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City of Rome, New York - Youth Advisory Council
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Group Name:
Youth Advisory Committee (YAC)
Library Name:
Jervis Public Library, Rome, NY
What year did the TAG start?
1997
How often does the TAG meet?
Once a month during the school year and more often in the summer. We do not have a set meeting day or time. I try to alternate between a weekday meeting and a weekend meeting to accommodate busy schedules.
How many members does your TAG currently have?
12, and attendance at meetings fluctuates every month. I find that our group loses people after the junior year because of the demands of the senior life.
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YAC bagging Books for Babies that were handed out to all babies born in the hospital in Rome from 1999-2002.
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How do you recruit members for your TAG?
Word of mouth from TAG members; posters and displays in library; approaching teens in the library; press releases in the local newspapers (These are read more by teachers and parents who suggest it to their children or students). The YAC volunteers at community events and other teens become interested when they see what their peers are involved in.
Does the TAG have a particular focus? For example, do members work primarily on collection development projects, intergenerational projects, reading projects, technology-based projects, and so on? If so, how did this focus come about?
We focus on presenting programs for children, creating programs for teens (with the hope of encouraging them to come to the library and to read), and representing the library at community events.
The first project we decided to take on was to write a mystery to solve as part of the Summer Reading Program. It was performed for a full house of children. The teens loved the process, the product, and the results, so we made it an annual event.
There are community-wide events that the teens wanted to be involved in, so I suggested we participate and represent the library. YAC members loved the idea. We started a list of events that includes the annual Honor America Days Parade, the Taste of Rome Arts Festival, and a Halloween festival at Erie Canal Village . We started with the Halloween Festival.
- For the Honor America Days Parade the teens create a float to fit the parade's theme and the library. The first year the theme was Celebrate the American Spirit with Mark Twain. Last year it was Honoring Grandparents: Grandparents are the Best Storytellers.
- For the Taste of Rome teens help with ticket sales, play chess and checkers with patrons of the festival, and work at the library's booth. This year they will be dressing up in a storybook character costume for the children.
- For the Halloween Festival teens dress up in costume and read Halloween stories to children. We pass out goodie bags filled with book lists, bookmarks, and a little chocolate.
We started with the Halloween Festival and have added an event each year. In 2003, the addition was ringing the bell, as a group, for the Salvation Army at Christmas. It is wonderful to have the library recognized as an integral of the community via the teen group.
Every November, since 1998, we have held an annual Teens for Tots craft day. The teens make crafts to sell in exchange for a donation to a local charity that benefits children. This always draws fresh recruits to the library and receives positive publicity in the press and among our regular patrons. This year, donations went to a domestic violence shelter that takes women and their children.
Another way the YAC is active in the community is through book reviews the teens write and which are published in the local newspaper. This started in the summer of 2002 and we repeated it in the summer of 2003. When the newspaper added a monthly teen segment called ‘the paper,' they invited monthly reviews from YAC's members.
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YAC prepping for Wolf Theater
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What recent projects have TAG members developed?
We are in the midst of planning a Winter Book Carnival for children. It will include carnival style games, linked to favorite children's books, a book fair, and a visit from Clifford the Big Red Dog. Plans in the works include a Make Way for Ducklings Duck Pond, favorite villains bowling, and Cat in the Hat ring toss. All activities will be created and run by YAC members.
We are also preparing the “When in Rome Read” project. This is an project that's been on the back burner for a long time. I finally took the bull by the horns and wrote a successful grant to move it ahead. We will create posters and bookmarks of teens reading around the community through the seasons. YAC members will choose the books, take the pictures, and design the posters and bookmarks.
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What is a favorite or unique project that your TAG developed?
I love the performance for children because it can include so many teens and because it always amazes me what the teens think of to spice it up. We have written our own twice and it is a challenge, but the teens have remarkable ideas! Our first was called “Who Stole Seuss? A Kidnapping Mystery.” The second original was “How the Grinch Stole Summer Vacation—or did he?” We have also used scripts or dramatized children's books. We focus on fractured fairy tales and always throw in jokes for the adults in attendance. For the past two years we have even created a Playbill. It's starting to feel professional even though I have no experience with this. I was never in drama club and I had never done anything like this but the teens insisted we try it.
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What advice do you have for someone starting a TAG?
Just jump in and start but have low numerical expectations. You don't have to split the atom at the first meeting and two in attendance is a success! Things will develop gradually. This list of things that our YAC does is really amazing, but Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was YAC! Any TAG will take off and create a life of its own if you give it the proper amount of sunlight (a "yes" attitude) and water (do your part and follow-up). You are the catalyst—all teens harbor the energy. You just bring it out!
Each group is unique and you can harness their energies and give them something positive and constructive to do with their time. Involvement in the TAG might be the only positive thing going for them and the TAG advisor is in a unique position to really make an impact. I still communicate with past members who have gone on and it makes me feel old, but it also makes me feel like it was all well worth it.
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YAC members having a good time.
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What do you think is the hardest part of running a TAG and how do you handle that difficulty?
The busy schedules of YAC members make it tough for them to come to the meetings regularly. We are always working on a project, so I used to worry that no one would show up for the BIG rehearsal, or for the BIG day. I reign in the panic by keeping in touch with the members via email. They send me input between meetings so we make progress whether they all attend meetings or not. I've also learned to relax. An hour before curtain or parade beginning, it may seem like a disaster is about to occur, but it never does. No matter who forgets what, the audience never knows and we are successful.
Time is also tough for the librarian who advises the group. I am a Reference Librarian who is responsible for Teen Services, so I'm always juggling my schedule to make sure I meet all my deadlines and tend to all my responsibilities. Running a TAG takes a LOT of time, but the results cannot be duplicated by any other member of the staff!
What is your favorite part of running a TAG?
The energy and the unexpected great ideas. Once we get going with our plans, we are constantly coming up with more ideas than we can use, and we end up having to pare things down.
My second favorite part is that I learn things about myself and am pushed to my limits by this part of my job. No other aspect of my job creates such a personal connection with patrons and demands so much, so no other part of my job gives me the same kind of satisfaction.
Are there materials you suggest librarians planning a TAG read/access to help them get started?
Anything by Patrick Jones, back issues of VOYA, the novel Split Image by Mel Glenn, the forthcoming VOYA book edited by Diane Tuccillo, and the forty assets developed by The Search Institute.
Also check out RoseMary Honnold's site about starting a TAG/TAB either here or here:
I also have two sites that might be helpful.
If you would like to talk to Lisa about her TAG she can be contacted at LMatte@midyork.org
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