Teens Blog
Here in the Teen Services department, we are constantly striving to provide the kinds of programs that Kalamazoo's teenagers want. We know that gaming, crafts, and Japanese pop culture are popular. And Galley Group attracts new enthusiastic teen readers almost every month. Besides those, however, are there other programs we could offer that would bring you and your friends to the library? If so, we want to hear from you! Among the ideas that we have recently scheduled that either had to be cancelled due to lack of registrants or had few, if any, attendees include reader's theatre and workshops in the library's computer lab.
If you are a teenager and you have some good ideas about how the library can better serve its teen patrons, please leave your comments below. Better yet, consider joining the Teen Advisory Board (T.A.B.), which meets once a month. The next meeting is Wednesday, December 2, from 3:30 to 5 in the Van Deusen Room. We look forward to your feedback!
The pillars at the entrance to the Teen Area were recently decorated in anticipation of this year's Teen Summer Reading game: Wild Style! If you haven't been downstairs recently, you really ought to stop by(of course, if you're reading this in the Teen Area you already know). We decided to throw a little color around down here and I think it turned out great. We'll have a whole post about the game and Summer activities soon- but for now, come on down and take a look at our mess!
Today's the first day of the Michigan Merit Exam for all students in 11th Grade. Sorry about that.
However, if you're not taking the exam today, there's a ton of fun stuff to do all over town. Teen staff will be heading over to the Douglas Community Center armed with the Wiis, Guitar Hero, DDR, and Mario Kart for hours of fun between 11 am and 3 pm. There's also other recreational activities planned at the Douglas as well, so stop in for fun and games! A full list of sites participating in today's MME activities can be found in the latest issue of Excelsior, or at the Kalamazoo Public Schools website.
Behold! The new Teen Services Wii!
The newest member of the Teen Services Department gaming family was delivered this past Friday. Do not be fooled: It may look cute and cuddly, but behind the glowing green power LED and glossy white exterior lies a force to be reckoned with. With the arrival of the third Wii, we have now become more powerful than any other library in the known universe. It has already siezed control of our outgoing communications and is attempting to incorporate all Teen Services staff into it's hive-mind. Feel the power of the new Wii at a gaming event soon!
This past Saturday saw our Teen gamers assemble in the auditorium to get their game on with our first ever Wii Game Day Tournament! Players could choose to beat each other senseless (figuratively speaking, of course) with Super Smash Bros. Brawl, or peel out and take hairpin turns at breakneck speed with MarioKart. We quickly set up a tournament ladder for MarioKart, while the Brawlers used the internal tournament mode to duke it out. Then, during the final elimination round, we discovered a fatal flaw in our plans: Our Wii consoles couldn't get through the KPL firewall to connect with Ann Arbor District Library in order to do some cross-state butt-kicking! Curses! Nevertheless, our players all had a great time and had a couple of hours of Wii gaming together.
Check out photos from the event at our Flickr page!