Pannoni, A. (2014, September 22). Public Libraries Offer More Than Just Books to Teens. U.S. News & World Report.

This article is about how public libraries serve teen populations in areas other than providing physical books. According to Pew Research Center, 65% of teens 16-17 years old have used a library in the past year. This is more than half. And, it turns out that older teens are less likely to admit to finding the library useful even though they are actually using it. Two key items: Teen spaces and digital tools.

The Monroe County Public Library here in Bloomington is taking on these two important aspects when their new Teen Center opens in January. There will be a teen space for hanging out, and also a new Digital Creative Commons (DCC) that is available to adults as well as to teens. I am glad that the DCC will be open to all library patrons, as one of my hypotheses is that the library Maker's Commons ideas, and Teen Center ideas are all applicable to adult populations as well and will ultimately be the kinds of programming that help libraries transition from "book keepers" to "information keepers" and remain relevant.