For the month of November, the Morrill Memorial Library offers teen programs, which are planned and hosted by the Library, that include various events like common interest clubs, movie nights, and craft-making events.
“We offer a variety of different programs,” said Dina Delic, the Teen Librarian at the Memorial Library. “We’ve been seeing a lot of success with craft programs. We also offer a monthly anime club on half days, and we’ve also done things like movie nights and guest speakers.”
The library offers programs for teens that center around crafts, watching movies, and expressing shared interests. Delic centers these teen programs around accessibility, community, and connection to make them enjoyable to all teens.
“It’s a great place to meet new people, make friends, or even just hang out with your friends. The library is one of the few free third spaces we have left today. And so, it’s a great place to come where you’re not expected to spend money, and you’re not asked to leave if you’re just hanging out.”
Delic, when planning the teen programs, picks activities that teens will be interested in participating in by aligning the programs with what’s popular and well-liked online.
“I try to follow what’s popular with teens. TikTok is a great resource. A lot of our crafts have actually been things that I’ve seen people doing on TikTok,” Delic said.
For this month, the library offers teen programs like a half-day Anime club meeting, a craft movie night, a morning makerspace, and an afternoon hair clip craft event. A recent event that was put on at the library was the Anime Club meeting on November 20th.
“Anime Club is where you can craft, talk, eat snacks, and watch Anime,” said member Stephanie Pruitt.
Pruitt frequently attends teen programs at the library and has recently joined the Anime club after hearing about the club during a different event.
“I started here a few weeks ago, and I really like how we can do crafts but also watch shows at the same time,” Pruitt said.
Another member of the Anime Club who has had more involvement in planning and hosting other teen programs at the library is Esmeralda Shalds.
“I actually do a lot of these programs. I’m hosting one myself next week,” Shalds said.
Shalds, with the help of Delic, hosts craft events for teens like the event she is hosting on the 26th of this month. Shalds and Delic both agreed to the idea for the program after seeing it on the app TikTok.
“It’s a hair clip making event. You come, and I teach you how to make hair clips with charms and pins,” Shalds said.
Dina Delic, along with frequent teen program attendees, encourages and welcomes young teens to participate in these programs and get more involved with the services they offer.
“With our programs, we’ve really tried to capture the interest of teens in Norwood and try to provide them with experiences that are long-lasting and that will help them come back to the library,” Delic said.
