Several new developments are underway at the Knox County Public Library that aim to bolster efforts to engage local teens.
Recently, the library hired Jordan Ellerman to be a full-time teen librarian and focus solely on ways to involve and educate patrons ages 13 to 19. Ellerman, 25, was already a familiar face around the building, having worked there since he was 16. He left for a year to attend school in Bloomington and came back to the area to finish up at Vincennes University.
His hiring has fulfilled a longtime goal of the KCPL leadership and will help shape the facility's future.
And now that Ellerman is at the helm of the teen department, the ball is rolling on a few additional developments.
First up is “Tinker Thinker,” an after-hours event at the library from 6-8 p.m. on Nov. 20.
“The program is dedicated to basic 'makerspace' projects that focus on science, technology, engineering, art and math,” Ellerman said. “The teens will be making some pretty interesting projects.”
Those projects range from making a meal-in-a-cup to creating a light-up bookmark — hands-on activities that are the core of the increasingly popular maker space movement, which advocates do-it-yourself projects that incorporate tinkering and creativity.
“I have been reading articles and watching a lot of videos about the maker space movement and STEAM — I've been really inspired to incorporate them into the programming for teens,” Ellerman said. “The projects are fun and deceptively educational: you may be making a light-up pair of gloves on the surface, but you're really learning about electricity and simple crafts like sewing.
“It's a great way to blend and blur the lines of art and science.”
During the program, the library will only be open to teens, adding an air of exclusivity. Registration is recommended because of the amount of supplies needed for the program, though it won't come at a cost to whoever wants to participate.
The teen department has also joined social media to help bridge the gap between underserved teens and the library.
Its Facebook page can be found by searching “Knox County Public Library Teen Department.” The department also has a Twitter account, @KCPLTeenDept, and an Instagram account, kcplteendepartment.
“I thought that starting and maintaining social media accounts for the teen department was an accessible way to reach out to some of the teens in our area,” Ellerman said. “I just wanted to make sure all avenues of communication were open and available for everyone.”
Ellerman plans to use the social media accounts to post events and spread the word about programs the library will have while simultaneously getting a “digital headcount” of the teens who are interested in participating. He'll also post links to new books that are coming out as well as articles and videos of maker space-related projects.
“Those are my latest obsessions on YouTube,” Ellerman said.
Additionally, applications for a new Teen Advisory Board are now available. Printed versions are at the library's front desk and in the youth department, and links to the online version can be found on the teen department's Facebook and Twitter pages.
Those wanting to be part of the board can pursue one of the leadership positions: president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and historian. In addition to those voted and chosen for leadership, two representatives for each age group (ages 13, 14, 15, etc.) will be selected based on their applications. There will also be another group of members who will make up the majority of the board.
Board members are those who want to be more involved in the community and library by influencing how the library serves teens. They'll give input on the library's young adult collections, contribute to blogs or other library publications such as bibliographies, help to lead and/or create programming, volunteer at events and organize community service projects. Bunyan has said that the group will “determine the spirit of the (teen) department.”
“It will be a good community service for them to be involved with,” Ellerman said. “All teens in the group will have a voice on voting on programs. Everyone's thoughts and opinions matter.”
He said the board will be an ongoing program, meaning that the library intends to continually accept applications, so there's no deadline to apply.
“I want a lot of involvement,” Ellerman said. “All will be allowed to vote for program ideas and volunteer for programs and community service opportunities. All members will be invited to attend the meetings.”
The first meeting of the board will be in December. Additional information will be available at the “Tinker Thinker” program.
The KCPL is located at 502 N. Seventh St. Call the library at 812-886-4380 to register for the “Tinker Thinker” program.