Home  Jana Fine Spotlight
| Group Name: Youth Advisory Committee (YAC)
Library Name: Clearwater Public Library System
What year did the TAG start? 1995
How often does the TAG meet? monthly
How many members does your TAG currently have? 14
How do you recruit members for your TAG? Through word of mouth and pamphlets at YAC sponsored events
Does the TAG have a particular focus? For example, do members work primarily on collection development, intergenerational projects, reading projects, technology-based projects, and so on? If so, how did this focus come about? They plan programs of interest to the community teens, attracting them to the library.
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What recent projects have TAG members developed? "Teen on the Scene" (where teens are "in charge" of the YA room; Wags N Wheels – A collaborative project with the Humane Society to wash cars and dogs; battle of the Bands (begun 5 years ago)
What is a favorite or unique project that your TAG developed? Battle of the Bands is what they have been known for, also hosting historical dances and a Halloween program tour called "Alien Encounter: Area 51".
What advice do you have for someone starting a TAG? Practical issues: Make sure you have people that are willing to take the lead on projects and are dedicated to meeting on a regular basis.
Leadership issues: there will come a time when you won’t have any obvious leaders – just followers - be prepared to try new alternatives ways of finding leaders or developing leaders within the group.
What do you think is the hardest part of running a TAG and how do you handle that difficulty? When teens don’t feel the need to be "in charge" and figure that the adult "sponsor" will do it all and they just show up. Right now we are on a mini hiatus – since the school and project schedule for most of the YAC members are so tight, we are limiting what they will do to some simplified programs and hope they will want to be more involved in the spring.
What is your favorite part of running a TAG? Hanging out with the teens.
Are there materials you suggest librarians planning a TAG read/access to help them get started? They can read how others have started to get an idea, but it should be based on how teens use the library and the community in which the person lives.
You can reach Jana at jana.fine@myclearwater.com
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