Library targets teens with new programs

Local News

November 25, 2009

Anonymous The Weatherford Democrat Wed Nov 25, 2009, 10:57 AM CST

Library offers

unique clubs

for teens

Crystal Brown

cbrown@weatherforddemocrat.com

The Weatherford Public Library is offering up more to teens than research tools and a quiet place to study.

Two after-school clubs are drawing in positive response from teens. Monday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. the library hosts the Gamers Circle, and Thursday also from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. is an anime/manga club.

Gamers Circle features video games, board games and card games and usually draws in about 15 kids.

“Some even come in to study even though it’s noisy,” said Gwendolyn Dowds-Nash, WPL manager of youth services. “They like the atmosphere, so we set up tables for them.”

She said the anime/manga club grew out of a growing youth trend.

“The concept is to cater to the interest of the kids coming to the library,” Dowds-Nash said. “A good proportion of them are interested in science fiction, fantasy and the supernatural, and they seek out all sorts of formats. One of the most popular is the Japanese animation and comic books (anime and manga).”

While the anime/manga club appeals to a more concentrated group, attendance still hovers between 10 and 15 at each club meeting.

“That’s not a bad draw for a teen program,” Dowds-Nash said.

Many of the anime/manga club meetings focus on watching and discussing anime and the culture.

“We don’t have an especially large manga collection at the library,” Dowds-Nash said. “But the interest is there. You can tell by the way the kids respond to having the club.”

Dowds-Nash has been advertising the clubs through traditional media and e-mailed newsletters from the library, but said she is considering networking with the school librarians to draw in more youth.

“Being able to offer these activities to the kids allows them to see the library as more than a place to get a book or do research for a paper,” she said. “It shows them it is part of the community and it can fit into their lifestyle however it needs to. And we want them to know they are valued and have a say in what we are doing.”

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