Annapolis Valley Regional Library: Teen Zone
The Annapolis Valley Regional Library
Annapolis Valley Regional Libraries have been serving the population of Annapolis County, Kings County, and the District of West Hants since 1949. The Annapolis Valley Regional Library’s mission is to provide access to the world of educational, recreational, and informational resources in a variety of formats and technologies. In addition to providing books, magazines, movies, and other general library services to community members, Annapolis Valley Regional Library promotes lifelong learning through special programs.
Teen Zone
In recent years, the Annapolis Valley Regional Library has attempted to increase its services to teens. Consultations with teens identified that teens are bored with little to nowhere to just “hang out”. Teen Zone reaches out to teens by utilizing libraries to deliver a variety of teen-centred activities. A significant component of Teen Zone is the onsite delivery of programming in the form of a Teen Lounge, which offers teens a safe and relaxed place to associate with their peers. At Teen Lounge, youth can:
- Play with the latest in gaming technology
- Play board games
- Make age appropriate crafts
- Utilize computers
- Participate in special workshops on shooting videos, digital photography, writing, making music, and creating art
- Participate in Book Talk
- Utilize the library in a more traditional manner - for books and magazines
- Learn about cyber-bullying and internet safety
It is the intention of the Annapolis Valley Regional Library to make teens view the library as a cool hang-out spot.
Crime Prevention
Teen Zone prevents crime by:
- Keeping teens active and alleviating boredom
- Establishing teens within a supportive peer group
- Promoting diversity and acceptance of others
- Fostering feelings of self-worth and nurturing self-esteem
- Forging a connection between the library and the teen population
- Fostering civic-mindedness
- Educating the teen population on a variety to topics
- Tutoring teens with their homework
- Promoting literacy skills