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Austintown library offers teen programs
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Neighbors | Alisa Manna.Teen Librarian Cindy Beach (shown) created the PS2 day at the Austintown library for local teens to change a place to come after school where they could relax, socialize, and work on homework with others their own age.
By ALISA MANNA
The Austintown library offered its PS2sday program on Oct. 2 for teenagers in grades 7-12. The program is the first two Tuesdays of the month and takes place right after school.
Teen Librarian Cindy Beach started the program at the beginning of September to give teens somewhere to go after school.
“They can come play video games on the big screen,” Beach said. “And if they’re not interested in doing that, they can do homework and talk to other kids their age.”
Beach said a great thing about the meeting room is that the kids can bring food back there and be louder than the rest of the library.
Some of the video games the library provided were Guitar Hero, Madden NFL and Burnout. Kids are welcome to bring their own games and systems as well. Beach said she also sets out board games for those who are not interested in video games.
“Sometimes, we get as many as 25 kids to show up and as little as three,” Beach said. “But it depends on what’s happening at school and what kids are doing afterward.”
Beach also mentioned Teen Read Week, which is sponsored by the American Library Association and Young Adult Library Services Association. Teen Read Week takes place Oct. 14-20 and includes several Halloween-related contests and surprises.
Author and Printz Award-winner Rick Yancey is visiting the Austintown library on Oct. 16 as a part of Teen Xtreme. He is the author of “Monstrumologist” and the “Effective Detective” series.
Beach said there’s an art contest that coincides with Rick Yancey’s visit. Teens read “The Monstrumologist” and send in artwork that depicts a character or scene from the story. The winner gets an autographed copy of the book and dinner with the author.
Other upcoming events include Monster Hunt at the Austintown library. Beach hid monsters all over the teen’s meeting room for them to locate. The winner gets a special prize.
The librarian said the programs during the month of October are monster-themed and mainly for fun.
“Libraries across the county do special programs to encourage teens to read more and to use the library more,” she said.