I’m hoping to get them interested in the fact that not only can they tell a traditional story, but I love the idea that not everybody is good at doing the poetry thing or the rapping thing,” Larsen said.
She points to the NPR program, “The Moth.”
“I love that. They speak on their own experiences and I think there’s something very empowering about doing that,” she said. “It’s easier, I think, in a way, to learn to tell your own experiences — because you know it.
“Getting up and saying anything in front of people is daunting.”
Kamill Howe, 15, of Middletown, a junior at Westover School in Middlebury, is volunteering at the library over the summer, three times a week for four to five hours each time. She enjoys her time there so much that she’s far surpassed her required public service hours — four — in order to graduate.
The volunteer program Scussell runs is tailored for teens like Kamill.
“She’s been a mentor and friend to these young women who are coming in and looking for these volunteer opportunities but they’re learning so much,” Larsen said of Scussell.
“I see these girls coming in, learning how to follow directions, do projects, job training, teaching them these life skills,” Larsen said. “It’s amazing.”
Scussell has beefed up the young adult book choices: from writing fiction to fashion design, public speaking and how-to books.
“I’m trying to get books that they can think, ‘Oh, maybe I want to do this,’ that have all the things they need to know: so manufacturing, marketing, things that you wouldn’t necessarily think about,” she said.
Realistic fiction is making a comeback, Scussell said, replacing the popular dystopian genre that included books like “Divergent.” The protagonists are “someone that they can relate to, so it’s really important to have a diverse selection (of) books.”
Catherine West, for example, writes books about everyday high school students, Scussell said. “This is what they’re doing, their crushes, their baseball games.”
The idea, she said, is reaching teens where they are.
“So if they already come knowing coding or if they come with an interest in technology or even if they didn’t — if they came with interest in reading — I use their skills that they already have and give them more” by offering reading lists or activities such as the increasingly popular Snap Circuits game.
Kamill demonstrates one of the Snap Circuits projects that, when each piece is popped into a grid, will connect to power a tiny light bulb.
“One of the first weeks that I was volunteering,” Kamill said, “there was this little boy and his younger sister doing it together. They got through a lot of these by themselves. I was just there to guide them.
“The kids get really fascinated that they can make something like this because it’s usually, ‘Oh, we just switch the light switch on,’ but they don’t know how that actually happens,” she said.
“They’re learning a little broken-down way of how to do stuff in their daily lives,” said Kamill, who, with her avid interest in STEM subjects and science, plans to double major in chemistry and French studies in college.
Being that prepared for a college career is a must in higher education these days, Scussell said.
“That’s why the volunteer program is so popular, because you have to start doing things really early so you stand out for a college,” she said. “Most every college wants you to be involved in some aspect of the community and volunteering.
“You have to be on your game,” Scussell said.
Upcoming workshops include a tween writing workshop Aug. 15, teen job group Aug. 17, and teen writing class Aug. 22.
For information or to register for an event, visit russelllibraryorg or call 860347-2528.