By Cara Beth Lewis
Bladen County Public Library in Elizabethtown is starting a Teen Advisory Board. Jasmine Peterkin, Library Assistant and Youth Coordinator, stated, “The main purpose of the new Board is to help give a welcome and safe space to Bladen County young adults to speak their mind and give input on what they’d like to see the library provide for them directly.”
The library has created a teen area, where there are books for the young adult age group, as well as books on other topics that are interesting to teens.
The first advisory board meeting will take place on Tuesday, November 16th, from 5 pm until 6 pm in the meeting room at Bladen County Library in Elizabethtown.
Peterkin is also working on putting together a book club for teens, as well as an Anime group. According to Peterkin, the book club will read and discuss “books that are both fun and thought provoking to issues prevalent to young adults.” The anime group will be a safe space to gather and watch anime series or movies, and just hang out.
The library wants to create a safe, healthy environment for teens and young adults. Bladen County Library Director Sheila Nance stated, “Teens will have time to talk, enjoy refreshments, and give their opinions on what they would enjoy at the library, as well as new things that the library should offer. It will serve as a creative outlet, a safe space, and a place to relax. The library is a wonderful place to study and complete school work, as well as read or use the technology that we offer for fun, and even just hang out with friends.”
The first meetings for the Teen Advisory Board will likely be in the meeting room for now, but once the new teen area is complete that space will most likely be used for meetings and just hanging out, according to Nance. She added, “We hope to offer something for everyone!”
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