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At many public library locations, the after school rush means an influx of teens that happens with clockwork precision and presents unique opportunities as well as challenges.

Teen services staff may smile when 45 teens (who have been cooped up for eight hours in school listening to adults talk at them….) burst into the library. But, if librarians and library workers start acting like security guards and security guards start acting like bouncers… bad things can happen. The after school atmosphere can become rule-driven and the focus may shift to customer control instead of customer service. And while certainly there are situations that warrant “control” and “rules” – staff should primarily be concerned with making the after school library experience of teens a positive one.  Anyone needing help with managing teen behavior can check out multiple resources from YALSA found on the wiki.

The after school rush is not a surprise. Ideally, there are positive patterns and routines established with library staff: these positive routines mean that during the after school rush staff does not disappear for off-desk time, break or dinner and teen activities take place. Staff is welcoming and not sending the vibe that they are bracing for an onslaught.

Learn the rush.
A library, like a retail location, experiences discernible traffic patterns of customer visits. Teen services staff should be observant and become aware of the teen traffic patterns after school at the library. First, is there an after school rush? Are there days of the week when teen traffic is heaviest? If there is an after school rush, when does it begin and when does it die down? Do teens tend to get picked-up when parents get out of work? Or leave to get home for dinner? Or linger until the library closes?

Scheduling programming/activities during the after school rush can seem daunting. Be vigilant about the excuse: “(I/we/you) can’t do a teen activity after school because there are too many teens in the library.” The after school rush may be the best time to begin offering activities—because teens are already there.  Talk to them to find out why they're there and what activities may interest them or support their needs.

Know what time school dismissal occurs and talk to your manager about how this is not the time to schedule off desk time and dinner breaks. Staffing and after school activities for teens should be scheduled to meet the needs of customers (teens) not the convenience of the staff. Think of it in retail terms: shops schedule more staff during peak shopping hours to provide adequate customer service – (and because they want to make sales) - libraries can’t afford to be any different.

Use the rush.
If you are a teen services librarian or library worker at a public library, chances are at one time or another you’ve envied high school librarians their “captive audience” of teen students. Real or imagined, library staff working with teens at public libraries may perceive that high school librarians have easier access to teens interested in participating in library programming and activities.

The phenomenon of the after school rush may be the closest public library staff  get to the fabled “captive audience” of teens. Bearing in mind that teens that visit the public library are not mandated to engage in any activity they do not want to engage in…. but, by the sheer number of teens visiting the library during the after school rush, chances improve for teens to participate in (and even organize and implement) teen activities in the library. The after school rush presents unique opportunities for teens to take ownership of space and activities intended for themselves and their peers.

Exploit this influx of teens to help you build not only good teen program attendance numbers for your monthly statistical report – but to build teen leaders in your library. This is prime time to make connections with teens.  Here are some examples that shouldn't be too daunting for beginners:

• Getting teens busy planning and helping with activities, right there on the spot (even if the activities are not on the calendar).

• Suggesting ways for teens to take ownership of their library space and foster teen participation (e.g. decorating the teens' space – even if it only consists of book shelves).

• Asking teens to choose which activity should take place tomorrow and to return and help with it.

Don’t compete, compliment.

In addition to knowing dismissal time, teen services librarians and staff need to know the extracurricular / sports schedule. If Wednesday nights mean football… don’t schedule a program at the library.

And speaking of sports, if your library has a budget for publicity, why not consider purchasing an advertisement in the local high school’s printed Football Program? Even if teens don’t read it, parents (stuck) on the bleachers will, and an advertisement about how the library offers teens volunteer service hours – or free homework help will not go unnoticed by parents.

Seek to make the library available as a venue for school sanctioned extracurricular activities. If the high school debate team or model U.N. needs a place to meet, be quick to offer the library as a community venue for this type of activity. This is a great way to meet teens that may not otherwise be library users and may be interested in volunteering/leading.

What if the library is a ghost town after school?
If there isn’t an after school rush, that does not mean the library is off the hook when it comes to serving teens – it means two possibilities are true: teens need to be invited to the library and/or the library needs to take the library to teens. Sometimes the mountain has to be moved. Don't know where the teens are?  They could be engaged with other youth serving organizations in the community, and you can easily find those via this Map My Community tool. The solution may be finding a venue in the community to provide not simply information “outreach” about library locations and services – but the direct delivery of library service to teens in an off-site location.

Explore the idea of a pop-up library – not just in the traditional access-to-books sense but teen library programming/activities that happen in local teen-centric retail outlets or in parking lots of football games or high school cafeterias. Connections between teens and the library can be fostered in novel and unexpected locations.

The library must play an important role in the after school life of teens in the service community.  A recent survey shows that the majority of teens are leaving high school feeling unprepared for college and careers.  This is a great opportunity for libraries to increase their impact and address a critical need of teens.  After school is about: meeting the needs of teens – not the needs of the library location; opportunities to schedule activities for teens at times that are convenient for them – not for the library; ensuring that the library is a place in the community that helps support out-of-school learning, participation and leadership opportunities for teens.

The after school rush is coming – it’s not a surprise. Learn it. Use it. Best of luck.

P.S. Check out YALSA's after school resources on the wiki for help and inspiration!

Back in October 2014, I wrote about a report entitled: “America After 3 PM.” The Afterschool Alliance was writing about how students spend their time after school. In it, I raised the point of libraries as hubs for after-school activities, a free spot for teens to come if they don’t have the resources or access to other after-school programs. At the end of January, Alia Wong from Atlantic wrote an article called “The Activity Gap,” which discusses the access issues students from various socio-economic classes face with participating in after-school and extracurricular programs.

Wong begins the article by comparing two different students, Ethan and Nicole, whose family backgrounds contribute to two different lifestyles and life paths. While their names have been changed, these two students do exist and were case studies in a study published in Voices of Urban Education. This national study was conducted by Brown University’s Annenberg Institute of School Reform.

Their results are nothing we didn’t already know. The article states the researchers were “alarmed” at the results, but we’ve been seeing and hearing about this growing income achievement gap for a while. I come back to the same question I raised in my October 2014 blog post: how can libraries help?

I can offer an example of a space happening in my community at the Urbana Free Library. Our library is able to offer a Teen Open Lab a couple days a week. The auditorium in the library is opened up and staff and teens set up essentially a mini-Fab Lab/makerspace/hangout area. It’s a spot where teens can come after school, hang out, or create anything from stickers on a Silhouette cutting machine, to using a 3D printer, video and audio production, or simply playing Minecraft or video games. The library has been able to provide another space for teens to go who might not have other after-school options.

Is this a great space? I think so. I visited there a few weeks back (my assistantship has a graduate student helping out at the Teen Open Lab so I went for a visit). The atmosphere was exciting. The teens seemed to be happy. They’ve reached a point in the Teen Open Lab where things are going well and they can keep thinking about where does this space go next. But, we can’t forget the process and time it took to get from point A (the teens had little space) to the idea of the lab, to the creation (and funding), and now the maintaining and sustaining. Perhaps what the Urbana Library Teen Open Lab teaches us is that we need to start having those conversations. If we look out at our community and see that our teens need a free space, we can start having those conversations about what a space for them might look like. I think it’s fine to say, “Look we have this income achievement gap and need to do something about it” but we need to do more than just say it. And maybe libraries aren’t the spot, maybe this conversation is meant for a broader audience, pulling in our education system and college admission process (which places value in extra-curricular activities and involvement outside of the classroom). What I’ve been thinking about in my community engagement class this semester is that libraries are the hub to have those frank conversations. We can open up a space to bring a community together to talk. We’ve been doing it since we first began as public institutions.

The Atlantic article does not offer many solutions and I am not sure I have many to offer either. I still think this is an important conversation to have, but we need to continue to think about the broader context and how we can help or at least provide resources to help. For additional resources on this topic, make sure to check out YALSA’s Professional Tool page on their website. Additionally, you can look at, Cool Teen Programs for Under $100, resources on YALSA’s Wiki page about Maker and DIY Programs, Making in the Library Toolkit, or A Librarian’s Guide to Makerspaces.

Do you have any ideas about how we can bridge this activity gap? I would love to hear your thoughts (or great articles to read and resources to use) in the comments below!

Today’s guest blog post comes from the nation’s leading voice for afterschool, the Afterschool Alliance is the only organization dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of afterschool programs and advocating for more afterschool investments. Today the Afterschool Alliance boasts more than 25,000 afterschool program partners and our publications reach more than 65,000 interested individuals every month.

As First Book supporters know all too well, students across the U.S. are falling behind in basic literacy skills, with those in low income communities at greatest risk.  The impact on these students’ future success is devastating.   One intervention that can help are quality afterschool programs.

Through book clubs, mentors, storytelling, home work help and more, afterschool programs can provide the personalized extra help and hands on projects that support the acquisition of reading and writing skills.   Programs can creatively weave literacy building activities into arts, cooking, sports, and almost any hobby or interest.

Despite the proven benefits of afterschool programs, 15 million kids—that’s 1 in 4 youth— we want to change that figure, and we’d like your help.  Please join us in celebrating the nation’s rally for afterschool programs this October 18.  During the 13^th annual Lights On Afterschool, more than 1 million Americans will attend 7,500+ events nationwide.   Even the Empire State Building will light up to call attention to the need for more afterschool resources. are alone and unsupervised after the school bell rings, with no opportunities for engaging learning opportunities that extend beyond the walls of the classroom and help build literacy skills.

Community organizations and programs are invited to hold their own celebration or participate in a local event to help call attention to the many benefits of afterschool programs, including closing the achievement gap.A Lights On Afterschool celebration is a great way to highlight how afterschool programs promote literacy and encourage reading by inviting parents and community members to join students for an afternoon.

We’re especially proud that First Book is taking part in Lights On Afterschool and arming programs will receive 1,000s of free books to support their literacy activities.   Every 300 eligible groups that register for Lights On Afterschool, and with First Book, will be entered in a drawing to win 1,000 books. Thank you for your support, First Book!

To sign up to host a Lights On Afterschool event, locate an event in your area, or access event planning tools visit: www.afterschoolalliance.org/loa.cfm.