Curating A Culture For Teens At Falmouth Public Library
When Megen Krohn started her new job at the Falmouth Public Library, the world was in the early throes of a pandemic that kept people in their homes for months. Now, more than a year and a half later, the teen librarian is working to get teens back into the library by cultivating a new and robust culture for the Young Adult Room and making it a focal point of attraction for local teens.
“Of course, it’s where the books and where the resources are, but I hope that this will become also something of a community hub, where young people come after school and do their homework and hang out; that it’s an interesting enough place [and] safe place that you want to be, but also that there are enough things going on,” Ms. Krohn said. “I want it to be not necessarily a quiet room all the time, kind of a social place in a positive way.”
In the wake of her nontraditional welcome to the library world—during which she found herself and her colleagues working in a public library that was closed to the public—Ms. Krohn resolved to use her background in education to cater to teens and provide them with a space that they could mold into their own and therefore would feel comfortable in.
After receiving her bachelor’s degree in English literature and secondary education, Ms. Krohn went on to get her master’s in education with a concentration in the arts from Saint Michael’s College in Vermont. She then started her career as an educator, teaching a variety of subjects including English and math at different schools.
“I’ve kind of bounced around a little bit and had different experiences,” she said. “I also did technology infusion, so at several schools, I’ve been the technology infusion specialist. My job was to go into schools and help the teachers incorporate that technology in a way that is effective and innovative to help them [teach]. My licensure was high school English at first, so I’ve always loved books, literature, and poetry. I ended up really liking technology. The point is: yes, I like books, I like teaching, and I do think it’s also helpful to have that background here. I have a pretty good sense of educational objectives and what teachers are looking for, because I was one. So I think that can be helpful.”
Technology infusion is something that Ms. Krohn wants to bring to the library as well. She has a lot of ideas for future programming, much of which revolves around the incorporation of both arts and technology in a way that appeals to the teens of today’s world. She says digital art, digital video creation, and animation are a few of the topics she hopes to plan for in the coming months. Ms. Krohn is also hoping to promote engagement using social media, and mentioned the possibility of kickstarting a Book of the Month program via Instagram.
In addition to programming, Ms. Krohn pays special attention to the aesthetic of the teen room, putting thought into each book display she curates and each piece of art she adds to her collection. In fact, she said that her coloring display, which features printed pages perched on a miniature easel next to a jar of colored pencils, is her most used display, probably ever.
“People love them,” Ms. Krohn said. “All the displays here are kind of aimed at encouraging connection and communication. Displays are really important. The books that are on display go out at a far greater rate than the books that are not on display. It’s important to try and be thoughtful about your displays because you’re encouraging a read; so you better encourage well.”
Earlier this year, she was the recipient of a grant from Falmouth Public Library Support Fund to install an art hanging system in the teen room. The goal, she said, is to collect art submissions from local teens and display them professionally in the room for the community to see.
“I want there to be teen art—not just any art—teen art,” Ms. Krohn said. “We’ll have rotating exhibits of teen art. I think it’s important that the art is framed and displayed in a professional way because it makes the room look nice, but it also communicates that we value this art enough to treat it and display it professionally. It also gives us the opportunity to have, in the future when COVID will cooperate, proper openings and exhibits and that will encourage the community hub that I’m hoping to have. It gives people a reason to come into the room and feel proud and feel like this is our room and it’s decorated with our stuff.”
Art from teen creators has begun to trickle in, but Ms. Krohn is eager for more submissions. She encourages any local teen artists to reach out and wants to assure them that all creators should feel comfortable submitting their work.
“I hope there isn’t hesitation because it isn’t framed properly or isn’t ready to hang,” she said. “I really want to alleviate all those fears, because I can find the frame and I can figure it out. I just want people to feel welcome to bring their stuff.”
Building a welcoming environment and community for teens at the library is of the utmost importance to Ms. Krohn and has been a cornerstone of her mission since taking over the role of teen librarian. She takes special care to cater to teens of all identities and provide everyone with a space where they feel safe and welcomed.
“If any person is not feeling accepted, this has to be a place that is safe, where we’re going to use the pronouns that you want, and there’s no judgment,” she said. “This has to be a place for everyone and it’s just really unacceptable to me to make it any other way.”
Ms. Krohn said that one of the most important steps in creating a thriving, inclusive culture for teens is letting them take some of the leadership and shape their own environment based on what they need and want. She is working toward building a type of teen advisory program at the library, which would allow them to have a direct say on the goings-on of the teen section.
“I do want the teens to mold the culture, which is why I’d like to have some kind of teen advisory thing,” Ms. Krohn said. “In addition to looking nice on their résumé, I would love the input and be able to have some direction from real live teenagers, so that’s another goal. I’ve got a lot of goals.”
Of all her goals, though, Ms. Krohn’s top objective is getting teens in the room to engage with both each other and the endless supply of resources that Falmouth Public Library has to offer.
“The goal really is to have as many thinking teens in here as possible and help them drive the direction of the room, so it can meet the needs of the people who want to use it,” she said. “I think we have a lot of flexibility, we have a lot of resources to cater to. If you have an idea, we want to hear it. And also that we, librarians, are what I feel sounds like an outdated resource. But in fact, we are, and can be, a really good resource. And if you have a question and I don’t know the answer, I can at least get you to the answer; I can direct you. I’d encourage people to remember that you can bring homework questions to me. I can help you find resources for research papers, whatever. I can actually be a useful resource. Also, I’m very good at recommending books, so there’s that.”
To find more information about the teen room at Falmouth Public Library, visit its Instagram page @FalmouthYA or reach out to Ms. Krohn at mkrohn@falmouthpubliclibrary.org.