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COUNCIL BLUFFS — There is a new hot spot for teens in Council Bluffs. It's Teen Central in the Council Bluffs Public Library.
“Word of mouth is working, as they are definitely telling others about it,” said Anna Hartmann, teen services librarian.
It's important that teens are urged to come by their peers and not parents, teachers or librarians, Hartmann said.
“It's nice that they want to come in,” she said. “This gives them a place that's theirs.”
Teen Central, on the second floor of the library, opened Jan. 30, and the response has been exciting, Hartmann said.
“During this past school year, we averaged about 50 teens per day, but during summer we had 90 per day,” she said. “We definitely had several come in who never came to the library before or for a long time.”
The center was open more hours per day during the summer, and many programs were available to keep the teens busy, she said. The activities included a summer reading program in which the teens were asked to read for at least 15 hours.
“We had 360 teens participating,” Hartmann said. “It was exciting.”
The teens weren't always reading. They played games. And, as part of a 4-H event, snakes, lizards and frogs were brought in to show the teens, she said.
A book club is offered, and there's a chess program, she said.
It's not surprising that teens enjoy the center, because a teen advisory board provided input on what it should offer.
There's a snack bar, vending machines, a white graffiti wall and a movie screen. There's also a study area, desktop computers, electronic games, plus 20 laptop computers that can be checked out. A small stage is set up in one corner for karaoke, poetry reading and other special events.
The teen section is being enhanced. Hartmann and other staff members are moving the young adult section, now on the first floor, up adjacent to the center so that books and other references are closer at hand.
“We've had positive comments from parents and the teens,” Hartmann said.
The center is open on Mondays from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Tuesdays through Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Fridays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
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