TAG opens up library to teens

MILLERTON — Every Friday after school, the NorthEast-Millerton Library opens its doors to the Teen Advisory Group (TAG), a youth service provided to the area by the library through a grant from the Dutchess County Youth Bureau.

TAG, which has been up and running at the library since January of this year, is run by Youth Services Coordinator Helen Warren.

“Our goal with TAG is to enhance the library as a resource for students during non-school hours,� she explained.

TAG’s  Friday meetings have different activities. The first Friday is for gaming, and the library has recently purchased a Nintendo Wii. The second Friday is based around crafts, the third works in discussions concerning teen issues and the last week revolves around literature.

“I think that TAG has gone wonderfully,� Warren said. “There’s a solid group that we’ve gotten into the library, especially through the use of gaming, and I think through that we’ve opened up another avenue for library users.�

Teen issues that have been discussed during TAG meetings include peer pressure, family problems, relationships, teen pregnancy, bullying, substance abuse and violence.

“We’ve had some pretty frank discussions,� Warren said. “It’s nice because in a small group there have been some intimate conversations.�

Warren said she hoped that the discussions, which are kept brief  (she acknowledged that teenagers in general aren’t usually very responsive to open forums of TAG’s nature), would stay with the group’s members.

“I would like to think they can use the knowledge and information they’re given here as reference to how they’ll behave in the future,� she said.

Both Warren and Midge Quick, the director of the NorthEast-Millerton Library, are optimistic that TAG’s approach to getting teens into the library has paid off, and that attendance has risen.

“I think that the video games have brought kids into the building, but from there we’ve gotten them involved in other things the library has to offer,� Warren said. “And parents have been appreciative of their teens having a wholesome place to go after school.�

The library currently has a literature recommendation folder that was put together by TAG students, and there are plenty of other activities that have brought the group together.

“Last month eight dishes of covered food were brought in, and everyone had to agree to try it before they saw what it was,� Quick said. “We also had a poetry night, and everyone came dressed in the era of the beatniks. So there is a wide range of activities that TAG members try to work into their schedules.

“Most of what we do we try to connect to books,� she added, “but we don’t want to be thought as only for that. It’s a strange line we run down. The kids come in and use the computers a lot, not just for social networking but for research, and because of TAG they know it’s here.�

Jared Warren (Helen’s son) and his friend Will Shaw said they try to come every week.

“There’s a lot to do here,� added Scott Miller. “You can use the computers, rent movies, do school projects.�

“Unfortunately people have stereotypes about libraries,� Quick said. “We’re trying to show that doesn’t work anymore.�

TAG meets every Friday from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the NorthEast-Millerton Library. Membership is free. For  more information, phone the library at 518-789-3340.