Ribbon cutting to mark opening of Teen Zone at Forest Grove City Library
A ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, March 1 at 2:15 p.m. will mark the completion of the Teen Zone, a space for Forest Grove teens within the Forest Grove City Library, a project that has been years in the making.
"There are so few spaces in Forest Grove that are specifically designed to be used by the youth in our community free of charge where they can just go and hang out with their friends and exist," said Teen Services Librarian Lily Hawley during an in-person interview with News in the Grove editor Chas Hundley.
"It felt particularly important for our city to have a space that is created for their use," Hawley said.
At the end of January, during the interview for this story, two workers were installing doors for the Teen Zone, an enclosed glass-and-metal space designed for teens to read, gather, play games, and have their own dedicated area in the library
"Teens are just at a different stage of development, and they need spaces that are catering to those stages, both the educational and the social-emotional," Hawley said.
The area, roughly 1350 square feet, is enclosed with glass, though the glass walls do not reach the top of the ceiling, and has new furniture, a desk for Library staff, bookshelves with the library's Young Adult collection of 4,750 books, comics and more, and spaces for bulletin boards and artwork.
The project came about with the help of numerous library-associated groups.
Chief among them was the Teen Library Council.
(Disclosure: During the interview for this story, this journalist discovered that his niece is a member of the Teen Library Council.)
The Teen Library Council is a group of teens led by Hawley that meets twice a month. The group suggests new materials for the library collection, recommends programs for the library's event calendar, and, in the case of the Teen Zone, advocated for a dedicated teen space before a city board.
Hawley said the Teen Library Council, at the time, composed of a smaller group than today's 30+ membership was a focused group that wanted their own space.
Hawley brought the leadership of the Teen Library Council at the time, President Rowan Kalhar, then a senior at the Forest Grove High School (FGHS), and Vice-President Samuel Ruder, then a junior at FGHS, to make a presentation to the Forest Grove Library Commission in January of 2022.
"Both had volunteered with the library for multiple years when I took over the role of Teen Services Librarian and I learned so much from them." Hawley said, asserting that without them, the project would not have happened.
A review of the meeting notes from the January 12, 2022 Library Commission showed the project idea was a hit.
"Commission members expressed enthusiastic support for the
project," the minutes read.
The project grew from there, ultimately bringing in support from four distinct groups: The city's Library Commission, the Teen Library Council, the Forest Grove City Council, who approved funding for a portion of the project via American Rescue Plan Act funds, and the Forest Grove Library Foundation, who approved $55,000 to fund shelves, tables, chairs, cabinetry, and artwork in the Teen Zone.
The furniture selection stemmed from feedback from teens in the council, Hawley said.
"This is your library, you're welcome in it, and we can't wait to see you here," Hawley added.
The Forest Grove City Library is located at 2114 Pacific Avenue. Find out more online.
