Make the Library ‘Your Favorite Spot’

I have a cousin that got kicked out of the library several times as a teen. As an adult she supports the library, loves the library, and only remembers the librarians of her wild days as loving her. “I was their favorite!” My cousin is now a happy and productive adult, but I don’t know if I consider her a reliable narrator on her teenage years. What is reliable is that the library was her place to go, even if she was asked to go on occasion.

Since that time the world has changed and so have libraries. The library now offers a space just for teens, a whole section of books geared towards them, opportunities to learn, to lead and create. Teens at MCFL have done amazing things through The Shop, The Lab, created Spire magazine and run successful programing for kids and adults. These days the library welcomes teens and offers more than just a space to hang out in. Although, there is something to be said for being a free welcoming space. At the library there are no commercials advertising what to read or what to do. It is a place to explore ideas and to ask questions. When I wear my library shirt around town, people always stop to say, “Do you work in the library? I love the library!” So many people tell me that the library was THEIR SPOT as a kid or a teen or now as an adult. The library may never be your number one place, but it is a place to be a part of. If you haven’t checked us out, now is the time, it’s Library Card Sign-Up month. Come in and find out all that we have to offer or just hang out at one of the most beloved spots around.

Titles strangers have been compelled to say were their favorite as a teen when they realized I was a librarian:

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

Buried Onions by Gary Soto

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan

The Midnight Club by Christopher Pike

Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Draper

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Contributed by Laura Kennett